Hi,

I read in the new book from the NPF on medication, that there are
drugs to reduce frequency/urgency of urination.  This and the mild
sedative you mentioned might help her get through the night.

Also, the NPF has a comprehensive list of what they deem to be
"Centers of Excellence;" even if one of them is not in your vicinity,
you might call the nearest one and they might make a recommendation of
a movement disorder specialist (a specialized neurologist) near you.
Good Luck!

___________
Carol Lemlein wrote:
>
> My mother is 83 with PD for the last 5 years.  Up until last September, she was
> living on her own and apparently functional although her short term memory and
> conceptual abilities were declining.  She was taking the following medications:
>      1 eldepryl
>      1/2 Sinemet on awakening
>      4 Sinemet CR 50/200's during the day
>
> Last Fall after experiencing a very bad episode of confusion, she was taken off
> Eldepryl  and the early Sinemet and had her Sinemet CR dose reduced to 2/day,
> and she seemed much better for a couple of months.  However, before the end of
> the year, her PD symptoms (tremor, difficulty walking, etc) were becoming more
> troublesome and her Sinement dosage was increased again one at a time until a
> few weeks ago when she was back to 1/2 Sinemet and 4 CR's but no Eldepryl.
>
> She has suffered a very severe decline since the first of the year, with
> increasing episodes of confusion, and general memory and conceptual loss, as
> well as much less predictable response to Sinemet and increased incidence of
> falling.  We have had an MRI which indicated a minor stroke had taken place.
> When she continued to decline, her neurologist ordered a CT scan to see if there
> had been additonal stroke activity but this was negative.  The neurologist
> doesn't seem to want to do anything but manipulate the Sinemet dose, and has now
> prescribed a mild sedative at bedtime because we cannot get her on a schedule of
> sleeping at night and being wakeful during the day.  Her aides and  I believe
> that a frequent need to urinate is contributing to her wakefulness at night.
>
> Does anyone know a neurologist in the vicinity of Irvine (where she lives) or on
> the West Side of  LA (where I live)  who is more willing to work with patients
> to find the mix of medications that work best for her?
>
> Carol Lemlein