My mother who is 84 has had Parkinson's for about 4 years now. Recently she has started to complain about a nasty 'fuzzy' head usually in the afternoons. She is on Stalevo and half Cinemet CR. This is really distressing for her as she cannot function whilst this is going on and only seems to get relief if she can lie down. Anyone recognise this or have suggestions about the cause and the possible remedies? It is really destroying what quality of life she has. We are going to get her eyes tested too but she had new glasses recently so may not be that. Many thanks for reading!
I`m sorry for your mother`s problem. I wouldn`t assume that it`s the PD meds causing the fuzziness although you could talk to the pd nurse about it. If she thinks it unlikely then she should see her GP. Or see the GP first if that`s easier. Hope she gets it sorted soon.
It's so difficult to unpick what's PD, what's PD meds, and what isn't PD at all. I think I'm inclined to say PD is guilty till proved innocent. Before dx I had what I could only describe as a "fizzing" in my head - a type of tiredness which got better if I rested, which went pretty soon after starting meds. So, yes, I'd finger the PD to start with, and hence either too little or too much dosage. Yes, I'd get her to see her PD nurse or GP - the "cannot function" is a clue.
Hope this helps, and best to your mother
Semele
is the stavelo recent? i've heard of some other people having a similar reaction
Thanks for the responses here. She has been on Stalevo for two or three years now and her Parkinson's doctor and the nurse don't seem to take the fuzzy head seriously although she has mentioned it a couple of times and they increased her half Cinemet. She is on a really high does of everything it seems including Rotogotine patches. I am not sure there is a solution........
perhaps 'fuzzy head' is too vague for health professionals! perhaps if it was put in more definite terms it might spark a reaction - eg trouble concentrating, memory problems etc. there are treatments for that sort of thing.
Hello Salsalady, My wife has PD but my Mum, who is 87, doesn`t, but she does have, what she calls a fuzziness come over her at times of the day. There`s no way of knowing what the cause is, she takes various headache remedies, which do work sometimes, though she`s always been one for awful headaches, I can remember that from being a kid, same as her bad feet caused by corns. I`ve been trying to think of a solution to your Mum`s problem but I`m afraid I haven`t come up with anything. It`s almost certainly nothing to worry about but try `phoning her PD nurse and discussing her medication, you never know your luck, Cowboy101, And Merry Chrisrmas and Happy New Year, from Cowboy101 and Wife.
Hello. A 'muzzy / fuzzy / fizzy' head for some can be linked l-dopa it seems, normally around an hour after taking it, i.e. a peak dose effect. Could this be the case?? Is there Selegeline or Rasagaline a.m. also? Is your Mum eating enough lunch? Not likely a low blood sugar problem, but worth bearing in mind... Back to the nurse eh? Best wishes.
I am 62 with PD for three years and get this symptom which some call "washing machine head".
When it comes on, it can last for the entire day or only a few hours.
It completely incapacitates my thoughts and function and for me is a major symptom of my PD.
I normally lay down for a while and think nice thoughts hoping it will fade out.
I suggest it may be caused by either being over or under dosed with Leva Dopa.
Arsene
HI.. YES I GET THE SAME MUZZY, WOOZY HEAD AT TIMES. I FOUND THAT TAKING MY REQUIP XL AT NIGHT INSTEAD OF IN THE MORNING HELPED, ALSO I HAD MY BLOOD PRESURE CHECKED AS THE PD NURSE THOUGHT THAT COULD BE A PROBLEM, IT WAS FINE AND I DO TAKE BP TABLETS, AGAIN AT NIGHT. TIGHT NECK SPASMS MAKE THE HEAD MUCH WORSE AND IT CAN LAST A LITTLE WHILE OR ALL DAY. ALSO EATING REGULARLY AS MENTIONED ABOVE IS VITAL I FIND, AS IF MY GLUCOSE LEVELS ARE ALLOWED TO DROP I AM VERY WOOZY AND SPACEY. HOPE THIS SHEDS A LITTLE LIGHT FOR YOU......BEST WISHES
Firstly a big thanks to those who welcomed me on my introductory post...I also get bubblehead for want of a better name. It comes and goes throughout the day and is accompanied by very light headedness and the sensation of bubbles bursting around my head. I worry that as I commute to work, London Transport, that I shouldn't stand near the edge of the platform, just in case I feint or the like on to the track. I also have low blood pressure which doesn't help but before the PD I didn't suffer light headed spells. One of the main symptoms is the feeling of tightness, like a tourniquet, around my head just above the ears, across my brow and tied in a knot where the spin meets the skull. is there anyone out there with similar ails. Dollymaz I like some of your suggestions and also take my main meds at night along with Angina meds morning and night.
Hi Teapot...what a great description Bubble head is...and very accurate, and the tightness like a band also. Mine i am certain comes from the neck, especially when ive sat at the computer, laid awkwardly overnight (that is the worst usually) or get cold then the neck goes into spasm and the tightness increases. Last week and the week before i rang the PD nurse as i felt rough and she thought it was because i have been on anti biotics for a chest infection and it had affected the PD. I felt i needed more meds as the trembling and weakness was bad and i felt low and teary. She didnt give me extra tablets and said i would probably feel easier after a week and she would ring me back. Well within a few days the symptoms did improve and the trembling calmed etc, what a weird disease this is.........isn't it? you just never know from day to day or sometimes hour to hour how you are going to be. Enjoy the good times i guess...today i hit the shops with my Son who had the day off work and we had lunch together and some laughs and PD was the last thing on my mind....he is a real tonic anyway, but what a difference a day like today has made.....i feel rejuvenated, positive and happy.........long may it last ay?
all good wishes to you, and keep posting 
Dollymaz, you've hit the nail right on the head twice. In the beginning before I was diagnosed the Chiro and Physio spent endless hours on my neck all to no avail, the spine specialist?? injected me several times again without success. Recently the neck pain eased considerably but I can't turn my head to any meaningful degree, the pain is back again but I don't help often dozing off without neck support. The PD nurse is still convinced the combination of heart and Parkinson's medication is playing havoc with my BP and that may well be contributing to bubblehead but what about the tightness..
I also understand about your feeling good and bad in the same hour. Recently looked forward to a treat for my wife and I from our daughter, afternoon tea in a posh hotel, I felt good until an hour or so before hand when I could feel myself going down. I took a couple of Ibuprofen and pushed myself to the limit. It was sometimes hard but i got there and had a good day. It was fun but I should have remembered that wives and daughters like to walk around shops. More enjoyable was to see them enjoy themselves.
It's good to have an outlet like this forum I'm sure I'll post again soon I'm waiting for the consultant to respond to the DVLA, i don't want to lose my driving licence.
Two weeks ago I started with a fuzzy head; first it was when I woke up at 6am and the room started spinning - just like it used to when I was a lot younger and had too much to drink, then through the day I felt distinctly funny, fuzzy head is a good description! I contacted my PD nurse since I was not happy, she was very positive that I should change my medicine so I went to see my doctor and she prescribed a new version of the medicine. I have not seen any improvement after a week now. So I'm trying to get to see my consultant quickly; a long hope since he is very busy. I am managing fuzzy head feeling by concentrating on other things though the spinning room is not very nice!
Hi Jolliffee....that is such a horrible feeling isn't it? could it be your BP ? or your neck, maybe the way you were laying or an inner ear infection there are so many things that can cause a fuzzy head and spinning sensation. I am pretty sure now that mine is from my neck, i have had lots of physio and steroid injections and it is not like it all the time. Also when i first went onto PD meds last year i was given RequipXL and took it in the mornings, but my head was all over the place, i felt very tired, awful woozy head, nauseas and basically "away with the fairys" for several hours. I decided that maybe i would take them at night instead, and for me that helped, mind you i discussed it first. When i was first put onto Levadopa i experienced the same wooziness but not quite so bad also nausea but that did settle down. Do you find that in the mornings you feel nauseas as well and is that when you feel off balance? Best wishes J 
Hi Teapot....Yes i think you are right re the meds being affected by other meds. I was told the same by my nurse that it was possibly affecting my BP but that appears to be ok. It is so lovely when you feel good, though it doesn't seem to last or follow any pattern does it? i find i have moments when i think wow i'm back to how i used to be, then ....and it can be that quick, that the symptoms return. I said yesterday that i felt good, well today hasn't been bad but a bit trembly, nauseas this morning (and im def not pregnant LOL)!! i'd make a lot of money if that was the case! I have a friend with Parky, she is had PD for many years. she is late 70s and drives, her licence was not taken away. I also still have my licence though i lost my confidence to drive and haven't tried for 2 years!! My nurse rang me today but i was out so she is ringing me back tomorrow to discuss the dosage of levadopa...so i will let you know what she says. I really believe that PD targets the weak areas, or so it seems to me. I have arthritis in my lower spine and neck and both are worse since having PD. Im sure that i am not imagining it. This is a great forum isn't it? it is comforting and reassuring to be able to chat with others who understand...and we all try and help each other. It has certainly helped me. Keep smiling
I found an old set of posts along the same lines here is the link for info.
Looks like it is just one of the weird PD side affects
Thanks jollifee for the link....i have just read them and it does look like this is quite a common thing doesn't it? also the jumpiness....i was drying my hair and my Husband came to say something to me and i screamed and jumped out of my skin! i was never like that before, but i do find i jump sometimes now with a sudden noise. Have you experienced that at all?
So many symptoms from PD and the meds....it is so difficult to distinguish between the two.
I find I do jump now at sudden noises, usually at night in bed when my husband coughs I jump and have a flash of bright lights in a pattern. Weird !! ?
Ho ho, what I love about this forum is its validation of of these 101 second-order effects. I'm with you Dollymaz on the jumping out of your skin thing. i never used to do it.
And yes, it's impossible to distinguish between the PD and the meds. In a sense it doesn't matter; we are a combination of the two.
S
I have also had the coloured lights like looking through a kaleidoscope...it really scared me the first time....it has happened twice...once walking and it was very cold and the second time just after i had come out of the swimming pool. it seemed to be the left eye and it was gone within 15 minutes or so. I suffered migrains for years but i didn't have any pain with this....is it the PD or meds again....you are right Bambi...it is all pretty weird