<p>About 6-7 months ago my 80 year old father started having a very slight hand tremor. His internist said not to worry about Parkinson’s as it wouldn’t just be on one side of the body. My dad recently had his physical and the internist didn’t like the way he was walking; said my dad was shuffling his feet. Now he feels my dad should be seen by a neurologist; he has an appointment next week.</p>
<p>What little I have read about Parkinson’s, in the early stages of PD, the symptoms absolutely start on one side of the body only. We tried to get my father to look into this early, but he trusted his internist. Now I am wondering if delaying treatment, if it is PD, will be an issue. My mother told me this morning that sometimes his hand shakes so bad that he can not eat. This is not an old 80 year old, he plays tennis twice a week and runs all of the household errands. </p>
<p>My dad had a cousin with Parkinson’s that is no longer living. This cousin had the disease from an early age, his 40’s or 50’s; PD took his life in his 70’s. I know my dad is very worried about adding PD to his already full list of health issues-diabetes, heart disease, a stint and other problems. </p>
<p>Would love to know of others that have dealt with PD, especially at a late age.</p>
<p>So sorry about your father, snowball. I’m also interested in other folks’ experiences with this disease.</p>
<p>On a visit with my mom last month, she sat me down and informed me she has early stage PD. She wanted me to know since many Parkinson’s patients develop dementia. Her own mother died from complications of the disease.</p>
<p>So far, my mom’s only symptom is a slight head tremor. She’s scared to death and my heart breaks for her.</p>
<p>My DH (age 47) has had Parkinson’s for ten years. While young onset PD tends to progress at a slower pace than when it is diagnosed later in life, DH has had manageable symptoms.
It absolutely did start on one side, and continues to be worse on one side for him. DH has a version which doesn’t have a lot of tremors (his muscles freeze up instead) but shuffling feet is a classic symptom, as is failure to swing one’s arms while walking and having a stooped posture. It sounds like a good thing to have your father evaluated by a neurologist. </p>
<p>PD patients are at great risk from falls due to their poor balance and coordination. This is just starting to be an issue for my DH, and it’s scary. In addition, their swallowing reflex becomes messed up as time goes by, and they run the risk of aspirating food and getting pneumonia. These days DH gets a great deal of his nutrition from liquids such as Ensure.</p>
<p>There is a great forum at myparkinsons dot org. which has a lot of very helpful people who can answer specific questions.</p>
<p>One of the things that neurologists don’t seem to discuss with family is that there are often personality changes that go along with PD. Depression is extremely common, but beyond that some people have found that some of the medications seem to cause strange compulsive behavior. On the other hand, there is organic brain damage going on, so the behavior changes may be related to that. MRI scans show that a portion of my husband’s frontal cortex has disappeared in the last decade.</p>
<p>Your mom may be under a great deal of pressure trying to act like his behavior is normal – you should offer her the opportunity to talk about it if things are seeming off.
You will find more information about it on the site I mentioned, but sometimes the compulsive behavior involves sexuality, so she may or may not want to talk about it (if indeed your father’s case involves any personality changes – not all do).</p>
<p>My not-quite-80 mother has had Parkinson’s for about 10 years now. The first indication was a hand tremor, but she has been wheelchair bound for 6-7 years. She continued to work until around the time she lost her mobility.</p>
<p>It is certainly something one can die of, but it is very slow-working in that dimension, and there are many other health problems that could kill her first. In the meantime, there have definitely been personality changes, and lots of challenges to deal with the Parkinson’s – including mild dementia and not-so-mild paranoia about people noticing the dementia. Also, if you are driving your motorized wheelchair with a joystick, and your hands get tremors, you swerve and run into things from time to time, including walls.</p>
<p>I’m not sure that a delay of 7-8 months in diagnosis means anything for treatment or the course of the disease. I am not much of an expert, but my impression is that Parkinson’s is one of those diseases that they can’t officially diagnose (absent an autopsy) until they see a certain number of symptoms all together. So a single hand-tremor (which is how my mother started, too) may often be a harbinger of Parkinson’s, but no one will call it Parkinson’s until they have observed more symptoms.</p>
<p>Thanks for the above information; it has been helpful and I will check out the website. So far I don’t think there has been any personality change, or at least nothing that we can’t chalk up to age and stress! While my mother has made comments that my father is going crazy, there has not been anything that I have noticed when I am with him in person or on the phone. Living with my mother can drive a sane person crazy, I am just saying ;-)</p>
<p>The shuffling feet, I think, could be due to his diabetes, or his age; at least that is what I am hoping. The same for a stooped posture, which he has very little of, but it is there. He has a horrible back and has been in pain for the last 10 years or so. You notice how I have an excuse for everything?</p>
<p>I will become more informed so I can help my parents where I can. I have wanted them to move out of their house for years now which has multiple levels. Now that the market is so bad, I don’t know what they will do if they need to sell. The best is that their house is what I refer to as a tear down, so they would not need to make repairs before moving. People are building mini mansions in their area and their house is an ultra contemporary, so I think someone will want the lot, not the house. I guess they will finally consider moving when they have to, although I would like it to happen sooner than that.</p>
<p>My FIL had Pakinson’s for about 30 years (from about 50 to 80) … and managed very well for the first 25 years or so. While there is not a cure now there are drugs that can help with the symptoms quite a bit … good luck on the doctor’s visit!</p>
<p>My father in law was diagnosed with Parkinson’s about 3 years ago. His doctor only needed to see him walk to know (but we noticed the shaking hand & that’s why he went to be checked out). He was put on medication right away & the symptoms are under control. He hasn’t had any personality changes that we can attribute to the PD. </p>
<p>He & my MIL began going to a PD support group right away. They are very grateful to know what might be ahead of them. It’s been very helpful for them.</p>
<p>My H is in a research study for children of PD patients. Hopefully, he & others who participate will help scientists/doctors figure out how to fight PD for future generations.</p>
<p>There is no way my parents will go to a support group, although it would be good for them. I can’t even get my mother to take a more active role in my dad’s diabetes; he is having trouble controlling his blood sugar and doesn’t seem to be as compliant as he should be. </p>
<p>Maybe this will be a kick in the pants that they both need. Besides worrying about my dad having another illness, I worry about what another medication will do to him; he is on plenty of meds now.</p>
<p>My mom has had it since 1996. Please keep in mind that it’s likely your dad will remain functional for the near future. My mom did well for about 10 years. I am sorry for your struggle and that of your parents. Hopefully they’ll be able to rely on a good neurologist who will help monitor the new meds. It is alot to worry about but try to focus most of your energy on the good stuff as hard as that might be sometimes. I’ve cried a river and now I see it as an issue to deal with one day at a time.</p>
<p>snowball, best wishes to your family in sorting out the best path for medical diagnosis and treatment for your father.</p>
<p>My father had a variation of Parkinsons Disease called ‘multi-system atrophy’. Apparently this form of the disease can be more detrimental than some other variations. His disease progressed over a number of years, and did not include a tremor. His memory and love of learning did not seem to be affected, but his energy, balance, and overall sense of well-being definitely were. For him, medications were quite helpful, though it was challenging to find the right combination: some medications were more effective than others, and it took a fair bit of tinkering to find ones that helped the symptoms without creating unpleasant side-effects - such as drowsiness and nausea. He was very sensitive to caffeine, etc. so that may have contributed to difficulties finding appropriate medications. The disease itself seemed to have its ups and downs, with some periods (weeks, months) in which he would feel somewhat better, and other times when he slept most of the day. Dad lived for seven or eight years after the first onset of symptoms (diagnosed at about age 75), and we treasure our memories of time spent with him during those years (and before).</p>
<p>“The doctor once called Parkinsons Disease the snowflake disease… no two people look the same with PD…”</p>
<p>My father had PD beginning in his sixties. He had tremors and difficulty talking and swallowing, but no dementia at all. His primary issue was communication … the tremors made it impossible to write, and his speech became barely understandable. </p>
<p>Good luck with your Dad. Keep in mind there are much worse diseases than late-onset PD.</p>