hi all

At 12:08 1999/02/19 -0500, richard wrote:
>Hello everyone.
>One of the worst symptoms that my Father is his dementia.  What
>seems to be odd is that his behavior seems to be different than
>other forms of dementia that I've read about or heard about.
>I've checked the archives of this list and haven't really been able
>to find anything that relates to my fathers condition.  His dementia
>has progressed rapidly.

this doesn't sound like a typical pd symptom
pd generally progresses at a snail's pace
it sounds more like a side effect of medications
[as a first 'gut' reaction]

>My father doesn't seem to flash back in time, or forget where he is.
>He sometimes gets confused on what he is doing, but that is very rare
>and usually when he is really tired.
>Mostly, he can't communicate.  He seems to understand everything that's
>going on, and what is said to him, but he can't respond.  He often says
>yes when he means no and vise versa.  He often talks in his sleep, but
>my Mother tells me that lately it is just gibberish.

this sounds like something very specific
maybe even something physical rather than 'mental'
like some wires are crossed in the part of the brain
that controls specific verbal cognitions i.e 'names for things'

>Last weekend my father spent in the hospital due to an infection.  While
>he was sick, he would often wake up and start talking (mostly
>gibberish).  However, there were times when he was awake that he tried
>to respond, and was sometimes partially coherent, and once or twice, he
>was more coherent than he has been in a long time (many Months).  It
>seemed that he was at least trying to respond, and sometime succeeding.
>Since he has been back from the hospital he has reverted back to barely
>saying anything.

so, he improved during the time he was in hospital?
and then reverted back since he left the hospital?

what drug regimen was he on in the week prior to hospital?
and
what drug regimen was he on while in hospital?
and
what drug regimen was he on after he left hospital?
and
what were the differences?

the answers may very well lie here
[sometimes we have to put on sherlock holmes' cap in this game]

>He has been taking Aricept for a while, but it seems to have no affect.

i hate the concept of try a little of this and then try some of that
when it comes to our brain chemistry:

1. low doseages
plus
2. small increments in changes
plus
3.days rather than hours for observation of changes
=
low and slow titration of any med changes

>He can usually read pretty good.  He can count fairly well, say
>the alphabet.  We show him pictures of the family, and he has a
>tough time saying peoples names.  He'll often say one persons
>name for another, or get stuck on one name (most often my Mothers).

this still sounds like something very specific - 'names for things'
it doesn't sound like 'normal' dementia

>His other parkinson's symptoms are mostly slow movement.  He has
>random movement of his legs, that the neurologist said was a side
>effect of his medication.

if you mean dyskinesia
that can be a cardinal sign of levodopa overdose
which might mean that he's on too much of a levodopa roller-coaster
if so, his meds can be fine-tuned to minimize the dyskinesia

how many parkinson patients does the neurologist deal with?
at what stages?
maybe your father needs to see a medico with more pd experience

>He doesn't really have any tremors.

so his type of pd is similar to mine - stiffness and slowness
the 'tremor type' and the 'stiffness type' are two broad pd categories

>He has recently had problems with incontinence

when? relative to any changes in his meds? or to the hospital stay?

>and he has had problems with constipation
>for a few Months now.

this is not a matter to be taken lightly

with the muscle problems inherent in parkies
chronic constipation can become potentially fatal

i am going to re-post a 'constipation protocol'
which a lot of listmembers found helpful
and which hasn't been posted for some time

>He was referred to a psychiatrist by his neurologist, who
>has diagnosed him as being depressed.  He has just started
>taking Centrex.  I read in the archives that the therapeutic
>affects of anti-depressants could take 4 to 6 weeks, so we'll
>see what happens over the next Month.

i trust that both medicos know what the other is doing
in terms of prescriptions

this is a potential mine-field for parkies

the symptoms of drug-induced psychosis vs 'mental illness'
can be confused without due diligence
and that confusion can result in a med / symptom / downward spiral
only too easily and quickly and
potentially fatally

>I also will look into possible side effects of the various, and
>numerous, medication that he is one, to see what, if any, of his
>symptoms may be caused by this.

you also might want to verify the meds with your father's pharmacist

>I'll also be checking into other diseases that may cause this type of
>behavior.
>I'm sorry that this note is so long.  Mostly I want to know if anyone
>has any other suggestions of things to check into, besides what I stated
>above.  I wanted to try to hold off and do as much research on my own as
>possible before bothering everyone on this list, but my Mother is having
>a difficult time, so I would appreciate any feedback.

this is not a bother
this is the core reason that we exist

please remember that i am not a medico,
just a nosy parky with experience!

if i were in your shoes
and saw a noticeable improvment in my father
i would devote my energies to deducing what might have caused that improvement
in terms of meds, diet, lifestyle, hormones, sleeping habits, you name it
and then try to replicate the circumstances
in order to replicate the improvement

how about 'bothering' us with the details of your father's drug regimen?


janet

janet paterson - 51 now /41 dx /37 onset - almonte/ontario/canada
<http://www.newcountry.nu/pd/members/janet/index.htm>
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