Hi, I read in the new book from the NPF on medication, that there are drugs to reduce frequency/urgency of urination. This and the mild sedative you mentioned might help her get through the night. Also, the NPF has a comprehensive list of what they deem to be "Centers of Excellence;" even if one of them is not in your vicinity, you might call the nearest one and they might make a recommendation of a movement disorder specialist (a specialized neurologist) near you. Good Luck! ___________ Carol Lemlein wrote: > > My mother is 83 with PD for the last 5 years. Up until last September, she was > living on her own and apparently functional although her short term memory and > conceptual abilities were declining. She was taking the following medications: > 1 eldepryl > 1/2 Sinemet on awakening > 4 Sinemet CR 50/200's during the day > > Last Fall after experiencing a very bad episode of confusion, she was taken off > Eldepryl and the early Sinemet and had her Sinemet CR dose reduced to 2/day, > and she seemed much better for a couple of months. However, before the end of > the year, her PD symptoms (tremor, difficulty walking, etc) were becoming more > troublesome and her Sinement dosage was increased again one at a time until a > few weeks ago when she was back to 1/2 Sinemet and 4 CR's but no Eldepryl. > > She has suffered a very severe decline since the first of the year, with > increasing episodes of confusion, and general memory and conceptual loss, as > well as much less predictable response to Sinemet and increased incidence of > falling. We have had an MRI which indicated a minor stroke had taken place. > When she continued to decline, her neurologist ordered a CT scan to see if there > had been additonal stroke activity but this was negative. The neurologist > doesn't seem to want to do anything but manipulate the Sinemet dose, and has now > prescribed a mild sedative at bedtime because we cannot get her on a schedule of > sleeping at night and being wakeful during the day. Her aides and I believe > that a frequent need to urinate is contributing to her wakefulness at night. > > Does anyone know a neurologist in the vicinity of Irvine (where she lives) or on > the West Side of LA (where I live) who is more willing to work with patients > to find the mix of medications that work best for her? > > Carol Lemlein