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Mike.... You - or someone - should REALLY get mom to a movement disorder specialist, and ASAP!!!! It sounds like she's suffering unnecessarily when there ARE drugs out there which most likely will provide her with some relief (presuming she does indeed have Parkinson's). Since she's close to the Cleveland Clinic and because it does have an excellent reputation, why not go see a movement disorder specialist there? Barb Mallut (PD 22 years) [log in to unmask] ---------- From: Parkinson's Information Exchange on behalf of Mike Holloway Sent: Sunday, November 30, 1997 3:44 PM To: Multiple recipients of list PARKINSN Subject: Levels of severity, lack of proper treatment? I'm looking for insight while admittedly not being able to supply much by way of information. My mother was very recently diagnosis with Parkinsons. I can only get reports of her condition from my sisters who live in the same city. She'll never tell me how bad her condition is, will only go into a doctors office when she's near death, and then only for an appointment made weeks in advance. I'd like to know if her level of disability requires more, and immediate, aggressive treatment. Reportedly, she was bed ridden for at least a week before going to see a general practitioner. She was prescribed something, though I have no information on the nature of the drug. This Thanksgiving she was seen to be able to walk slowly, not being able to raise her knees more than a few inches, was very fatigued, and shaking all over. She was only able to stay there a short time before returning to bed. Her hair has been cut extremely short since she can not raise her hands to her head. She's put on a great deal of weight. With this admittedly scant amount of information, can anyone give me an idea what the relative severity of her condition is? Should she be better with proper treatment. She's close to the Cleveland Clinic. Should she be a patient there already? Are there any paricular aids that Parkinson's patients need? Kitchen aids? Bathroom aids? Computer or reading aids? Mike Holloway [log in to unmask]