9/9/98 11:15 AM
hi, everyone! i'm a new list subscriber, and thought i'd introduce myself to
the group. so far, i've enjoyed the mail, although i was shocked to come back
to work this past monday to find that i had almost 100 messages!! my office
mates think i'm very popular.
anyway, my mother is 56/7?, a retired school teacher and a wonderful person.
She suffers more from the psychological/emotional components of the disease
than the physical (no tremors, etc.). she has extreme anxiety (describes it
as "trains running through her body") and is depressed as well. lately she
has not been sleeping well and wakes up in the middle of the night with
delusions/hallucinations. this has started during the day, too. my family
suspects that her sinemet dosage is too high. we have a first appt. with a
new psychiatrist today and hope that he will have some suggestions, possibly
taking her off the sinemet, which has never worked that well for her over a
long period of time. i've done some online research and have read that
sinemet does not work over the long-term very consistently, and often does
cause delusional behavior. Her symptoms have been exacerbated over the last
year.
my aunt is investigating fetal cell transplants, esp. in europe (sweden?),
although my brother and i feel that this is not realistic as her increasing
dementia would prevent her from being a "good candidate." we are hoping
though, that this could be an option if her delusional behavior has been a
result of the sinemet and not directly from the pd.
i would love any words of wisdom, advice, etc., especially from those of you
who can commisserate with me and my family re. the emotional aspects of
parkinsons. this has been truly traumatic for us all and it gets harder each
day to see her suffer as she does.
thanks for any help you can offer. sorry if this letter is too long. i've
enjoyed reading the mail so far, especially from those of you with such
wonderful attitudes and outlooks on life!
sincerely,
nancy fox, nyc
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