[Total Heckler]

Any of you guys have any experience with it? Do any of your family members/friends have it?

I found out today that my dad (only 47 years old) has a very good chance he might have Parkinson's. I found out that in the past few months he has been having trimmers in his left hand and I guess he has been moving slower than normal. One of his buddies called my mom to ask what was up with him. After that they went to a neurologist and he said that there is a good chance he might have it. They are going to start him on medication to see if it has any effect and go from there.

I'm pretty freaked out, I mean how quickly can things get bad? I really don't know too much about it.

****. Today sucks.

 

[goofy]

My great aunt had Parkinson's. Your father has it better off then she did due to the advances in medicine and treatment for it in the last 15 years (they came to late to help her she had it to long to help her). All I can say is if he has it you need to get good doctor and support him as this is a tough disease to live with.

 

[johnbryanpeters]

A couple of my neighbors have it; one's more severely affected than the other. Both are still living their lives.

Basic information:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parkinsons

Good luck to your father!

John

 

[I Are Baboon]

Sorry to hear about your dad, man. Best of luck to your entire family.

 

[brungeman]

wow, this has been a tough couple of months for you. I wish you and your family the best, but I do agree with Goofy, that there have been some pretty good advances in medicine in the recent years!

keep your head up!

 

[Zark]

Damn Josh, sorry to hear that.
Best wishes to you and yours.

 

[OrthoPT]

Once his MD's get his medication stabilized, you might want to try to get him to a good Physical Therapist with a good record of treating people with Parkinson's. Studies have shown that a good, supervised exercise program will enable him to maintain good muscle control, strength, and endurance for a longer time.

 

[wannabeabonedoc]

Sorry to hear that man. I wish your father and your family.

It seems kinda hokey, but I know this works: take him to see an osteopathic doctor, and ask him to do a "lymphatic treatment" including a "pedal pump", he can help him maintain his ability to move around on his own and keeps stuff flowing.
It's what we've been studying lately in med school (parkinsons vs huntingtons vs alzheimers etc....

 

[Toshi]

Sorry to hear that man. I wish your father and your family.

ditto. g'luck.

It seems kinda hokey, but I know this works: take him to see an osteopathic doctor, and ask him to do a "lymphatic treatment" including a "pedal pump", he can help him maintain his ability to move around on his own and keeps stuff flowing.
It's what we've been studying lately in med school (parkinsons vs huntingtons vs alzheimers etc....

and how do you know this works?

my advice to the OP is to not get sucked in by incredible claims from any side. this includes the witch^H chiropractors, osteopaths, and yes, the allopaths ("regular doctors").

from uptodate, which reflects a sane, evidence based viewpoint. you can look up any of these individual drugs on wikipedia if curious.

SYMPTOMATIC THERAPY — The decision to initiate symptomatic medical therapy in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) is determined by the degree to which the patient is functionally impaired. The timing of this decision varies greatly among patients but is influenced by a number of factors, including [1]:

The effect of disease on the dominant hand
The degree to which the disease interferes with work, activities of daily living, or social and leisure function
The presence of significant bradykinesia or gait disturbance
Personal philosophy regarding the use of drugs
The major drugs available for symptomatic therapy include (show table 1):

Levodopa
MAO B inhibitors
Dopamine agonists
COMT inhibitors
Anticholinergic agents
Amantadine

 

[Alpha Kenny Body]

That sucks man!!!!
It also mean you have good chances of getting it too, maybe its time for you to do whatever you can to hold the disease. Eat lots of vegetables and keep riding hard.

Best wishes!

 

[OrthoPT]

Here are some sites I found that might help. Best of luck to you and yours.
-Danny

http://www.webmd.com/parkinsons-disease/physical-occupational-therapy

http://www.newhopeforparkinsons.com/web/pid/52/

http://neurology.health-cares.net/parkinsons-disease-therapy.php

http://ezinearticles.com/?Potentials-of-a-Parkinson’s-Disease-Physical-Therapy&id=345792

 

[N8 v2.0]

my grandpa died from it back in the early 70's....

now there is a lot more ways to deal with it.

 

[Silver]

There are some pretty amazing drugs out there. My aunt's husband has it, and he's made some pretty great strides in the last couple of years, due to some of the new stuff. I think l-dopa now...

 

[Total Heckler]

Thanks you guys. I am going to hope for the best in this situation and I guess we just have to wait and see what the final results are from the doctor before we all start preparing for the next step.

Thanks for all of the information and everything guys. It has been a pretty crazy year so far for me like brungeman said.

 

[SloMoJo]

Oh man ... 47 ... that's young!
Best wishes.

 

[SCTreeHugger]

My grandma was diagnosed with parkinsons like 13 years ago. She went through an experimental surgery about 2 years ago where they installed electrodes on her brain to stimulate a certain area to stop the symptoms of uncontrollable shaking. It worked really well. Her shaking is nearly completely gone, and she can get around relatively well. She still needs drugs but not as much.

There is no evidence that it is hereditary. So don't worry!