Managing complicated Parkinson's

Posted: Wed Jul 09, 2008 5:59 am Post subject: Complications of Parkinson's

Many people do not realize that Parkinson’s Disease (PD) is one of the most complicated medical illnesses to manage. The complications of Parkinson’s are motor and non motor symptoms Motor symptoms consisting: 1. “wearing off” effect At the early stage of illness, patients generally feel “good” (the “on” period) for up to 12 hours after each dose of levodopa. However, the duration of the “on” period gradually shortens with time. When the “on” period becomes shorter than four hours, the patient is considered to have wearing off. ii) “on and off” effect The movement of patients fluctuates rapidly, sometimes within minutes, from “smooth” movement to “feeling stiff”. This occurs regardless of the time of ingestion of levodopa. iii) “delayed on” effect The effect of levodopa comes on only after more than half an hour (usually levodopa begins to work within half an hour after ingestion). PD is an illness that affects the body, mind and mood. Apart from the motor symptoms, there are non motor symptoms - hallucination, constipation, insomnia, fainting , weight loss and depression. About 10% of falls in elderly people result in injuries such as fractures of the hip or other bones. More than 75% of Parkinson’s patients have some form of sleep disorders These can be in the form of difficulty in falling asleep, reversal of sleep cycle (sleeping during daytime and being awake during the night) and excessive daytime sleepiness caused by medication. Difficulty in swallowing, which occurs in up to 40% of Parkinson’s patients, is usually mild to moderate in severity. It is commonly present when the effect of levodopa has worn off (?off period?). Cancer As most Parkinson’s patients are elderly people, and the risk of developing cancer increases with age, cancer should be seriously considered when a Parkinson’s patient loses weight. Any growth in the stomach or intestine leads to loss of appetite and weight. Other symptoms which are suggestive of underlying cancer are constipation, blood in the stool and abdominal pain. Therefore Parkinson’s patients do not die on parkinson’s but other illness.

Source: Selfless Warrior by Dr.NK Chew

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Dr. FernandezJoined: 20 Jan 2007Posts: 90
Posted: Thu Jul 10, 2008 3:41 pm Post subject:

thanks!_________________Hubert H. Fernandez