 |
 |
Hello, Sharon -- Golly, your family has its many hands full! You all have discovered how stress/infections/etc can exacerbate Parkinson's symptoms. Whew! I recognized "lorazepam" on the list of your uncle's meds because my mother used to take it. It's an anti-anxiety drug also called "ativan". No wonder your uncle is having problems if it was stopped suddenly! Mom also had many sessions of electric shock treatment. (The polite name for that now is ECT, electro-convulsive therapy.) It was helpful, to some degree, with both physical and psychiatric symptoms. Apparently ECT is commonly used with elderly people now, a major advantage being that drugs are so hard for them to tolerated and ECT uses no drugs except brief anesthesia. You should know, however, that there is likely to be a temporary INCREASE in confusion following ECT. I hope that the neuro treating your uncle is accustomed to treating PD, or will consult closely with a PD specialist. That is really critical to getting good care. Hope this was helpful/reassuring? And good luck to all. Mary Rack