Parkinson’s dementia question

Rescue mom

Apologies in advance if this is too repetitive; I recall similar issues here before but didn’t pay attention like I should have b/c my DH has Alzheimer’s.

Now a family member (let’s say Bill) has Parkinsons, which seems fairly advanced. My LOs are helping with care. Bill doesn’t keep up with his meds, and other needs (like cleanliness and dressing, he is certainly incontinent) . Caregivers seem to think he *can* remember meds and other things, but chooses not to. Health professionals say Bill needs to be in a facility, and that’s being worked on. Meanwhile, my LOs  are trying to help him at home.

I was mostly curious whether Parkinsons has dementia like Alzheimer’s, in which DH can no longer deal with meds or even a pillbox...How much can be expected, cognitively, from a Parkinsons patient? Is it even comparable to Alzheimer’s? Or too individual to say?

jfkoc

Absolutely. Parkinson's can have dementia associated with it as well as many non-motor problems.

https://www.parkinson.org

M1

Oh yes RescueMom, it can have dementia just as progressive as Alzheimer's.  Frustrating for all involved and potentially dangerous for him if they don't recognize that.

Lp57$

Hi Rescue Mom! yes my DH has Parkinson’s with Dementia and if it was not for me he could not keep up with his meds. He just don’t remember.  They also will forget people they love also plus having to deal with the tremors and trouble walking. Hope this helps.

Rescue mom

Thanks so much to all for this input. Now I need to get my LOs acting as caregivers to read some of this. They seem to think it’s all physical. And indeed, I have known a very few people with Parkinson’s, but their issues seemed to be all physical until the very end. Now I know that’s often not the case. Thanks again.