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Emily and Julian Brinac wrote: > > Kathrynne, since you are a dietician and I was as a care giver on your Web site, I wonder if you can help me understand why my husband, just diagnosed with Parkinson is steadily losing weight. He is on the same diet as before, his bowel movements did not change, the only thing that is worring me is that his dominant hand shaking appears to be worse. At the moment he is not on any drugs for PD as he is waiting to see a neurologist. Our family doctor seems surprised with his weight loss and did not offer anything to explore other than basic blood tests. Do you have any suggestion? Is he Parkinson Plus case? Thank you for your thoughts. > Emily > Dear Emily, Unintended weight loss is not uncommon in Parkinson's disease. There are many possible reasons, and it may be necessary to figure out the cause in order to deal with it. Some possible reasons for weight loss include increased energy expenditure due to muscle rigidity, tremor, dyskinesia or decreased efficiency of movement; difficulty chewing or swallowing, slowed eating, choking; loss of the sense of smell and taste, appetite loss, decreased intake of food; depression; and medication side effects. As he is not yet taking medications, the cause lies elsewhere. If his diet is the same as usual, and if you are sure he is eating the same amount of food as before, then his energy expenditure has increased. Would he be willing to eat small, nourishing snacks between meals? I have clients who have successfully regained not only weight but muscle mass by increasing snacks and walking daily. The topic of weight loss has come up many times on "Ask the Dietitian." If you have time, I suggest you search the archives, to see if any of the questions and answers are helpful to your circumstances. Go to: http://www.parkinson.org/ Click "Ask the Parkinson Dietitian" and follow the directions. Also, many public libraries and PD support groups have lending copies of "Eat well, stay well with Parkinson's disease." I would check out a copy and read chapter 9 "Unplanned Weight Loss." In it I have a number of suggestions that could be helpful for your husband. Best regards, Kathrynne -- Kathrynne Holden, MS, RD "Ask the Parkinson Dietitian" http://www.parkinson.org/ Author: "Eat well, stay well with Parkinson's disease" "Guidelines for Medical Nutrition Therapy for Parkinson's disease" http://www.nutritionucanlivewith.com/ ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn