How do you know what stage Parkinson's you are at?

[nh_user_540267]

My husband was diagnose four years ago, with Parkinson's, he is now 76

land put on dopamine,with problems writing and his speech, voice has gone really quiet, . The last six months he has deteriorated greatly,

with dyskinesia , from over medication, which his consultant will not change,

and severe drooling, 

but recently has shown a very defined stoop, and has problems walking  drags his feet, and sometimes falls.. 

He seems to have developed all these debilitating symptoms over a short period of time.. From first being diagnosed. 

His health before was ok, although he'd had 3 mini strokes, well before the PD s onset ..

is there or does anyone know, hoe you determine the 3 stages of Parkinson's .thank you. 

I'm at my lowest ebb. Watching him... 

[nh_user_253042]

Hi Rosemary 

He  needs his medication adjusted.. My mum was on dopamine and it just started to not work as it had before they increased it and she improved for a few months then deterioration again...

we moved home and the area we moved to had a parkinsons nurse ..I reccomend you find if you have one in your area and ring them.. She really assessed my mum and said she needed a background drug to help the dopamine work. They put mum on a 24 hour patch rotigone... The difference was amazing ... 

Mum was stage 4 at this point ..

stage 5 is when the dysplasia constant movement causes weight loss her weight went down from 12 stone 7 llb to 5 stone 7llb in 3 years ...she started to get parkinsons dementia which is caused by the drugs and is basically short term memory loss...

but positively up to 6 weeks before she died she was chatting away , feeding herself soft food due to swallowing problems but feeding herself , walking with a pusher , she was still enjoying life . Then she fell broke her hip and was too frail to survive the operation. She was 83 .. Had parkinsons for 10 years .

my advice he does not need to suffer the right balance of meds and he will improve ...sadly you are the one to ring and fight for him ..

and parkinsons doesn't kill you but the weight loss will . So get supliment drinks on prepscribtion...plenty of high calorie foods ...and he will improve and you'll have many more years together ... Hope you have a parkinsons nurse if not try and see your specialist soon.... Hope he gets sorted quickly all those symptoms can be reversed with drugs ...

[nh_user_539164]

I totally agree with Sally 14743!  Sounds like his meds needs adjusting.  Can you say what all meds he is on?  Even the ones not Parkinson's related.

[nh_user_2434]

Hi i am Helene, i was diagnosed with PD in 2004 i was 53 then im now 64.I was back and forward to the doctors with a tremmor in my right foot it took 4 years to get a diognoses,so by that time the tremmor was in my

arm and hand only on the right side.i had lots of simptoms i did not connect with PD like a frozen shoulder.neck and back pain,not swinging my

right arm when i walked,getting fatigue in my muscles,my hand writing.

All of the above i had at diffrent times some together.So was this the first stage? got my meds fixed and had a good 8 years with not to much pain. i have a parkinsons nurse ,and a great PD support group.if you can find out if there is a nurse for your area she will change his meds and try diffrent times Rosemary what is your area maybe i could find out for you if you dont mind.

[nh_user_540267]

Hi Helene,

my husband has quite a long list of meds, 

but his Parkinson so meds he takes are,

Co-beneldopa 25/100mg 3x PD 

Co- beneldopa 12.5mg/50mg 3 x per day, 

has to be taken on exact times of.  8 am, ..3 pm.. And 8 pm

Finasteride 5 mg . I  x PD for enlarged prostrate 

Amantadine 100mg 1 PD , for Dyskensia .

other meds are for

cholesterol 

Simvastatin 40 mg 

Ibersartan 300 mg 1 PD  for 

Metoprolol 50 mg  1 PD 

plus Aspirin.

we do have. Parkinson nurse, based at telford, and Shrewsbury hospital.

plus a local nurse, in shropshire who u only helps with advice on problems we have,other than medication. 

We Seem to have slipped through the NHS social services net, 

As his speech therapist, stated, we are waiting for a dietician, to call also, as he has lost 2 stone in a year, or less.

so I've put him on a high calorie diet,.. Full fat milky drinks, and 

food that is easy to swallow .

we live in Shropshire. Helene, 

ive tried to get his PD nurse to get him some physio which he did write Telford  hosp about , but have received a letter saying they won't help..

so back to his nurse again

he has also had his driving licence revoked, which came as no big surprise.. But I'm struggling to do everything myself.. 

Plus my heart health is not  great.. And I due to go into hospital in March, for a heart ablation, who takes care of my husband then.

and I'm not allowed to drive home.. 

Hoping I can get an ambulance car,, as its at the QE in Birmingham

well I hope you find something useful in my messages 

I thank you all for input.