My mother in law has recently been diagnosed with PD. She has a positive outlook (she is a doctor and understands the disease and its limitations). However, she has asked her family for support, mainly in finding out about new therapeutic venues, medicines, and life changes that might make her Illness progress slower. I am at a loss in the subject, so any information and opinions on your experience will be very much appreciated. I will of course do my research, and she is in the care of her neurologist, but we’d like to gather as much information as possible. She is currently taking an antidepressant, as her doctor does not wish to start her on ldopa yet.
Thank you for your time and for creating a space of support and listening.
Hi and welcome to our forum. @Mer. The members here are a very friendly and supportive group and I’m sure they will be along to talk to you about their experiences soon. We’re here for you.
Your mother in law is very lucky to have you to support her after this diagnosis and it’s really fortunate that she’s thought things through and been able to say exactly what she wants from all of you. That’s a huge start.
You may already know that everyone experiences Parkinson’s differently and that their progress is also very individual. You can’t slow down or stop the symptoms, but you can treat or manage Parkinson’s, making symptoms easier to cope with. This can be done in a number of ways. Reading this page: How does Parkinson's progress? | Parkinson's UK will shed some light on what can help. There is a wealth of information on our website so please explore.
If your mother in law has a Parkinson’s nurse, they will be very well placed to suggest other things to her. As well, our Helpline advisers can be a good source of information. You can call them on 0808 800 0303 from Monday-Friday: 9am to 6pm and Saturday, 10am to 2pm., or you can email [email protected].
Hopefully, this will set you on the right path as you all move forward with the diagnosis and treatment plan.
Sorry to hear about your mom-in-law, but as you say she is a Dr so knows the details.
Have you tried going into the MJFF site, they do give a lot of information about PD.
Hello Mer and welcome to the forum
I’m not sure exactly what your mother-in-law is wanting and as you say you will do your own research but sometimes although not very scientific it is worth taking a shot and see what comes up - often something unexpected turns up and you get a snowball effect ie one page leads to another. For example I just tried putting ‘where can i find research into parkinson’s?’ into the search - take a look it may give you a starting point for your own research. Good luck with that.
May I just make one observation on your post - your mother-in-law may well understand Parkinson’s but there is a subtle difference between knowing about it and having it. It can be something of a double edged sword that you understand what is happening doesn’t necessarily mean the coping strategies are anymore reliable or effective than anyone else’s. It may be something that she isn’t expecting. Just thought I would mention it so you would be aware.
Tot
