brohar,

I'm not a doctor, but I notice that you write that your mother has stomach problems.

There is a school of thought that h. pylori, for instance, can cause PD progression to accelerate. It is also thought by some that it affects the uptake of levodopa. It is worth considering other gut micro-flora as well.

John

Is it also facile to think that the stomach problems are a PD thing, as in being a symptom of PD, might they be a cause of some of your mothers problems?

Johnt's comments are what many, some even in the medical profession, think, we have no way of knowing yet...... it is worth looking into.....

There is something that happens when people have a chronic condition, and that is that everything is assumed to be part of that condition, or a symptom of it, sometimes we have to remind ourselves that we can get other things, it is easy to forget because PD hits us in such a pervasive way.

It is well known for instance that urinary tract infections can cause conditions like MS, and PD to become worse until they are treated properly. Remove the infection - and inflammatory process - and the neurological condition improves.

It might be worth checking....

You mentioned that your mother could take the IR tablets 'less often' until the stomach problems started..... a connection perhaps to some of the other things.....

First my sympathies for what sounds very difficult. PD is a movement disorder though and this mostly mental reaction esp. the paranoia makes it likely this isn't the PD causing her behavior. I suggest getting your mom in asap for a second opinion on her diagnosis and her medicine. Many drugs (especially sinemet) make people hallucinate, get paranoid etc. My ex MIL had a very similar reaction to pain meds and general anesthesia. She called at 3AM telling us the nurse was trying to kill her.

My Grandmother kept telling my mom she was afraid she'd trip on the orange cat in her room at her nursing home. Most of the family dismissed it. Sure enough there was a cat that frequented her room. My mom finally saw it. Part of her story could be true. Maybe she's having a reaction to food that makes her sick. Many PD meds are better on an empty stomach or they don't work, or she could be getting an overdose randomly happens on the same dose of sinemet for me. Protein and sinemet don't mix well. Read the warnings and side effects and what meds not to mix for all of her drugs. Many docs - including mine mixed what clearly stated on the internet is bad to mix. Diet is very important with PD.

I also have acid reflux so many meds made me very sick. It's impossible to understand me if I get od'd on sinemet. I sound drunk and psychotic but my thoughts are normal. I just can NOT communicate well. It can happen to anyone, it's one of MJ Fox's problems and most people with sinemet or agonist treated PD. Sinemet just isn't a perfect replacement for dopamine; hence side effects. It scared the heck out of my parents the first time. Plus I get low blood sugar and don't make sense-entirely different issue. My diabetic mom will argue she's fine sometimes when she's crashing. Could she have diabetic or hypoglycemia issues?

Doctors (more often than we like to think) over-medicate some people or she may be having a bad reaction to just one drug. I have one friend that became violent when given xanax to calm him down during a heart attack. If she's having panic attacks maybe they are over prescribing drugs to combat them or giving her a drug she's having a reaction to. OR that doc doesn't know PD drugs. Many drugs that calm people down have the opposite effect on some people, make them more excited and unreasonable, or interact with other medication.

PD drugs are some VERY serious drugs, they can be deadly as I am discovering in trying to quit or just taking them. Any one drug could be causing these issues or some badly mixed. PD typically ESP. after only three years doesn't do this.

There is a disputed dementia issue but usually in very advanced cases with much older people. After three years it's frankly very unlikely. This sounds like meds.

Frankly if she's this much worse in 3 years I would have her at other doctors IMMEDIATELY for second and third opinions. PD for the most part is a disease that does not crash in and disable people extraordinarily fast. Being 50 years old and having lived with PD for 10 years I recently found out that I didn't have PD at all. It was all caused by sinemet, the main drug used to treat it. If used inappropriately it can devastate people. I'm struggling to get off the drugs.

If you read the product warning information especially when mixed with other drugs you might have another look at what is going on with your mom. Her life in a "home" right now (unless she's a danger to herself) will be a poor quality one. Most of the people there will be 30+ years her senior and her social life will be horrible. Her decline will be swift. The woman that I worked with to help evaluate my long term care plans was very clear on the effect many younger people experience when being placed in "homes" before they are ready or before it was appropriate. My ex was trying to get me put into a home to get my part of our divorce settlement. This is not a way to go until you've exhausted all other resorts or more than one doctor agrees.

A friend's dad recently died of Alzheimer's. There are appropriate times for this level of care but this doesn't sound like it unless there is much you didn't relay. To qualify for coverage he had to be certified a danger to himself or 6 mos from death.

I do sympathize but this just sounds very atypical. Have you spoken with both of your parents together about this or at least your mom's husband? Asked what they both think? Does she want to go to a home?

READ about the psychiatric side effects of some of the meds she's on. I KNOW how devastating sinemet alone can be. I also had HORRIBLE reactions to mirapex (which is the drug commercial you see on TV with all the warnings about OCD behavior, gambling, sexual side effects, psychosis, hallucinations (visual, auditory, smell). Many of the other drugs cause serious enough side effects that people need serious psychiatric drugs. Is she seeing a psychiatrist? If not she needs to be evaluated by one familiar with movement disorders. This could all be very treatable.

I'm only a little younger than your mom and this chills me to think that she could be over medicated and really have no idea. Then be placed somewhere she might not belong due to a bad doctor. One doc insisted I needed immediate brain surgery...he was the one that misdiagnosed me.

To do less than a very thorough investigation with one or two MORE DIFFERENT doctors' opinions is to do your mom a big disservice. These are serious drugs and some very small changes could give your mom back herself. I sure wouldn't want my family putting me somewhere when I really needed their help to be sure my medication had not robbed me of a normal life. I heard another story this week from a friend who thought her husband was in end stage Alzheimer's only to find he was misdiagnosed and very over-medicated.

I know you just got married and these things are the last you want to deal with at such a time. Your Mom needs and deserves your best. We all must care for our parents at some level eventually. They kept us alive when we were helpless. We owe them the same even when timing is bad.

The type of care you're talking about is VERY EXPENSIVE if she doesn't have existing log term care insurance. She is not insurable now for new policies. This may not be feasible regardless. I urge you to get her re-evaluated and check your care options at the very least. This could have a very simple solution like meds change. Some day you might be in the same spot. Think what you would like done. We ALL get old & sick-I think we'd all like to fight for a chance if there is one.

I found a doctor that said he could cure a PSA of 50 when my Dad had prostate cancer. Most said this was fatal. He was cured and I still have my Dad. I beat cancer too at age 30 and I beat PD.

I hope you find a good ending.