pros & cons of being tested for Parkinsons when already have dementia

terlibrarian

My mother is in her early 80s.  She has been diagnosed with vascular dementia.  She has an appointment in July with neurology to be tested for Parkinsons.  What benefit is this?  When I search online for treatments of Parkinsons, I find recommendations of exercise and good diet.  But my mother refuses this "nonsense."  My father is worried that if she gets a diagnosis of Parkinsons in her medical record it will affect their medical insurance.  My mother's gerontologist is carefully monitoring her medications to reduce falls, which are happening about once every 3 weeks now (this frequency has slowed down, thankfully, from the beginning of the dementia diagnosis).  My mother doesn't have the tremors associated with Parkinsons.  I would like to hear about your experience. 

Thank you, Teresa

Jo C.

Hello Teresa and a very warm welcome to you.   I am sorry for all that is happening and can well imagine the concern and stress this is bringing; being an only child of your parents also makes a difference.

As for the diagnosis for Parkinson's; I personally would move forward and have that done.  There are SO many health and function issues Parkinson's can cause and by the way, not all people with Parkinson's get tremors or develop them later.

While using diet and exercise to assist with the symptoms of Parkinson's can be helpful, there are indeed meds to be used to treat Parkinson's symptoms as the disease progresses and symptoms evolve and increase;  Falls are not unommon due to the change of gait and stiffness and rigidity of Parkinson's; there are meds to help with those significant changes..   I am including a link to Mayo Clinic that discusses Parkinsons - when you read the Mayo link, when you get to the bottom of the first page there will be a large blue arrow for getting to the next page where medications are discussed.

https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/parkinsons-disease/symptoms-causes/syc-20376055

There are multiple different types of dementia of which Alzheimer's is only one type.  Parkinson's Disease carries with it a high risk of developing Lewy Bodies Dementia which is different from Alzheimer's.  It is important to have your dementia specialist, hopefully a good Neurolgist, make an accurate diagnosis for type of dementia.  This is crucial as meds to treat one type of dementia can be contraindicated in another and make things even worse; this is so in regard to Lewy Bodies Dementia. LBD also often carries with it behavioral issues which can become an important issue,in all of this.  Knowledge is power and you will need that knowledge as time moves forward, and having that knowledge will also bring the best treatment plan for your mother which of course affects the quality of life not only for her but also for her loving family.

As for insurance being affected by the diagnosis of Parkinson's; I am at a loss to understand why your father would think that.   I also wonder what type of insurance he is concerned about. Medical insurance has no difference when it comes to that disease; could he be thinking of Long Term Care Insurance and the premium being raised?    I cannot imagine that it would make any greater difference for that diagnosis from her being diagnosed with dementia and to my understanding it is questionable that type of insurance can be raised based on a person's medical diagnosis.  Perhaps you can have him clarify his concerns.  As it is, it would be unconscionable to withold adequate treatment for a diagnosis based on insurance rates. 

I would like to also suggest that it would be helpful for you to place your Post on the Caregiver's Forum.  You have landed on the, "I Have Alzheimer's" forum; it is not as well attended and the Members on this forum are usually those who actually have dementia themselves.

If you go to the Caregiver's Forum, you will get more input from other Members. .

You have found a wonderful place to land for support and input from experienced family members; we are indeed all here in support of one another and that now includes you too.  Your parents are blessed to have such a lovng and caring daughter.

Sending warm thoughts and best wishes from one daughter to another,

J.

jackcorel33

Recent studies following people with Parkinson's over the entire course of their illness estimate that 50 to 80% of those with the disease may experience dementia.

Pres

So how to accept that my husband who has PD, doesn’t recognize as his wife

Jo C.

Hello Pres, and a very warm welcome to you.   So glad you have joined us; this is an excellent place to land for feedback and support.

NOTE:  However; you have landed on the Forum, "I Have Alzheimer's," and you are also "buried" in someone elses Thread and more than likely your Post will not be seen.  I would like to make a suggestion:  Most of the people on this Forum have Alz's themselves and it is also not a very well attended Forum in numbers.

You would be seen and get much more feedback if you went to the Spousal/Partner Forum and sstarted your own Thread.  You would get more input from other Members and benefit from their experiential wisdom and kindness.

To start your own Thread, all you need do is to go to the Spousal Forum and then enter the title of your concern in the green

Jo C.

Hello Pres, and a very warm welcome to you.   So glad you have joined us; this is an excellent place to land for feedback and support.

NOTE:  However; you have landed on the Forum, "I Have Alzheimer's," and you are also "buried" in someone elses Thread and more than likely your Post will not be seen.  I would like to make a suggestion:  Most of the people on this Forum have Alz's themselves and it is also not a very well attended Forum in numbers.

You would be seen and get much more feedback if you go to the Spousal/Partner Forum and start your own independent Thread.  You would get more input from other Members and benefit from their experiential wisdom and kindness.

To start your own Thread, all you need do is to go to the Spousal Forum and then enter the title of your concern by clicking on the green box at the top of the page where it says, "Add Topic."  You simply enter the title you wish to put your message under; then go down to the larger space that is there and type your message. 

You will then have your own stand alone Thread with title and wait for return messsages.  It is always a good idea to keep checking back for about a week for new messages; Members are here at different times and some on different days, so it is good to keep checking back.

You can enter a Post on anyone's Thread to give your own input and can do this in any and all Forums; there are no restrictions for that.

In any case, we are so glad to have you join us and are looking forward to getting to know you.  I shall look for you over on the Spousal/Partner Forum.  See you there!

J.