My Dad has had Parkinson’s for around 13 years now. The last year or so his symptoms have worsened and we’re struggling to find the right treatment/help for him.
He’s now getting stuck in a chair for several hours at a time. For example (this is a particularly bad incident) he’s been stuck in his recliner since 6pm last night (it’s now 10:30am). On a regular basis he can be stuck for 2-3 hours at a time. This is obviously causing a lot of stress for him and my mum and we’re struggling for ways to best help him.
Is this a common symptom? And does anyone have any recommendations of what we can do to help?
Hi and welcome to our forum @NMRP. You’ll find everyone here very supportive and our members should be along to talk to you about their own experiences with this soon.
Your dad’s new symptom is obviously worrying. It’s actually quite common and is called freezing. You can read more about it here: Freezing | Parkinson's UK. Freezing can get worse as Parkinson’s advances and with stress and anxiety. You’ll also see some coping techniques on the page that you can try out. Do talk to his GP or Parkinson’s nurse for help with these as medication can also help…
If you need to chat with anyone about your concerns, do call our Helpline on 0808 800 0303. Our advisers will be happy to help.
Thank you. Seems like most freezing seems to happen whilst on the move - haven’t been able to find much information about being stuck for hours on end. Unfortunately, we don’t have a Parkinson’s nurse in West Herts at the moment, so really lacking support and guidance as to what best to do for him
Sounds like you are running out of dopamine. Go to your consultant or Parkinson’s nurse and ask for Madopar dispersible to give you a quick fix in about 15/20mins. Be insistent. This should not be happening but would be quite common at this stage.
