My 89yo father was diagnosed with PD in Jan 2022. It was always suspected but never formally diagnosed for various reasons. Since a fall at the end of August my Dad seems to have experienced a very rapid decline and magnification of his Parkinsons symptoms. He was hospitalised for 3 weeks, 4 weeks ago, because he was found to have severely low sodium levels 122. He was discharge 5 days ago with a ‘normalised’ level of sodium of 129? However he has come home even worse than he went in. He is no longer continent of urine, and cant even walk about his house with his stroller. We have to use a wheelchair to transfer him from chair to bed etc. He also now requires assistance to eat. where as 5 weeks ago he was fairly independ when eating if not a little messy.
My GP says that Parkinsons is a slow progressing disease and he is surprised at the very big step changes in my Dad. He himself is shocked at my Dad’s sudden decline.
He has increased is Madopar dose slightly and we are continuing to review.
Has anyone had any similar experiences that might provide an explanation?
Has he been tested for a water infection? We have been told that if this happens there is usually an underlying reason.
Hi
Yes a couple of times but only the sodium issue found and adjusted.
Hello, sorry to hear about your dad. Not exactly the same but my dad had a bad fall and was also in hospital for a couple of weeks. He ate hardly anything as food so bad, he was put in a dementia ward which meant no chats with others so no stimulation. With the fall he also wasn’t moving around like he usually would and therefore not able to get to the bathroom as normal. I believe the combination of everything made him anxious and disoriented and basically this fall seems to have triggered a cognitive decline. He is out but is very distressed with the reduction in mobility, which has meant using adult pads which is just for night time TG. We also discovered early dementia was a factor.
How is your dad eating, do you think the meds are being absorbed? Could your GP organise any therapeutic referrals etc. Did the hospital assess your dad before he was discharged and a plan put in place? Could your dads PD consultant have a chat with you, even by video call? Is your dad linked in with a PD nurse or continence nurse? You might have to fight for above, to help your dad achieve the best outcome.
Hello thank you for your reply, sorry I havent logged on for awhile its been a bit busy here. Yes dad was in a bed and really not mobilising a lot, he perked up when a chap moved in opposite him who was chatty, for a few days but otherwise was with gentlemen who were not so talkative and very confused. i went in twice a day to assist him to eat two of is meals. He has now had a visit from the Parkinson’s Nurse at home, and was given a memory assessment, which he didn’t do too well on 11/30. we are trying to persevere with a convene system to help him with urinary urgency when he cant mobilise on his own now. But its frustrating, we have good days and bad days with that. I have drawn the line at having to fit a sheath on my dad. I do help him with other personal but he doesn’t really like me doing it, much prefers a carer to come in - the daughter father relationship we want to try and retain. Dad eats quite well now he is home - but continues to need assistance to some degree with feeding. I really dont feel there was much of an attempt at assessment and I didnt see a discharge plan even though I kept asking, it was a hurried discharge in the end we convinced everyone that we already had support in place in our home, which we did but it wasn’t adequate for his new needs we discovered very quickly.
Hi i missed your reply, sorry. I tend not to always log in when browsing and i must have missed it. I hope things have settled a bit since March but if not, you could try requesting an assessment with your local council. Even if you could have a carer for some part of the day or evening, to set your dad up it might be a bit of peace of mind for you and allow your dad some dignity. I hear you about the father daughter relationship, its a very difficult sitation as is without adding those kind of tasks in. Mind yourself too x
