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Hello! I am newly subscribed to the PARKINSN list and this is my first message. My father has PD and my frustration with dealing with the medical community has fueled my desire to learn as much as possible about PD and seek information and support from others who may have had a similar experience and can offer suggestions. My father is 83 years old. Although he has shown signs of PD for many years, he was just recently referred to a neurologist for confirmation of PD and prescribed Sinemet - 1/2 pill 3X daily which he has taken since the end of Sept. Dad's most pronounced symptoms in Sept. were shuffling, freezing, loss of balance and short term memory loss. Since September he has had rapid deterioration and was hospitalized on Dec. 7 because he was too weak to stand and was very confused. The major cause of my distress (other than the obvious sadness in seeing my father incapacitated) is that his GP has failed to contact Dad's neurologist - says he has been unable to reach him - and has told my mother that this is simply deterioration caused by the disease and that a change in medication would not help in Dad's case and we should start looking for a nursing home or long term care facility for him. My questions are 1) we feel Dad should be re-assessed by a neurologist. The GP cannot contact Dad's neurologist and seems unwilling to discuss Dad's case with an alternate. Can we get Dad re-assessed without his GP's referral? How can we go about doing this? 2) Am I wrong in thinking that a change in Dad's medication could help him somewhat. 3) How is it possible for Dad to deteriorate so quickly? In Sept. he was quite independant although my mother did not like to leave him alone for very long because of his falls. Is this typical of PD especially in the later stages? Could it be because of his age? Could it be caused by his medication? I know I have probably been incomplete in trying to describe our situation, if anyone needs more details in order to give me some advice I would be happy to reply. Any suggestions or support would be welcome. Thanks for your time. Kate MacGillivray [log in to unmask]