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For those who may not of read this article. I think it is very helpful. www.caregiver.com/articles/parkinsons/parkinsons_disease_with_dementia.htm |
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http://www.caregiver.com/articles/parkinsons/parkinsons_disease_with_dementia.htm I think this is the link (we have to put the "http://" before it) sometimes it's hard to get links for sites to work. |
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So, does it matter what "type" of dementia a person has? My mom's neurologist has NEVER even mentioned her dementia and her primary doc has her on the Exelon patch for dementia but doesn't ever say what kind of dementia it is. I didn't realize that it wasn't directly related to PD; I thought it was just part of the PD process. Is this something I should be checking into more with the docs? |
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Interesting article, thanks for the link... It mentioned however, that there is usually a time lag of several years between the onset on parkinsons and signs of dementia. But may I ask, how many of your younger LO's who showed signs of cognitive decline early on (within a few years of dx) have been diagnosed with a PD+ illness and how difficult was it to get the correct diagnosis? |
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Daisy ... cognitive issues were one of the first signs we noticed.... We brushed it off as having to do with a head injury 10 years prior, so we didn't really look to hard into it....Thinking it was Post concussive syndrome at first, not having med. insurance we just didn't go after it hard enough...that was at the age of 48/49, 5 years ago. The stiffness and physical aspects we thought were arthritis and just general beating up of the body, we had no clue. We saw a neuro who at first said RLimbS as he had no real visible tremors, then we went onto PD, then when we got disgusted with this neuro we sought out a Movement specialist who dxd LBD. However, he did say he was under the umbrella of all the PD plus diseases but for "insurance" matters, he had to find one specific dx so went with LBD. My guy is a little different as the doc noticed. He has a combination of symptoms but not all of one specific PD+ disease. Since the cognitive issues were so prevalent, that worried us more than the actual physical aspects at that time. Now almost three years into it, there still is no "line" . It is so difficult to dx PD+ diseases and not all neuros are on top of this. A movement specialist is the best if you have any questions on the pd+ dx. I know several here on the board who have had PD longer than a few years and still have no dementia.. Lohengr1n is one of those. He's had PD a very long time and at least from his posts you can tell there are no cognitive issues. Having a head trauma injury puts you in a different category to begin with. There are so many different things that can and will go wrong. We also on the board here have come to several enlightenments ourselves as to chemical exposure and intelligence. Some others who are no longer with us were doctors, surgeons, physicists, engineers, accountants and many others with high intelligence. Who knows, maybe our dx is wrong, but, i trust what the movement doc did and how they came to the conclusion. We were there about 3 hours, answering questions, giving history, symptoms, they checked his gait and so on... a very complete exam was done...regular neuros don't have the time to do this type of testing unless they specialize in it...... |
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"Does it matter what type of dementia". I would say yes. If the parkinson's came first and was followed by dementia than it is most likely PDD. However, if the dementia came first followed by parkinsonism than it is most likely LBD. I am not sure this is a hard and fast rule. However, the neuro should be able to tell you specifically about your husb's dementia. Since everyone follows their own course here regarding these diseases than the treatment would be geared towards the individual. |
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Thanks for the link. I was under the impression that if we could get the meds right, the blood pressure right, the hydration right, the antidepressants right, then she'd recover some of her cognition. But I now realize, this is not going to get better; it gets worse by the week. The bio kids still do not see the need to move her to assisted living. Everyone around her, the caregiver, the housekeeper, her neighbors see her 'failing' yet her own children are 'afraid' to move her. I married into this family 35 yrs ago and I still have no clue as to how to get it through their thick heads. Maybe they ALL are demented!! I come from a family that calls a spade a spade and gets on with it. This other stuff can drive you to drink. |
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I'm revisiting this as we have had PD for 12 years and we are now experiencing full out dementia. Especially at night. I thought I remember someone calling this sundowner or something like this - ? |
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Parkinit, sundowning is when a person with dementia becomes activated and/or agitated in the late afternoon or early evening -- around the time the sun goes down. It's quite common. My father starts around 4 PM, roaming around his house looking for something or trying to go outside. My dad didn't develop cognitive problems until about 15 years after his diagnosis. We tried the Exelon patch, and it did help, but unfortunately it worsened his tremors to the point where they were really bothering him, so we had to discontinue it. Sue |
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Parknit...reposting this...i posted it a while back but this is a great article on sundowning, causes..etc.....you just may need a change in times with meds...... http://cursa.ihmc.us/rid%3D1GM097FD0-1SFSKL8-1FVH/sundowning.pdf |
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Thank you for the article link. |