A happy* accident

spandit

Registered User
Feb 11, 2020
348
0
*don't get your hopes up too much.

My father has been with us for just over a year and from very early on it was apparent that he had some form of Parkinson's disease, but no official diagnosis. Largely due to COVID, we were unable to get him properly assessed and since Christmas he's been having a lot of falls.

We eventually managed to secure a visit from the Parkinson's nurse and were looking forward to her coming so we could see if there were any treatments that might help. However, the day before, I received a 'phone call telling me she'd been redeployed and so the appointment was cancelled. We were, as you might imagine, very disappointed.

However, two days later, a district nurse turned up (unannounced as usual!) as he cut his arm a couple of weeks ago and she wanted to check it out. She remarked that he seemed very stiff and asked if he had a diagnosis of Parkinson's. We told her that the nurse had been redeployed and it turned out that she was that nurse! Not expecting any miracle cures but if we can get him a bit more mobile that would help as he has hardly left his room this year (which has actually made things easier for us as we have the rest of our house back)
 

MaNaAk

Registered User
Jun 19, 2016
11,754
0
Essex
I think someone was looking down on you. Here's hoping that you all get the help you need.

MaNaAk
 

nitram

Registered User
Apr 6, 2011
30,081
0
Bury
She remarked that he seemed very stiff and asked if he had a diagnosis of Parkinson's
One of the diagnostic tests for Parkinsonism is the cogwheel test.
This is usually performed on an arm, the forearm is straightened and slowly bent upwards to test if the movement is jerky as if moving on a cogwheel.
 

spandit

Registered User
Feb 11, 2020
348
0
One of the diagnostic tests for Parkinsonism is the cogwheel test.
This is usually performed on an arm, the forearm is straightened and slowly bent upwards to test if the movement is jerky as if moving on a cogwheel.

Not long after he arrived here two people independently asked if he had Parkinson's because of his gait. There is a mention of Parkinsonism in his medical notes but it's been much more pronounced recently. The carer called me the other day as she couldn't get him out of the shower - I went to help and he was frozen and his speech was a nonsense babble. With some difficulty we got him onto the bed and almost as soon as he sat down, he started speaking normally again. He's been really tired for the last couple of weeks. Don't know if he's fighting a virus (I've had a persistent cold from since before Christmas) or whether his kidneys have taken a turn for the worse (he's had multiple urine tests and just completed a course of antibiotics for a UTI).
 

nitram

Registered User
Apr 6, 2011
30,081
0
Bury
My wife had LBD.
To start with it was undecided whether it was LBD or idiopathic Parkinson's and she was being treated by two consultants mainly because medications for one condition can be contraindicated for the other.
After various scans the decision was LBD although a repeatedly asked question was 'which did you noticed first memory or movement problems'.
 

spandit

Registered User
Feb 11, 2020
348
0
My wife had LBD.
To start with it was undecided whether it was LBD or idiopathic Parkinson's and she was being treated by two consultants mainly because medications for one condition can be contraindicated for the other.
After various scans the decision was LBD although a repeatedly asked question was 'which did you noticed first memory or movement problems'.
Which did you notice first? Doesn't LBD give hallucinations?
 

nitram

Registered User
Apr 6, 2011
30,081
0
Bury
Not in any way relevant to your case, settled on memory which was a vote for LBD.

LDB can cause hallucinations, so can idiopathic Parkinson's although some of the drugs used against parkinsonism can also cause them.
 

Lorna44

Registered User
Jul 16, 2016
229
0
Surrey
My mum had Parkinsons with dementia, which is a lot like LBD, lots of hallucinations etc, but she had the Parkinsons first & the dementia/hallucinations & delusions followed about 5 years later. So that is why she wasn't diagnosed with LBD. X
 

spandit

Registered User
Feb 11, 2020
348
0
People with Parkinson’s tend to have a specific smell about them.
Really? He's incontinent and has CKD so that tends to be the overriding factor. I have a very limited sense of smell anyway (not due to COVID, unless I've had it for about 20 years) which can be a blessing at times.
 

Banjomansmate

Registered User
Jan 13, 2019
5,395
0
Dorset
Talking to my nephew last week about sniffer/medical detection dogs and assistance dogs and how they are trained to recognise signs in their owners he mentioned it about his father who had Parkinson’s for about 30 years.