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Hi Bill, > First, as my father described to me, based on what his neurologist told > him, there may be two forms of PD: one more mild than the other. In other > words, what I've been told is that although the condition tends to be > progressive, the prognosis will be better for one type of PD than the > other. Is there any basis for this? Or is PD expressed more as a broad > range of symptoms? There are many forms of "PD" - some well known, some not. If you doctor has a special interest in the condition, he might have a guess which condition a sufferer has, but typically people are just told they have "PD". Historically treatment has been the same regardless, but as things become more sophisticated an accurate diagnosis is becoming both possible and more and useful. So yes, there are different forms of PD, some "faster" than others. But what kind of PD you have is only part of the equation when talking about how fast the disease progresses - it varys considerably from person to person. The best guide to the future will be your experience. > My second concern is less well defined. It centers on the issue that my > father is not always so communicative. Sometimes it is difficult to > discuss sensitive issues with him, although lately, with this issue, he has > been very open. People act to serious conditions in ways often different from what you would expect from knowing them normall. If your Father feels he should talk about it then follow his lead and support him. My family was always very open about my Mother's condition, which we found to be a great source of strength to us all. Obviously you must respect the sufferer's wishes, but talking never did any harm. You owe it to each other. > Anyway, my brother and I have thought that perhaps we should > not let on to him that we are trying to learn as much as possible about > PD, that we are concerned about it. This isn't coming across quite right, > but we don't want him to think that we view him as a victim, or that > we are focussing on it at the detriment of other aspects of our relation- > ship. Since he might not discuss with us his concerns, we can't be > guaranteed that he might think we are fixating too much on "what might > happen" rather than "what is happening". Any comments? Hmmm. Initially when I read this I thought you shouldn't be shy of telling him what you are up to......... But then I realised I did exactly what you are doing! Basically I decided that if this disease was going to do nasty things to my Mum, then I should at least find out what was happening and how to prevent it. I didn't really publicise this within the family, for the same reasons you hesitate now - a fear of being seen to look on the dark side of the situation. I was often glad I did have this additional understanding - it helped me care for my Mother better, and gave us strength when we needed it. To some extent it is your Father's disease. But PD affects the family too, and I don't see what could be wrong about educating yourself. But don't invade his independance. Also remember that PD is a terribly individual condition - impossible to become an expert in from books alone. Most of your real knowledge and understanding will come from your Father. If something worked for person X that doesn't mean it will be any use to your Father. > My own thoughts are to try and keep everything in perspective with how > it is affecting him now, with some thought for the future, and to be > as open as possible with him. ... . This attitude will serve you well. Best Wishes, Simon Coles [log in to unmask]