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Eric Adams:
 
You wrote that your father at times gets very abusive to your mother and
others.  He also shows signs of paranoia, etc.
 
I know a man with PD that has shown similar response.  He is in his mid to
late 60s and has had PD for about 20 years.  He finds that when he is in the
OFF state his legs become very rigid.  He is almost or is frozen and unable
to move in this state.  He also says he has extreme pain.  On the other side,
when he takes too much Sinemet he experiences dyskinesia.  He has decided
that the dyskinesia is less painful than the freezing, so he takes excess
Sinemet to assure he never goes OFF.
 
Behavior Problems
 
This man is so scared of going OFF that he has Sinemet in every drawer,
cabinet, corner, jar, etc. in the house so that he is always near medicine.
 His dyskinesia has been so bad at times that he has thrown both of his
shoulders out of joint.  Being this high on Sinemet also puts him into a
state of "paranoia".  He has projects started in the garage, back yard and
now in the front yard.  He seems to start projects and never finish anything.
 Talking to him is almost impossible.  Actually I consider it impossible.  He
will tell you the same story over and over and over.  No matter what you say
or if you walk away, he will follow you to tell the story over and over and
over.  You can talk to him in short bursts and he may respond, but he does
not recall talking to you nor does he recall any answer he may have made.  He
is so busy talking that he fails to "hear" you.
 
On two occasions when he was high on Sinemet, he became very violent.  He
inflicted physical harm on his wife.  It was not bad enough to send her to
the hospital, but many black and blue marks not to mention the mental abuse
that went with it.  I spent 2 hours on the phone with his wife at the time
trying to put her back together.
 
I can't tell if this situation is similar to the one you are experiencing,
but if it is, reduce medications levels and access to meds.  Also get on the
phone to your doctor.  This form of behavior is the adverse reaction to too
high a level of drugs (in this case anyway).  Now it could be adverse
reactions to multiple drug interaction.  But don't try to limit Sinemet
alone.  You need to seriously talk to his doctor.  If his doctor does not
take you serious quickly find another doctor.  This is serious for all
concerned.  He may become physically dangerous in which case someone is going
to get hurt.  So don't wait.
 
The man I have been talking about, has not changed.  He has seen other
doctors, etc., but his wife tolerates his abusive behavior.  She considers it
a harmful event of which he is not responsible, it is the medications he
takes that make him that way and if it were not for the PD he would be OK.
 Thus she says it is his PD talking and not him.
 
Don't let this happen to you.  Do something now.
 
Regards,
Alan Bonander
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