I am the care giver for my wife who has Parkinson's. I need help & support in dealing w/her new irrational behavior & forgetfulness. She is a sharp intelligent person who has lost her edge.

Would like to hear how others deal w/this type of change in behavior

Mahalo

Stan from Honolulu

What medication is she on and how long. Parkinson's meds can affect behaviour, especially Mirapex.

Our thinking is slower but most of us still have all our intelligence. Maybe just bearing with her as she puts her ideas together will be helpful to her.

Yes we get forgetful, as does everyone that ages, but I have noticed that I'm very distractable and I can't keep track of a lot of different things going on at once. It's also very difficult to perceive time going by or to estimate how long it will take to do things.

There's much good family information available from the National Parkinson Foundation at www.parkinson.org or any of the big charities.

Best of all, read this board as much as you can for insight into our difficulties. Everything becomes a struggle for us, and it helps if our families can see that we're not stupid, just slower in many ways.

Jaye

dear stan,
this is when your love for her means the most, she is toxic -
she takes PD meds -the medicine is making her too acidic,
I quit taking all the prescriptions offered to me, and they -still offer me more?
I have had PD for 15 years and I am thankful that G-d hears our prayers,
I walked a mile yesterday, and my husband left me, and the drugs made me insane -mainly mirapex yet leva dopa carbidopa can do the same thing,
I take it - ie ; sinemet or what was referred to as sinemet before the patent was up - yet I do not over use it... I take motrin and very little klonipin -and thats it on meds -
research and you will see - there is no reason to give up -
she would not give up on you, if the tables were turned -
study -research and have hope.
if you doubt me -go by pH tape usually found at a health food market -like wildoats* -check her by testing her saliva when she awakens before she has brushed her teeth, or had a drink of water,
the colour blue is great -the pale yellows and sickly yellow greens show she is off balance in her blood,
balance is hard but if you can make her blood less acidic - she will become healthier,
mainly we are made of water -the life is in our blood... what kind of water does she drink?
research please dear stan...
sincerely,

you need to speak to your Neuro and ascertain whether this decline is due to drugs or PD or a particular mental state (perhaps shock if newly dx'ed).

Just because someone has PD doesn't mean their mental faculties have to decline.

Neil.

Stan,
We need more information regarding her drug regime in particular.
Also what does the neurologist you consult with have to say?
Does he have a special interest in movement disorders, in particular P.D.?
A general neurologist in my case knew very little about behavioural changes in a PWP (though this isn't always the case) so the expertise of someone who treats almost exclusively PWP would be good.
There are other causes apart from drugs that could be the cuplrit.
Ask him also if any of the parkinson plus syndromes could be considered or excluded from her presenting symptoms.

The irrational behavior may be part of the disease itself or a byproduct of drugs she is taking. My father had PD and had irrational behavior. My mother would distract him from his obsessions; for example, by offering him ice cream, or redirecting his attention somehow.

Punding can be caused by levodopa:

""Punding" is a stereotypical motor behavior in which there is an intense fascination with repetitive handling and examining of mechanical objects, such as picking at oneself or taking apart watches and radios or sorting and arranging of common objects, such as lining up pebbles, rocks, or other small objects.[1] Punding differs from compulsions in that performance of these activities is not distressing to patients and it is only if the act is interrupted that any compulsive urge becomes apparent."

Punding in Parkinson's disease related to high-dose levodopa therapy

http://www.neurologyindia.com/articl...2;aulast=Kumar

"The previously reported cases were women in the age group 65-72 years, similar to our case."

The duration of disease was 10-20 years and they were receiving levodopa at a dose of 500-1900 mg per day, which is similar to our case. Symptoms subsided after decreasing the dose of levodopa in all. Therefore, punding is thought to be related to excessive dopaminergic stimulation.

In conclusion, one should be aware of the possibility of punding in patients with PD on long-term dopaminergic therapy, especially levodopa. As punding is not distressing to the patient, the history may not be volunteered. Failure to recognize this early may be a source of discomfort to the patient and carergivers, whereas early diagnosis can result in prompt relief of symptoms.

My dad had PD, and extreme anxiety, and no drug helped him with that.

Anxiety disorders in Parkinson’s disease

http://www.ingentaconnect.com/conten...00004/art00007



Abstract:
Clinically significant anxiety syndromes are a common problem in PD, with prevalence rates of up to 40% of patients with Parkinson's disease (PD). Although limited attention has been paid to PD-related anxiety disorders, they contribute substantially to morbidity and caregiver burden. In some patients, the anxiety syndrome is a prevailing problem, over and above the impairment related to motor dysfunction. There is also evidence that anxiety disorders in PD are fundamentally related to underlying neurodegenerative processes. While anxiety syndromes occur in isolation, there is also overlap among anxiety symptoms and signs, PD-related depressive syndromes, PD motor phenomena, and effects of antiparkinsonian medications. Together, these factors can contribute to the misattribution of pathological anxiety as a normal psychological reaction to motor-related disability, and, hence, reduced recognition and treatment of a discrete anxiety syndrome. The primary aims of this article are to review the clinical features of the different anxiety syndromes in PD, describe the potential interplay between motor, cognitive, and affective abnormalities, and discuss the proposed mechanisms of anxiety disorders in PD and related .

*********************

BOOK EXERPT:

Mood and behavior in disorders of the basal ganglia

http://books.google.com/books?hl=en&...VTrHDwtUXZYMFU

Extended sleep problems can make one loopy and are common in PD. Could easily be mistaken for dementia.

I guess I would suggest dealing with behaviors as consistently as possible, ignoring the undesirable behaviors as much as you can. It would help if you were familiar with how much you can or cannot expect from her. [and you probably are] Sometimes, it can be helped, but mild cognitive impairment is part of the package, including paranoia. As people treat us differently, our "circle of trust" gets smaller.

She needs someone she can count on all of the time. Anxiety comes from all of the unknowns. Even though you can't control her thinking, you can control your reactions. Two people out of control is chaos. i don't know who has it harder - pwp or carepartner.

paula

of course medication is a major factor, as well as exercise and doing something you like.