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hi natasha In a message dated 1998/10/24 16:56:08, you write: >Hello to all on the listserv; >I have a question and would appreciate any advice or suggestions. >My mom is 71 and has had PD for 3 years. She is now living with >me and at times stays with my brother. She does not sleep well at >night, she calls out and wakes us up at least every two hours. Or >she wonders around the house talking and crying out. I help her to >the bathroom and back to bed and then we do it all over again. My >brother wants to give her some of his sleeping pills, but I would rather >not do so until I have a chance to speak with her physician, I worry >about giving her anything because she is such a "light-weight" when >it comes to meds. I have some Klonopin 0.5 mg, which was given to >me by my physician, but until I get some sound advice from "those >who know" I will not give it to her. >Thank you all for your time and consideration. >Natasha (caregiver to Mom 71/3) >> yikes! is my first reaction to your message from your description your mother is suffering some sleep disturbance problems possibly heading in the direction of drug-induced psychosis which could very well be due to her pd medications; either over-medication or drug inter-action side effects it sounds like she has moved in with you recently and also sleeps at your brother's house sometimes? if that is the case she may simply be struggling with disorientation which may be being exacerbated by the pd meds i can't emphasize strongly enough that medications affecting our brain chemistry are not! not! not! to be dealt with lightly here on the pd list, some of us may give the impression that we 'self-medicate' fairly casually but please be assured that any meds i 'play with' are prescribed specifically for me by my regular neurologist and any 'playing' that i may do is solely in regard to doseage amounts and timing and has been discussed with and agreed to by my neurologist please please please ensure that your mother is seen by a neurologist who is an expert in pd and who is made aware of all of her pd and med-related symptoms who diagnosed pd in your mother? what type of doctor? what kind of meds is she on? what doseages, what schedules? how long has this disorientation been happening? what other changes, if any, in her lifestyle have taken place? i have posted some messages recently to the list in regard to pd's non-physical symptoms and med-induced psychosis if you have not seen them i think you would find them valuable under the circumstances i would be glad to send them to you privately rather than sending them to the list again please keep us updated as to your mother's condition your [and your mother's] cyber-sibling janet janet paterson - 51 now / 41 dx / 37 onset - almonte/ontario/canada http://www.newcountry.nu/pd/members/janet/ [log in to unmask]