A sad story of Parkinson's family

A sad story of Parkinson's family

i heard you are going to seek a second opinion from another doctor. Im really thankful for the time and effort that u spend on my dad. I shall now give ya a brief summary of my dad's illness. Basically: 1) In accordance to his doctor and you, he indeed suffers from PD. He has difficulty carring out his daily activity like walking short distances or even remain seated for a short period of time. He was given MADOPOR( 250 mg 0.5 a tablet, 3 times a day) and LEXOTAN( 1.5 mg 0.5 a tablet, 3 times a day) from the doctor. I believe my dad does suffer from PD but i am not very convinced by your claim that he has reached the later stages of PD. Yes, i agree that PD runs in a family as it is hereditary. However, i do not believe that my dad's condition is like what u claim- the later stages. Reasons to support my humble opinion: Firstly, my dad indeed has got limitations to his movements. However, on certain occations, he has the ability to get up from the bed or even walk short distances without any help from anyone. This shows that my dad's condition is not as severe as you have claim (ie only have got 6 mths to live?!) Moreover, my dad is able to carry out most of the task that his physical trainer asked him to do. For example, he is able to walk to the NTUC outside our house with the trainer, or even have luch with his family members. He often complain tightness of his stomach when seated down for too long. In my opinion, I conclude that my dad is indeed surrfering from PD. Its in fact rather common that many patients develope symptoms before the age of 50, especially if PD runs in the particular family. However, my dad's condition is not as bad as what many may think. My dad definitely lacks CONFIDENCE. He always has this fear that he will fall to his death. Its due to such unnecessary fear that he has which causes him to lose canfidence in himself, thus losing to PD too! We, as his family members have put in tremendous effort for him to build up his confidence, but our efforts were in vain. Should he not be able to get over his own fear, how can one help him? My dad too may be suffering from IBS. This problem also comes with age. As a person age, their muscles will definitely weakens while some may just lose their functions. However, this issue is no long posing to much of trouble to him as we moninter his diet closely, with the help of his physical trainer of cos. He consumes other suppliment such as Methycobal( a form of vitamin) and S- Factor. Occasionnally, he still suffers but constipation but is not as frequent compared to the past.In addition, my dad's back problem may have also affected his bowls movement. My dad too show symptoms of depression. He is always very negative and also says that he will die anytime. As we are his family members, we shower him with much love and concern as we know that the love from his family members means a lot to him when he is suffering from depression. However, there are many times whereby he completely shut off our care and concern for him. For example, when we wan to dine out on a particular day, he would always just want to stay at home and not leave home no matter how we persuade him. Many of his relatives drop nasty comments saying that ' we neglect him', 'only wans money from him' , 'wan him to die' and i believe U heard much more. Are such comments necessary? I do not think so. Should we not care for him, would we even try to cheer him up everyday? Would my mum always pray for his health without fail every day? Would his children buy his fav food (expensive cake) for him? Trust me, the list could really go on and on. If we are like what THOES SINNERS claims, we could have just jolly well throw all responsiblity to the trainer and maid and not give a DAMN to anything. Did we? Definitely not. Im really thankful that you care so much for my dad, i am also saying thank you on his behalf. I may have wasted much of your precious time, however, I really need to clarify things and not let my poor mother being labled as a lousy wife when she has done so many 'behind the scene' stuff for my dad. I would be anticipating the opinion of another doct regarding my dad's condition. Hope to hear from you soon! Regards Hon Wei
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RichardJoined: 18 Aug 2007Posts: 38
Posted: Sat Sep 01, 2007 5:40 am Post subject:

You are a wonderful daughter. Your love and concern for your Dad pour through your words. He is fortunate to have you in his corner. I understand your Dad. There are days I feel the same, like I will fall to my death or have nothing good to say. So far. I am able to keep these thoughts private...away from my family. There may be a time when these feelings show through though. I hope not, but cannot know. I am amazed by your strength. There is a part of him that realizes the sacrifices you are making on his behalf. Don't let his disease become who you are. His disease is not who he is.
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Dear Hon, I am so sorry to hear of your family’s and father’s troubles; so much could be avoided by just a bit of caring and sympathy on the part of family members. However, I am not certain that you meant to address this post to me. I am not a physician, but a registered dietitian. I do not diagnose or treat PD, my area of practice is with nutrition-related concerns. Therefore, I could not, and would not, attempt to diagnose, nor determine his stage of, PD. I do think that it’s a good idea to make sure he has supplements of vitamin B12, as we don’t always metabolize (digest) this well, as we age, and the symptoms of deficiency can mimic those of Alzheimer’s disease. I also think that servings of fish, if he will accept it, would be very good. Fish contain omega-3 fatty acids, which benefit the brain and nervous system, as well as the heart; if deficient, it can result in a type of depression that is not well-treated with medication. It sounds to me as though you and your family are doing a fine job of caring for your father, and it is a shame that other family members do not appreciate this. Unfortunately, this happens all too often. Try to keep up your good work and trust in God, who sees and knows your efforts, and also hears and knows of the nasty comments from his relatives._________________Best regards, Kathrynne Holden, MS, RD