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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 ----- Original Message ----- From: Kathrynne Holden, MS, RD To: [log in to unmask] Sent: Sunday, January 06, 2002 12:45 PM Subject: Re: BETTER NEWS! Mary Ann Ryan wrote: > Wow, Kathrynne, thanks for this very important info. I've been following > Ted's progress but didn't have a clue as to what was going on. > > In severe cases of PD, anecdotal information is very important. It is > critical for care givers on this list to take case reports about drug > information very seriously - we never know when our loved ones will be the > next victims of whatever drug reaction is being discussed. As a nurse, I > know that it is impossible for all drug interactions to be reported in the > PDR. True, and also, I understand that physicians must weigh risks vs benefits when deciding on the best medication. However, Dilantin is among the medications listed by NPF and other sources as contraindicated for those with PD, and I always mention it whenever someone reports their PWP has been given Dilantin. Twice previously, the CG reported back to me that the individual was taken off Dilantin and subsequently improved. I know there may be times when Dilantin is the best possible solution, but I also believe there are health professionals who aren't aware of its possible effects on people with PD. This isn't surprising, as many health professionals see very few people with PD in the course of their careers, thus have little experience to draw upon. But it makes it doubly important to make this information more widely understood. Best, 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 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn