[b1ghr0ll3r]

Hi guys.
My poor grandmother has been really suffering over the years but especially over the last year or so. She was diagnosed with bipolar disorder in 2004 after 20 years of being treated for standalone depression. In the last year she has had Parkinson's like symptoms. When she saw the neurologist for the first time they were convinced it was the lithium and risperidone causing the tremors... Time went on & shes deteriorated more & we were still convinced it was Parkinson's. My grandfather took her to the neurologist today & the news wasn't great... He's still convinced it's her psychiatric medication causing her issues but cannot rule out Parkinson's so they're starting her on Carbidopa/levodopa & they would like her to see a psychiatrist to have her psychiatric medication reviewed. It's a very emotional time for my grandfather as he is caring for my grandmother full time & she's able to do less and less things alone as time goes by. I understand that Carbidopa/levodopa does not stop the progression of the disease.
What can we do for her that can make her life easier ? We all feel so helpless at the moment.
TIA guys

My grandmother on my mother's side and my grandfather on my father's side both had Parkinson's. My grandmother lived with it for several decades. For the last 20 years of her life, she was pretty incapacitated. She had difficulty walking. Her speech was mostly unintelligible. She was unable to write or even type because of the tremors and eyesight issues. But her brain was always VERY much intact. It was always important to remember that in that shell of a body was an extremely sharp mind. (Some Parkinson's patients have concurrent dementia, particularly in Lewy Body disease, so it might be different for your grandmother depending on how the Parkinson's is affecting her.) As a family, we always continued to involved her in our activities. We took her to church. We took her to concerts. We watched her favorite television shows with her. When she could no longer even read, we got her books on tape or read to her. We talked to her like she was all there -- because she was; it was her body that had left her, not her mind. It wasn't easy. Getting her up and dressed and out in her condition was very hard work, but we were determined to help her preserve as much dignity as possible for as long as possible.

[b1ghr0ll3r]

Hi lolagrace thanks for sharing your story with me. I don't feel as distraught now I've read your post. Afaik she has started the Parkinson's medication. I hope she goes on to live a long while like your grandmother has because I don't know what we'd do without her. We plan to help her as much as we can & make sure she has a comfortable life

[cakeladie]

My sister in law was dx with parkensens about 20'years or so ago. She has trouble walking and her voice is almost gone. She still drives butbshe should not. It's been hell on the family. She has had 2 or maybe 3 brain surgeries to help with the symtoms.

I would say get the medical review for her psych meds and see what happens from there. If you guys still think it's parkensens then find a doctor who's specialized in it

Good luck

[b1ghr0ll3r]

Thanks cakeladie, nan is booked in to see the GP this week for a blood test to have her lithium levels checked (this is meant to be checked regularly to my understanding but for some reason has been overlooked) & she will hopefully get a referral to go see a psychiatrist to have the meds reviewed once she gets the results from the blood test back.

[notz]

How is she doing? Any results from the evaluations?