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I've been getting conflicting responses about the shaking, did your father
shake at both hands and worse when he reaches for things?  Thanks so much
for the response, Jenny

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Abi Murthy [SMTP:[log in to unmask]]
> Sent: Wednesday, April 01, 1998 3:11 PM
> To:   Multiple recipients of list PARKINSN
> Subject:      Re: Help, Father refuses to go to Dr.
>
> My father had the same symptoms that you describe and he was getting
> worse.
> He started on the Ldopa and he was doing much much better.  The only
> argument
> behind going to the doctor would be to hear what they think- and if he is
> convinced to try out the treatment for a while.  Other people could give
> you more knowledgeable advice, but from our experience has been that
> it took sometime for him to stabilize and find a good dosage level on the
> Ldopa- for a while it seemed as though the cure was worse than the disease
> but he did get better.  He still has episodes where he would refuse all
> medication, but my Mom sneaks them in juice etc.
>
> Hope this helps,
> abi
> >
> >Please help. My father has something bad, he refuses to go to the dr.,
> ever
> >since my Mom died with a brain tumor and was misdiagnosed for quite a
> while
> >first, he does not believe in doctors. He also says that he doesn't want
> to
> >know because he will give up, and he knows he will live longer in
> ignorance.
> >
> >I think he has Parkinson's, Huntington's, ALS? His symptoms started with
> >shaking in his hands, both, I guess, I can't see that one is worse than
> the
> >other.  He just has trembling hands, they shake when he rests, not when
> he
> >sleeps, his shakes seem to get worse when he reaches for something, he
> >started saying he couldn't talk as well, though we didn't notice anything
> at
> >first.  In a space of two years, he drools pretty bad, and we are
> starting
> >to not understand him when he talks. He seems to walk ok, though he is
> slow.
> >In the last year, he has lost at least 30 or 40 lbs, he is very small
> now,
> >it takes him a long time to eat. His grandfather died from Huntington's
> >disease, but his own father, now 85, doesn't have any of the symptoms,
> >though he shakes a little from old age I'm told.  I've never seen him, he
> >abandoned my Dad when my Dad was 2, and I just found this out by
> contacting
> >my half-uncle.  My dad is 59.
> >I want to know if anyone has advice on how I could convince him to go to
> the
> >dr, or what he might have, or what I can do.  We have tried talking to
> him,
> >bullying him a little, asking, begging, shamelessly using his 2 year old
> >grandson as a reason, but it doesn't seem to work.
> >Does this sound like Parkinson's Disease?  If so, how do you treat
> someone
> >without them participating?  I've even been looking into Fava Beans,
> seeing
> >if I could get enough of them down him somehow to see if it makes a
> >difference, then at least I'd know what he has got?  Anyone have any
> ideas?
> >We love him very much. We are ready to do whatever it takes to take care
> of
> >him and help him as much as possible. Any advice would be really
> >appreciated.
> >