[Jeffrey88]

Hello everyone,

I'm new to the forum here and am trying to seek some information about my father. He is 58 years old and was diagnosed with Parkinson's about 4 years ago. Not really sure where to start here and I'm try not to make this an excessively wordy post.

He's been to a couple different doctors in the area to get different opinions, both of which have a connection to each other. Originally he was diagnosed with Parkinson's based on his slow movements and small writing. In both scenarios the doctors/neurologists staff gave a visual inspection, spoke with the doctor/neurologist and an opinion was gathered from there. He was then given dopamine, but this is where things kind of took a turn per say. Once he started taking the drug, side effects started to show up which would mimic someone having Parkinson's. He began to have twitches, even slower movements, seizing up/unable to move, tremors, and worsening in posture. Beyond that, his mood also changed very very drastically as well.

Now just a bit of background here. He did have a very stiff back previously to this diagnosis, he does work construction and had hurt his back during sometime in his career field. He was going to a chiropractor very often as well. He's seen multiple chiropractors over the last decade, I would safe probably five different ones. One of the last ones he went to, he was having appointments 2-3 times a week, near the end of seeing that one particular chiropractor his left shoulder would drop lower than his right for a short period after his appointment and he would also drag his left foot. He also attended physiotherapy a little while afterwards for about a year which didn't seem to help at all either. But the issue with physiotherapy therapy was that he didn't preform any exercises after the classes which he was suppose to.

Going back after the time he was diagnosed with Parkinson's, there was a time where he was worse which would have been around the period where he was still new into taking the dopamine. Currently he is much better than he was, yet still doesn't show the signs of Parkinson's besides the slow movements, yet when he ups his dosage on dopamine, that's when those other side effects start to pop up such as extreme stiffness, twitches, etc. I also forgot to mention earlier, which regards to his small writing, he's gone this every since I could remember. Even when I was a child and he wrote in notes to the teachers, the teachers had a hard time reading his writing because it was so small (that was over 20yrs ago). I've known people with Parkinson's over the years and both our current neighbours have Parkinson's as well.

Now unfortunately my father doesn't have much of an active life so I would assume that doesn't help out his situation that much. I know it's been a known fact that people who have been busy all their lives in their career, not having a desk job, well that can be hard on one's system. He doesn't have really any hobbies either which probably doesn't help his mindset either. Most of the time he will sleep for 12hrs a night, then take a couple one hour naps during the day. It's not that he's tired, it's more just to pass the day by. The rest of the day he'll sit in his chair and watch television. I know there's quite a few things that have bothered him over the years as well, so I'm not sure if it's somewhat added up of the years and now he's in this state now. More serious issues in life such as retirement, the house, me not being able to get work in my field, etc. I've read up on dopamine and have noticed it has side effects on moods too. Probably one of the biggest issues with him currently is his excessive mood swings. He's not depressed per say, just really miserable, stubborn, and unreasonable. Another thing which I've noticed as well that I never mentioned earlier was he's been having severe anxiety after taking dopamine. Both my mother and I have also been trying to get him out going for walks, excising, going swimming, sauna, and he doesn't have an interest whatsoever. Everything that I've spoken about here, we've brought up with my father. He won't take anything into consideration at all. It's really hard for us...

I do apologize if I have gone around in a circle in a couple places. There's just so much information I'd like to be put out to make sure someone gets a grasp of the situation. Within the last 6 months it's all been incredibly hard both on both my mother and I. Any input is greatly appreciate and thank you for your time in advance.

[Jomar]

I moved your thread here to our PD forum for more replies.
Members here can help to clarify if it may or may not be PD..

Is your dad still on the dopamine now, or did he stop taking it due to the effects caused?

Sometimes drs will rx it as a test to see how you respond, did he go for a follow up and tell them about the changes?

But if the slow movements and small writing are the main issue they are going by , I would wait on any meds until more clarity of symptoms.. esp when you say his writing has always been small..

I know members here usually suggest a MDS - movement disorder specialist..for best diagnosis.

Also just because they rx a med , doesn't mean you have to try it or stay on it, dependent on the type of med of course, some cannot be stopped cold turkey..

Often it takes many follow ups or phone contacts to get meds adjusted properly if PD is the condition.. it isn't a here take this and see you in 6 months.. you have to let them know what issues are happening..

With all the chiros- did he ever see one that did the upper cervical adjusting?
That might help w/ the crookedness part of things.
www.upcspine.com has lots of info about that.

Feel free to read the sticky threads at top of the PD forum thread list page & browse other members threads while waiting for more replies..
http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/forum34.html

[Jeffrey88]

Thank you I wasn't sure where to post my thread originally.

Yes he is still on dopamine, he has been taking it for about four years. Before he was taking about 3-4 pills per day, currently he'll take 5-6 pills per day. The worst part is he doesn't remember exactly how many he takes or what the times are. Once he was on the pills that's when the side effects started showing up. He did go in for a follow up and the doctor's reply was to increase the dosage per day. We also brought up the fact about anxiety issues and the doctor's response was everyone has anxiety, it's normal. No he can't just stop taking dopamine either because there will be serious side effects from cold turkey. Apparently he has to slowly stop taking them by reducing the dosage.

He's also been through for x-rays and mri's both on his back and neurological related. He does have spinal stenosis, but the doctor said it's not a serious form. Nothing has shown up in mri tests either.

I don't believe he's had upper cervical adjustment either.

Another thing which I forgot to mention in my original post is that his physical condition changes hourly. He'll have balance issues, leaning forward, and very slow moments, go outside for 15min and then it'll completely disappear. Mood is the same way too actually. Just this morning he was angry for absolutely no reason, went to lay down for an hour and got up like nothing happened and his mood was completely different. Then as for bed movements, sometimes he'll need help in bed to move, other times he'll get up with absolutely no issues. But that can even happen within the same night or evening. He does go to bed much earlier than my mother and I.

[Jomar]

I can share my experiences we have with my dad & his PD doc.
She will listen to mom, dad & I when we have a concern and make adjustments to meds if there is a need.
All for the best for his mobility and how he feels.

She never has brushed off our concerns..

She has tried anti anxiety meds a few times but they don't seem to work well for dad , so he is off those after a short trial each time.
He is also on a very small dose of Mirapex along w/ his carb/levadopa.
It may help the other med work better -but for some it has too many side effects..

Is your dad on any other meds for anything beside the dopamine?

If the doctor he is seeing for PD is not a specialist you may have trouble getting the most knowledgeable care for him...

[Jeffrey88]

Originally Posted by Jo*mar

I can share my experiences we have with my dad & his PD doc.
She will listen to mom, dad & I when we have a concern and make adjustments to meds if there is a need.
All for the best for his mobility and how he feels.

She never has brushed off our concerns..

She has tried anti anxiety meds a few times but they don't seem to work well for dad , so he is off those after a short trial each time.
He is also on a very small dose of Mirapex along w/ his carb/levadopa.
It may help the other med work better -but for some it has too many side effects..

Is your dad on any other meds for anything beside the dopamine?

If the doctor he is seeing for PD is not a specialist you may have trouble getting the most knowledgeable care for him...

Thank you again for your reply

Its incredibly hard here to get any appointments with the doctors. Both he visited were specialists as well. Any tests which are done or just visits could take anywhere from six months to a year. He's not any other medication. The only thing he'll take once in a while is Ibuprofen.

Does your father as have his mobility change throughout the day? Like with no particular relation between days or times?

[Jomar]

Yes sometimes he has brief "freezing" spells and more or less has to wait for his feet or body to move.

Meds aren't 100% for that part of it..It is a PD thing..

Are you able to contact the dr by phone or email?
Often for a minor med adjustment an office visit is not really needed..

He might need a pill divider box that has sections for each day & morn/ noon/night etc.. to help him keep track of when taken..

[Jeffrey88]

No not really the freezing spells but more like dragging their feet, slower movements, and leaning forward.

The only medication adjustment has been strictly up to my father. Some days he'll take more pills than others. Now it's more common for him to increase the dosage as opposed to before.

Yeah I do have his doctor's contact info. I'll see if I can speak with them about his current condition.

I never though about one of those actually. Thank for that that, that's a great idea