Parkinsons Q&A
How bad can Parkinsons Disease get?
My dad has parkinsons disease, and I want to hear the truth off someone. How bad can it get? I don't want to hide from the truth if it is what could happen to my dad. I am 18 so I can deal with it!
Public Comments
- Really difficult to say. It can vary from mild to debilitation. Its progressive but no everyone gets the bad form
- im sorry to hear that. my grandma has parkinson's. she is 71. she was diagnosed with it in 1995 so its been 14 years. it has gotten worse over the years. especially in the last 2 years or so. she has fallen about 5-6 times and she has trouble sleeping because her back and legs hurt so bad. she can't walk very well. parkinson's can also cause people to develop restless leg syndrome. overall it isn't that bad until about 5-10 years down the road. the disease gets worse and worse and time goes by. unfortunatly the medicine they give for it doesnt help to much and it can have a lot of side effects such as hallucinations and insomnia. i hope everything goes well. if you have anymore questions feel free to email me. ill try to help you out. crankthatjesuschrist3@yahoo.com
- I shall say the worst disease of old age. You are a young boy, I do not want to scare you but even do not want to misguide but all of you should get prepared mentally for the worst situation. With the lapse of time he will forget all the things and you have to help him out for his daily activities. You should follow the Doc's advice and he is the best help provider too. In medical terms it is non curable disease. Even the President of US was not able to recover from it. May God give you strength in this hour and you take it as His wish.
- First of all I am sorry to hear that your Dad has Parkinson's disease. I assume that he is still rather young which might mean that slow progression is on his side. Below are two of the scales for measuring the stage progression of Parkinson's. I've only listed the last few stages of the Schwab & England ADL because that is sufficient to give you an idea of the degeneration that can occur. Hohen and Yahr Scale Stage one: Symptoms on one side of the body only. Stage two: Symptoms on both sides of the body. No impairment of balance. (this is not true for all patients - some have balance issues early on) Stage three: Balance impairment. Mild to moderate disease. Physically independent. Stage four: Severe disability, but still able to walk or stand unassisted. Stage five: Wheelchair-bound or bedridden unless assisted Schwab and England activities of daily living I am only listing the end stages because that tells you how bad PD can get. 30% - With effort, now and then does a few chores alone or begins alone. Much help needed 20% - Nothing alone. Can do some slight help with some chores. Severe invalid state 10% - Totally dependent, helpless 0% - Vegetative functions such as swallowing, bladder and bowel function are not functioning. Bedridden A few immediate causes of death for PD patients: PwPs have trouble swallowing, they often choke and when they do they can inspire particles of food into the lungs which leads to aspiration pneumonia. Because stiffness, rigidity, bilateral tremors, balance, contracture are symptoms it is not surprising that the next leading cause of death is from falls. What is important is that you and your family not look at PD as an instant death sentence, the patient is not waiting to die. Rather than being a PD patient, be a person who happens to have PD. By being informed about treatments which can slow the progression, knowing about diet, exercise therapy programs, nutritional supplements (vitamins, antioxidants, herbal supplements) regular medical massage patients can have significant impact upon progression. There are some very promising treatments in the pipeline and the slower your Dad's progression, the better the chances that he wil have that these treatments can help him when they have reached the market. While it is important to understand where the journey can end, it is also important to know the stops along the way. How to get the most out of each step and perhaps even stay in one place for a few years. That's what we're doing about my husband's PD. Trying to hold the line with Azilect and Isradipine, trying to improve his muscle weakness through massage and exercise, controlling the tremor with CoQ10...the list goes on. I can be reached through Yahoo Answers and at through Contact Us at the site below. Best wishes you you and your family.
