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hi all At 05:32 1999/08/25 EDT, lorrie wrote: >Hi all, >Since December I've been helping my mother take care of my >stepfather with PD. He has REALLY gone down hill in the >last year, let alone the last month. >5 years ago he was working and more or less asymptomatic. >10 months ago he got a cane, >8 months ago he got a walker, >4 months ago he got a wheelchair, >and now he can't perform any of the 5 activities of Daily Living. >When he's doing well he can feed himself...for a little while. >What is this stage called? end stage? Where are we in the >stages of Parkinsons? >We know it is going very fast, but realize we don't know very >much about how this terrible disease ends. Should I call his >daughter in Europe who plans to come see him in December? >We've been successfully fending off pneumonias from swallowing >problems, still combatting urinary infections, and dementia. >Transfers have become very difficult for him. He can barely >stand while we reposition ourselves to complete the transfer. >Sometimes he goes into a strange mode during the exertion of >a transfer: he gets glassy eyed and stares into nowhere... >can't hear us or remember during that time. We usually seat >him quickly and wait for it to pass...it takes about 1 to 5 >minutes. Is anyone familiar with this? It's been going on >for about a month. >Tonight was kind of scary. He was doing well and we went out >to eat. We took a bus with a lift so no transfers were necessary. >He ate pretty well but 4 or 5 times during dinner he would grab >the table with all his might and grit his teeth. I thought it >resembled someone grabbing something to steady themself when >dizzy, but maybe it was pain, maybe it was a different kind >of tremor. We asked him but wasn't able to get much response >as to what was going on. Even afterwards. The scariest part >to me was once when I asked what he was feeling, what was he >experiencing....he said "Light" or "Life"....we're still not sure. >anyone familiar with this kind of reaction? Is it a tremor? >Is there anything we can do to help him during it? >Anyways, Thanks for listening...and please be frank on where >we are with this and what to expect. >Lorrie step-daughter/PT caregiver to Gerald 78 yrs/71 at diagnosis lorrie i will be very frank: what is wrong with this picture? 1. the speed of deterioration 2. no details of gerald's med intake 3. no details of gerald's medicos and their qualifications what is right with this picture? 1. Lorrie, step-daughter, found us and wrote to us lorrie, i am not belittling your situation i am stunned by it i can only say that i suspect very strongly that what gerald is suffering from is not from the pd but from the meds he has been prescribed which begs the question - by whom? i would advise very strongly that gerald's symptoms and med intake over the past two years [minimum] be analyzed by another doctor or two or three however many it takes to find one who specializes in pd and has lots and lots of pd patients [i.e. happy customers] what you have described reeks to me of drug-induced psychosis [lots of details in the list archives - if you want help digging it out, just ask me] there is a ton of ignorance out there about pd in all fields of endeavour and in all walks of life it is not only a sad situation but also a dangerous one which can be fatal as we have witnessed here in this group please please get gerald to another doctor and please read joe's story it's on my website in the pienet section i consider it requuired reading for anyone associated with pd janet janet paterson 52 now / 41 dx / 37 onset po box 171, almonte, ontario, canada, K0A 1A0 a new voice: http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/Village/6263/ [log in to unmask]