Dear Betti and others: ,
 
Thanks for your sensitive letter and sharing your situation.  Since this week
is school vacation, I have off from work  (I'm a speech/language clinician in
the school).  We usually all go skiing, but this time my husband went with
the 3 kids and I spent Sunday through Wednesday at my folks.  The doctor
agreed with us that my Dad should go back on the Sinemet since removing it
did not help the agitation and delusions and DID make a difference in his
physical state.  It was harder for him to walk, more of a shuffle and more
bent over; his speech was more slurred; he had difficulty going from sitting
to standiong positions; he was incontinent a few times (bladder only since he
has a colostomy.) With the return of the Sinemet, his physical state is much
improved.  In addition to that he is also on  buspar, oxazepan, and millaril
at night.  When I was there, he really seemed to be doing well.  He did have
a few episodes of mild delusions, e.g. knocking on the window at night  to
the people outside (who weren't there) saying when one comes they will all
come over and things like that.  It was never difficult for me to either talk
him out of it or divert him.  I realize this is much much harder for my Mom
who has to live it 24 hours a day. He did get up often at night but never
became aggressive.  One thing we notice, he always looks for sweets.  Thank
goodness he doesn't have a medical condition to eliminate them..
 
 There were some wonderful, close but bittersweet  times these days when he
was able to talk about his illness and how he is forgetting names and
relationships. He claims  his mind plays tricks on him. He is reflecting on
his life and says some very poignant things.   I notice that he sometimes
substitutes nouns so that one may not think he is making any sense at all but
frequently his meaning can be deciphered if a key word is replaced with the
desired one.  I also found that at times I had to treat him as I would a
child when for e.g. trying to get him to finish the Ensure Plus.  He wanted
the Biscotti and so I broke it into pieces, giving him some each time he
drank more of the Ensure. It's quite a new role for me, and I was surprised
he didn't seem to mind at all.
 
The best part is that  I was able to arrange for help 4 hours a day, 5 days a
week so that my Mom could have a life. Actually on 2-3 of those days she also
has someone for a couple of hours in the morning.   She resisted this for a
long time and then when things were really bad, she seemed unable to do
anything.  She can always increase this if the time comes when more coverage
is needed.  I just hope the meds take care of the nights so she gets sleep as
well.  I've asked the caregiver to do some exercises with him and to look
through the myriad of photo albums my Mom has organized over the years.  This
encourages lots of conversation and stimulates long term memory.  But most
important, he enjoys it.
 
I agree with you that it doesn't matter what the mental confusion is caused
by PD or Alzheimers.  I was just always curious about the differences.  I
don't know if AD patients have better periods of clarity once the disease is
more advanced.  My Dad seems to have these periods which might be one
diagnostic difference between the two illnesses.
 
I wish Mom had access to this listserv in her own home.  I often share your
letters with her and think they are quite helpful.  Thanks to all who have
responded to my questions.
 
Happy New Year everyone.
 
Roni  Liebowitz                                      [log in to unmask]