 |
 |
Just wondering, and hoping that someone out there can answer a couple of Mom's questions. 1. What would happen if someone who does not have Parkinson's Disease were to take drugs for Parkinson's (sinemet, eldepryl) ? Assuming they overcome the nausea and/or other physical effects, what would be the behaviors? 2. Each time Dad gets up from his chair, he drifts towards the left. Likewise, while he eats, he'll finish everything between 6 o'clock and 8 o'clock on his plate, and thinks he's eaten everything. There may still be mountains of food between 12 and 2, but he doesn't seem to see it. 3. Dad has quite a bit of difficulty with depth perception. It's hard to watch him reach for his coffee and consistently miss it. (Often he's to the left of the handle on the mug.) There are other times, however, he can pluck his tiny vitamin E pill from the palm of his hand. . . and that pill is hard for me to see! 4. I've read references to Atypical Parkinson's. Could someone point me to a reference describing that version of the disease? Mom may still be resisting the diagnosis, and wondering if Dad's really got Parkinson's Disease. That's the source for question #1. I think it's more that Dad doesn't seem to fit the "normal" pattern for Parkinson's. My reading, and the discussions on this listserv have made me wonder if Dad's got either Atypical Parkinson's or Shy-Drager. Any information, ideas, etc. will be gratefully read and passed along. Diane McHutchison Englishtown, NJ [log in to unmask] Long distance caregiver for Dad -- 68 yrs old, 6 yrs diagnosed.