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His tremor was very very minor- when he was resting them, he had no tremor- he still does not. But the doc asked him to extend his arm all the way out to the side- there was a slight tremor then. Then he asked him to extend his arm all the way and then to touch his nose-he could not do this very fast. Since my father went blind and had multiple surgeries in both eyes (the doc who did the second surgery botched up 1 eye during the cataract and then botched up the second one- so he was against medical doctors and alopathy as Western Medicine is called in India). He had the other small symptoms- the writing really became small and minute- this is supposed to be typical of Parkinsons. Had the sort of shuffling gait while walking- he had always been a straight walker and never stooped. Then he would get up and while sitting down, he'd sort of try to sit and then drop the last few inches. Same think with putting stuff down- he would lower it and an inch or so from the table, he'd drop it, rather like the mechanical robot arms that pick up and drop things. Then he started drooling. He was on the initial PD medication all this while- my folks were told that they strengthen the nerves, they increase blood supply to the brain etc. But they were PD drugs for the first stage- not Ldopa. He went thru 3 o4 4 times when he would say that he is not feeling well and he sort of became paralyzed. Could not eat or drink anything- wet the bed etc. He became better after a bit. Then they started him on the Ldopa- and at first the dosage was too high for him- so he would kind of moan all the time he was sleeping- he was restless etc. The they lowered the levels and he seemed to get much better. He did really really well- everybody was amazed and he himself said he felt much better. Maybe he should read the list- or you can print stuff out? There are a lot of people on the list who are so brave- and I guess you must have figured out when they say 63/8 that means that they are 63 and have had pd for 8 yrs. There are some people like Don who posts to the list who have had PD for something like 23 yrs- so its not like cancer for instance. A lot of it is learning to life life differently and it is very stressful on the caregivers. In our case, my Mom takes care of him and they live in India. Me and my brother live here in the US. SHow him Don's web page- he does not look like he has PD in his pics. Another thing is that my father likes and repects our Doc- he is a family friend and was a phsysican practising general medicine (rather like an internist) and now has switched to cardiology. But he referred us to the current Neuro. And above all, our main doctor is a very good family friend- so maybe you can find someone who is a friend- and have them look at UR father at home (as a personal favor after a dinner get-together etc) and then have him refer you to a Neuro? In this country it is all so complicated with HMO/PPO etc etc. If you can find a friend someone your father respects as a person first, then his/her opinions would matter more than a new person he meets. To this day, my father goes into bouts where he will refuse all medication- he is very clever and spits his pills out when Mom is not looking. he is very much like my 1 year old- and needs watching over at that level. Grandkids are a big help-already they are helping much much more than you realize- its funny how grandchildren supplant children in this respect. Ultimately, I think if you and your siblings think you are doing him good it is ok to be crafty. They are like children- you have th sneak the carrots into cake. Hope this helps, abi PS: I never see any of my posts on the list- I am glad my reply reached you. > >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. >> > >