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I need your help/thoughts/suggestions regarding my Fathers health situation. I have been lurking for some time and have come to value your depth of knowledge and your willingness to help. Dad 4is 76 and was diagnosed with PD in 1995, but probably started symptoms in 1993. Our family Christmas get together was at my parents house on Dec 26 and he seemed to be doing very well. We had several long conversations, he was up and down out of chairs etc. with no real problems. He had a good meal with no major problems feeding himself. He interacted well with the grandkids etc. all in all on of his better days. On Dec 30 he had extreme shooting pains in his chest on the left side in the a.m. The squad was called and took him to the local hospital (Defiance, Ohio). They ran some tests and discovered that he had an aneurism so they took him by squad to the nearest large city (Toledo St. Lukes) because they did not feel they could handle the situation. He had taken his meds in the morning but they would not give him any meds the rest of the day. That evening he became disoriented, not aware of where he was, talking about events in the past, trying to remove his IV etc. Around 7 a.m. the next morning they took him for a heart cath. He was more alert and was able to answer health questions. The Dr. said he had an aneurism, but it was most likely a result of heart disease and nothing to be overly concerned about. No other blockages etc so this was not the cause of his chest pain. They returned him to his room around 11 a.m.. This whole time we were requesting that he be given his PD meds, but he did not get them until 3 p.m. The staff blamed the confusion on his lack of meds. He became more disorientated as the evening wore on, but sometimes he would be right on our conversation. The next day he was still disoriented, confused, and not aware of his surroundings and they said that he had become dehydrated and that was why he was confused. They gave him IVs to rehydrate him. He finally started coming around but very slowly. Next, the neuro came to see him not his normal neuro because he did not have privileges at this hospital. The new neuro thought that he was getting too many PD meds and ordered less meds and blamed the confusion on med interaction. Some time in this mess they told us he had pneumonia and started meds and breathing therapy for this. Blamed it on his normal hunched condition reducing lung capacity. In the mean time my father who had been walking on his own getting his own meals going the bathroom on his own could not get out of bed because he was too weak. All these new problems, but still no explanation about the chest pain. They gave him a bone scan, x-rays, CAT scan, and CAT scan with dye and told us the he had had a stroke, but the scan with the dye determined that it was an old stroke how they determined this we were not told. Since it was an old stroke they and they were not concerned about more strokes they started getting him up to walk around for PT. He was able to do this, but not for very long. In the meantime, another Dr. said that he did not have pneumonia. Who knows? The bone scan showed a couple of old cracked ribs maybe an explanation for the chest pain, but docs were not sure. Finally, one week later they said that he was too healthy to be in the hospital but not well enough to return home so he went to a nursing care facility back home for PT. He has been there for 17 days and is getting stronger not sure when he will come home. What an ordeal still no real good answers from the docs. Too many unfamiliar docs and no coordination among them. Does anybody have any ideas about why the confusion? Any thoughts on his meds (see the list below). I have not been real impressed with either of the neuros but he seems comfortable with his old neuro. We have been trying to get him to either Cleveland Clinic or Ohio State for a more complete assessment, but he has not been very receptive to this, yet. Sorry this is so long but it has been real frustrating. Maybe this is just another stage of the PD. Thanks for any input you might offer. I know you are not docs, but I am willing to bet you know more than some of the docs we saw at the hospital. PD Meds: Levadopa 4x /day not sure of current dosage - new neuro reduce this to 3x/day Sinemet CR 50/200 mg ½ tablet in a.m. to help him get moving Comtan 200 mg 4x/day Salgen 5mg 3x/day Oxybutynin 5mg 3x/day He also is taking : Amiodarone 200 mg ½ tablet daily for heart Baby aspirin 1/day for heart Vit E 2 times/day Multivitamin 1/day ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn