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HI JEANNE,

Your dad is on a pretty complicated regimen of drugs for a non PD
specialist to be prescribing although nothing appears grossly
inappropriate.

Are you sure the "shaking" you describe is tremor and not dyskinesia.
Dyskinesia are wild random movements caused by too much medication while
tremor is a steady rhythmical movement. Mirapex often increases
dyskinesia.

I would suggest at least a one time consultation with a movement
disorder specialist.  Philadelphia is probably logistically easiest for
you and I would suggest the clinic at Graduate hospital.  They have the
biggest research program in the city,  There are of course a number of
good programs in New York.

BTW my parents are both born and raised in Scranton most of the family
has left that area but my mother's maiden name is Donis(Donishevsky)
also Meyer, Warshall, Futuronsky and Atlas are all names of relatives
who have lived in Scranton.

Do you know any of them?

Charlie
Jeanne Hoffman wrote:
>
> Dar All,
>
> Hi.  I have not been keeping up on my reading or lurking, but I need some
> advice if there is any.
>
> My father is nearly 82, has been diagnosed with PD for maybe 12 years.  That's
> another story.  Anyway, he was most hard-hit with depression at first - takes
> Prozac.  Recently, he began Mirapex.  It did help return his personality but
> his moevement is not helped at all - may even be worse.  His med schedule is:
>
> Morning - 1 (20mg) Prozac
>           1 (.25) Mirapex
>
> Noon    - 1 (.25) Mirapex
>           a half Clozaril (forgot to get this dose)
>
> 3:30    - 1 (20mg) Prozac
>
> Dinner  - a half (10/100) Sinemet
>
> Bedtime - a half Clozaril
>
> Recently, the second Prozac had to be ordered because he began getting very
> depressed and upset again.  His right hand's shaking is awful - at times he
> cannot hold a glass of liquid.  The other side is not as bad, but he is
> frustrated and says it tires him out terribly.
>
> To complicate matters, my mother, his primary caregiver, had a serious and
> permanent loss of vision in her strong eye via veinous occlusion and subsequent
> neo-vascular glaucoma.  What a crzay time.  It seems stabilized somewhat now
> but she will never be the caretaker she was.  This puts pressure on him which
> has to bother him.
>
> His doctor is not a movement disorder specialist nor is he the type that
> welcomes the patient as a partner in his/her own care.  I mentioned the
> listserv and said it seemed to me that PD was really a matter of balancing
> drugs as much as anything.  He said it was not that at all.  My father has a
> history of high sensitivity to PD drugs.
>
> So, here's the question:  any suggestions?  We live in Scranton, Pennsylvania
> but I question the merit of another evaluation.  It would mean going out of
> town to Philly or New York or Washington.  What benefit?  He is getting tired
> and more feeble.  Can I do anything?
>
> Thanks for ALL your help through this wonderful listserv.
>
> Jeanne Hoffman

--

CHARLES T. MEYER, M.D.
Middleton, WI
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