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I was not being disrespectful of Ray. I went out of my way to point out I was sure she was in full control. No, you are not correct, dementia is not a late stage symptom. If you start early it can come on early. It is not so great a concern when it is late stage as we expect to see it in older patients to some degree or another. Since we are talking about the subset of the population that already has PD then my "one third" assumption is correct. Your comparison with cancer is flawed. A true statement would be x% of cancer patients have x type of cancer. There is even a greater number of patients that are plagued with other symptoms that fall into the "mental health category" some are a result of the disease and others the result of the medications. What a strange balancing act it is to weigh the benefits of the drugs with the side effects. Dementia is a scary thing and it is present in a large segment of PD patients. Don't play it off so lightly. Paranoid reactions are also common to the drugs used to control PD. Then you have the reactions to the antipsychotic drugs used to control the psychosis caused by those drugs. Don't forget the depression that is felt by so many people with PD. These are all mental problems related to PD and the drugs taken to control the symptoms. Unfortunately we would all feel more comfortable believing that these conditions are in the minority. They are not. And yes I am certain that some responses, personal attacks, paranoid statements etc posted on this board are in some way influenced by the unfortunate terrible deterioration of the mental state of many people with PD or the drugs used to control the symptoms. If those still in control of their full faculties would refrain from sparking attacks that may set others off who are not in full control we would return more quickly to the main purpose of this board. Help each other. Regards Frank ----- Original Message ----- From: "Greg Wasson" <[log in to unmask]> To: <[log in to unmask]> Sent: Wednesday, March 03, 2004 8:45 AM Subject: Re: I need help. I need hope. I need guidance on dealing with this terrible... > Just to be clear Frank, > > The statement that "over a third of Parkinson's patients suffer from dementia that robs them of the ability to communicate, make decisions, think logically and interface with the world," is wrong, and the correction is an important one. What is true is that "over one-third of all Parkinson's patients will eventually suffer from some form of dementia." At any moment in time far less than one third of PD patients suffer from dementia. It is a late stage symptom. It would be like saying that one in four people have cancer when the fact is that one in four will have cancer at some time in their lives. Big difference. > > As for the comment that "I could not imagine a group making these decisions and providing all support for themselves particularly if they are afflicted with a disease that not only robs you of your ability to care for yourself but also frequently robs you of the ability to think clearly and make rational and logical decisions. It seems that Ray is still in full control of her faculties and I am glad of that," I assume that you weren't being deliberately offensive or patronizing. > > Greg > > FrankandTeri <[log in to unmask]> wrote: > Interesting observation Dr. Fink. > > It is human nature to believe that no one can possibly feel or understand a > condition unless they have experienced it themselves. It is unfortunate > that someone might feel that way because they isolate themselves from a > support organization which can help them deal with this disease. It would > be a terrible day if only people stricken with Parkinson's were supporting > each other. I could not imagine a group making these decisions and > providing all support for themselves particularly if they are afflicted with > a disease that not only robs you of your ability to care for yourself but > also frequently robs you of the ability to think clearly and make rational > and logical decisions. It seems that Ray is still in full control of her > faculties and I am glad of that. I would not wish the dementia that is so > common in Parkinson's on anyone. > > Come to think of that. Most discussion on this board (at least those that > are not attacking the president) seem to focus on movement, pain, sleep etc. > Somewhere over a third of Parkinson's patients suffer from dementia that > robs them of the ability to communicate, make decisions, think logically and > interface with the world. Give me the shakes, stalls, falls and pain any > day but let retain my ability to communicate and reason. Does anyone have > any information on research and treatments focused on controlling and > improving dementia? > > I believe we need each other and all that are willing to help and support. > > Regards > > > Frank > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Robert A. Fink, M. D." > To: > > Sent: Tuesday, March 02, 2004 12:03 PM > Subject: Re: I need help. I need hope. I need guidance on dealing with this > terrible... > > > > On 1 Mar 2004 at 17:36, Rayilyn Brown wrote: > > > > > Frank, do you have PD or is it Teri? Ray > > > > Careful, Frank, before you answer. One of Ray's usual approaches when she > > disagrees with what someone writes is to infer that, if the writer does > not have > > PD, their views are disqualified. Especially if they are a big, bad, > nasty > > *doctor*! > > > > Best, > > > > Bob > > > > ********************************************** > > Robert A. Fink, M. D., F.A.C.S., P. C. > > 2500 Milvia Street Suite 222 > > Berkeley, California 94704-2636 > > Telephone: 510-849-2555 FAX: 510-849-2557 > > WWW: http://www.rafink.com/ > > > > mailto:[log in to unmask] > > > > "Ex Tristitia Virtus" > > > > ********************************************* > > > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > > 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 > > --------------------------------- > Do you Yahoo!? > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] > In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn > Yahoo! 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