Parkinsons? Anybody have personal experiences you can share?

My husband has it, and I try to make sure he is busy. They tend to sit around all day. If he has a bad day he can have more Sinemet. His voice is not good and he has difficulty in recall, so he has gone quiet. We can see a Parkinson's Nurse here in the U.K. for help. I'm afraid depression and detachment are part of it.

Are there any Parkinson's groups in your area?, I have avoided them so far but they can be a help.

We have learnt to live with it, I worry about it more than him.

I haven't had it but was for many years close to my husband's aunt, who did suffer from it. We held her health-care and financial powers of attorney, so we were closely involved in her treatment.

Two issues that came up: she was on Sinemet and had occasional hallucinations from it. They were not major, not serious, but included things like now and then briefly seeing bugs crawling on the carpet. Naturally, this was very disturbing to her.

She also developed depression, which is apparently very common. Her doctor told us that it is sometimes more important to treat the depression than the Parkinson's. She was resistant to anti-depressants, but I think she really needed them.

As regards the Sinemet. At one point, our aunt fell and broke a hip. In the hospital ER, she had a seizure and was put on Dilantin. This turned out to be contraindicated for someone on Sinemet (the hospital did know she was taking it), so it's important to make sure everyone knows what you're taking. In her case, the interaction resulted in disorientation and thus some rather odd behavior, which cleared up once she stopped taking the Dilantin.

As much exercise, or when that becomes difficult, general stimulation as possible is advisable. The patient needs to get out and around, to participate in activities and family events, because isolation will increase depression. Lots of friend/relative visits are important, too, once the patient becomes less mobile. At that point, he or she may also be less communicative, so visitors need to be prepared to do all the taking or to read to the patient and to do other stimulating things.

Good luck, whether the patient is you or someone you love.

yes, when i realised that Marty from Back from the Future had it i was emotionally shook

My father has Parkinsons, unfortunately I live almost five hundred miles away, so I don't know much, I just know that he is getting worse as time passes.