Mother in law newly diagnosed - looking for advice for Dr. Appt
 

Hello All!

I am an old member just returning. My 85 year old Mother in law was just diagnosed. We are going to an appt with her to a doctor near us in LA for a second opinion and wanted to ask if anyone had any suggestions for questions we could ask the doctor on treatment protocol, etc. Thanks in advance for any thoughts.

Shelley

Hi, watsonsh,
As someone with MS, I don't know a lot about Parkinson's but I'm wondering about the second opinion you're going for. Is that because there is some doubt about your mother-in-law's diagnosis?

Before you go or maybe while you're at the appointment, it might be a good idea to find out how many cases of Parkinson's the doctor treats on average, unless the doctor is already a specialist in Parkinson's. You might be surprised by the number of neurologists who don't really know that much about one particular disorder or other.

Older folks find it harder to tolerate new meds and new procedures. If the doctor wants to prescribe something or do a test that involves a lot of time and discomfort, I'd definitely find out all I could about just how necessary that suggestion is before taking it.

I wish you and your mother-in-law good luck and hope that she will be in the care of a doctor she can have confidence in.

Hi.
What are her symptoms and how bothersome are they in her daily life?
There are many levels of PD and the symptoms and something called Lewey Body that is closely related.
I'd also consider her activity level, if she is still very active then a dx and tx makes sense.. but it might be more stressful for her to chase dx and tx .