Hi Everyone,
My sister and I have just found out our dad has Parkinson's , We thought he had it last year but when we asked our mum she said no,
But this time when my sister asked her she said yes , he's had it a year and doesn't want us to know, he's 64, His hand shakes, he shuffles along, he sleeps a lot and it's really sad to see him like this as he was such an out going guy, he was the life and sole of the party, always being silly and someone who I could go to with any problem , but now he can barely hold a conversation with us. And I'm
sure he thinks he's no different than he used to be. It's very very sad. Anyway that's why I'm on here to try and find out as much as I can about it. As we have to , for the time being carry on as normal when we see him until he feels its time to tell us.
welcome. it must be hard to feel so hopeless when you want to help.however playing it the way your dad wants it is probably the most loving thingyou can do.
best wishes
best wishes
Welcome to the forum, Jojo1 --
I'm sorry your family faces this sadness. All of us on the forum know what you're going through. You don't mention whether your dad is taking any medications; maybe your mother didn't share that information. But at the outset of PD, I was amazed at how the first medication I took reversed all my symptoms! I had a sight tremor, an awkward gait, shrinking handwriting, trouble with cutlery, and an inability to control my legs when in a swimming pool. All of those telltale signs except the cutlery problem disappeared within a few months. If you can't speak directly to your father, tell your mother to urge him to get medical help if he has not done so already. That plus lots of exercise and a hopeful attitude are the best things I can recommend.
Sincere best wishes to you and your family!
I'm sorry your family faces this sadness. All of us on the forum know what you're going through. You don't mention whether your dad is taking any medications; maybe your mother didn't share that information. But at the outset of PD, I was amazed at how the first medication I took reversed all my symptoms! I had a sight tremor, an awkward gait, shrinking handwriting, trouble with cutlery, and an inability to control my legs when in a swimming pool. All of those telltale signs except the cutlery problem disappeared within a few months. If you can't speak directly to your father, tell your mother to urge him to get medical help if he has not done so already. That plus lots of exercise and a hopeful attitude are the best things I can recommend.
Sincere best wishes to you and your family!
Welcome from me too - that last post is so positive, and is just what I watched happen with my hubby who has PD too. Meds really do help. Agree also about the difficulties watching and supporting until it is the person with PD's decision to act. Its his PD! Its hard to watch and wait and gentle hint-drop, when all you want to do is help +++.
Its like that all the time for us who watch. My hubby has just changed his manual transmission car for a new automatic due to his left side symptoms - he needed to do this some months ago, but it took a while (and a fair few nasty gear changes!) before he was ready to accept it. He stood out on the pavement and watched his beloved old car being driven away yesterday, and was not particularly excited about the spanking new one sitting on the drive. Yes, it is so sad - really understand your sadness while watching. Each step on the PD journey must be so very hard for the person with PD too. Whatever Father-in Law's personal preference is for the equivalent of a big hug - a blokey outing, pub visit, meal, football, whatever....is probably what he needs right now, even if PD is never mentioned. Love and whatever is your equivalent to big hug. Dinky
Its like that all the time for us who watch. My hubby has just changed his manual transmission car for a new automatic due to his left side symptoms - he needed to do this some months ago, but it took a while (and a fair few nasty gear changes!) before he was ready to accept it. He stood out on the pavement and watched his beloved old car being driven away yesterday, and was not particularly excited about the spanking new one sitting on the drive. Yes, it is so sad - really understand your sadness while watching. Each step on the PD journey must be so very hard for the person with PD too. Whatever Father-in Law's personal preference is for the equivalent of a big hug - a blokey outing, pub visit, meal, football, whatever....is probably what he needs right now, even if PD is never mentioned. Love and whatever is your equivalent to big hug. Dinky
Hello Jojo, and a warm welcome, try not to despair ,a vast array of drugs are
available to help your father its a bit trial and error at first until you find the ones with right effect, I was diagnosed in 99 and tried every known ANTI PD tool in the box, eventually MADOPAR PLUS TOLCAPONE, worked well for many years until I became tolerant , and suffered accordingly, but now I have DUODOPA ,which is a life changing system, its not perfect but its eliminated 85-95% of my PD symptoms, it involves a pump and all the supporting gadgets but it works, so fear not you can get the better of this evil cruel disease , be strong
and all the very best to you and Dad.
Kindest Regards fedex
Hi guys
Thanks for all the support , He is on meds, He takes Madopar 100/25 and unfortunately he can't exercise much at the moment as he
Waiting for a knee operation , he's still working and driving. I just wondered what this will lead to, will he get a lot worse, will he get dementia, what causes it, who can my sister and I talk to about it. Any info would be great.
Thanks
Thanks for all the support , He is on meds, He takes Madopar 100/25 and unfortunately he can't exercise much at the moment as he
Waiting for a knee operation , he's still working and driving. I just wondered what this will lead to, will he get a lot worse, will he get dementia, what causes it, who can my sister and I talk to about it. Any info would be great.
Thanks