Hi all
Was just wondering please does anybody have any advice on how to cope as a carer with mood swings.
My mum is 83 and I’ve been her carer for the past 7 years,over the last few years she has developed quite dramatic mood swings,she can be fine one minute,chatty and fairly happy,then like a switch quite angry and a little aggressive with me.
Any advice greatly appreciated.
Thank you.
Hi @dollylancaster, 
I’m sorry to hear that you’re having difficulties coming to terms with your mother’s mood swing - I can’t imagine how hard this must be for you.
I just want to let you know that you are not alone, in addition to the support that you’ll receive here on the forum, there’s a lot of helpful information from other carers on how to look after yourself whilst caring for someone with Parkinson’s which you can read here: https://www.parkinsons.org.uk/information-and-support/your-magazine/tips/how-do-you-look-after-yourself-if-you-look-after-someone
We also have a carers section on the Parkinson’s UK website with multiple different forms of support depending on your need. Please visit this section here: https://www.parkinsons.org.uk/information-and-support/caring-someone-parkinsons
Lastly, we have a team of amazing advisers via our helpline service so if you ever need to speak to someone about your situation in more detail, feel free to give us a call on 0808 800 0303.
Best wishes,
Reah
So many posts come up if you type” mood swings” into the search thing – top right. Some examples:
“…I can sometimes being extremely touchy and moody , dont know if mood swings are a pd thing or not but some days i could fall out with myself and i can go from happy to moody at the drop of a hat ,
…I’m like a raging bull sometime its quite scary
…I am aware of mood swings. I have had sudden dips into a black space.
…the combination of different medicines can cause some very very awful side effects as was in my case, hallucinations both visual and tactile terrifying dreams severe dyskinesia and horrible black deppresiion , now if you add all these nasty effects together the resulting mood swings are truly evil ,
…My husband’s mood swings can be particularly perturbing as they are subtle. At first I think it’s me he’s angry with but then I realise it’s the Parkinson’s altering his cognitions.
… terrible mood swings and anxiety attacks - one minute I was on cloud 9, the next I was in the depths of despair.
…Sadly mood swings are a very big part of my PD. The worst part is feeling guilty and bad taking them out on the one’s you love. Bite your tounge if you can, learn when to avoid, enjoy the good times.
…a lot of unpredictable mood swings… for example I regularly switch from hyperactivity to listlessness - and maybe the very next day I’ll start in jokey high spirits, only to descend into a state of anti-social irritability by lunchtime.
…Are regular and quite severe mood swings likely to be linked to medication regime?
… recently has become very angry and difficult…having huge mood swings which are really upsetting. One moment he can be fine and the next he can be shouting really hurtful insults at me. I want to support him but it is really hard not to take his moods personally.”
Mood fluctuations in Parkinson’s disease: a pilot study comparing the effects of intravenous and oral levodopa administration I.Hegeman Richard, S.Frank, K.A.LaDonna, H.Wang, M.P.McDermott, and R.Kurlan Neuropsychiatr Dis Treat. 2005 Sep; 1(3): 261–268.
Fluctuations in mood have been reported to occur in up to two-thirds of advanced Parkinson’s disease (PD) patients who experience motor fluctuations. These can be frequent (occurring many times a day), dramatic (patients can shift from very depressed and suicidal to euphoric), and can be more distressing to the patients than the motor fluctuations.
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/6888781_Development_of_a_Patient_Questionnaire_to_facilitate_recognition_of_motor_and_non-motor_wearing-off_in_Parkinson’s_disease
to download: Development of a Patient Questionnaire to facilitate recognition of motor and non-motor wearing-off in Parkinson’s disease M. Stacy & R. Hauser Journal of Neural Transmission volume 114, pages211–217 (2007)
The presence of non-motor symptoms and their temporal relationship to the patients dosing regimens may not be easily detected during the brief time available in a normal office visit…In support of the utility of the tool, patients using the prototype WOQ-32 reported the wearing-off significantly more often than was recognized by their physician
Wearing-Off Scales in Parkinson’s Disease: Critique & Recommendations A.Antonini, Mov Disord.2011 Oct;26(12):2169-75.
Recent studies have reported that up to 50% of patients show the onset of motor fluctuations as early as 2 years after starting levodopa therapy or even within 5–6 months…For some patients, wearing-off frequently also includes reappearance of nonmotor symptoms such as anxiety, fatigue, mood changes, difficulty in thinking, restlessness, sweating, or increased salivation.