Re leg pains: Two years ago my 73-year-old father began having what he called
"tweaky pains" in his legs which bothered him so much he couldn't sleep. He
found that hot baths helped. Later it turned out that he had developed
diabetes, and the pains were actually the disintegration of his lower leg
nervous system. He died last fall of heart failure after surgery to remove
part of his foot, which had developed a massive infection which he couldn't
feel.
These pains are not RLS; my mother has RLS, and she has PD (my father did
not). I mention this only because of a recent posting about leg pains, which
made me worry that RLS might camoflauge or be confused with other kinds of leg
pain. I don't like to create paranoia, but it seems something to keep in mind.
Tests for diabetes are easy and cheap.
Re Melony's posting from NC:
Sinamet can cause many of the mental problems you describe: confusion, memory
loss, inability to make sense of time, hallucinations. Look up the list of
side effects in The Pill Book. My mother has the same mental trouble, problems
far more debilitating than her tremors at this point, which Sinamet is
controlling. I feel as worried and helpless as you do. We are wondering about
a pallidotomy just to get her off the Sinamet.
From your posting I don't see how her neurologist could be so
sure of her prognosis (eventually losing all memory function) unless a specific
diagnosis has been made. If there is an option to go off Sinamet, it might be
worth trying, to see what happens.
I would be grateful for any tips or clues you might find in dealing with your
mother's mental trouble. Good luck!
Best regards,
Virginia.
_____________________________________________________________________________
Virginia Tilley email: [log in to unmask]
TEL: Political Science Department office: 608-263-2414
ADDR: Dept of Political Science, 110 North Hall
U. of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison WI 53715
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