Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with parkinson's

SSDI claim rejected - help needed.

Tullyogallaghan — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 15:19:07 -0800

A relative's husband has come down with Parkinson's Disease in his early 60's. His application for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) has been rejected and he had his wife are devastated as he is unable to find a job so they were counting on this income. Does anyone know of a free advisory service they could go to who could help them in the appeal process? There are tons of "for profit" agencies and law firms who do this work but, due to their circumstances, a free service would be better. Thanks for any information.

Help find a gift for my Grandpa with Parkinson's

fishmasta — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 21:07:55 -0800

What do I get my Grandpa who can't do much anymore? My grandfather, who has always been a pretty active person (sports, building things, other physical projects), is in his mid 80s at this point with early, but definitely debilitating Parkinson's disease, so most of the things he's enjoyed his whole life are not an option for him anymore. Over the past few years, he seems to have become bored with his life because of his condition and spends most of his days watching TV and if the weather's nice, cutting the grass, tending to his garden, etc. But he's the type of person who doesn't seem to want anyone's help (so practical things for his condition are out) and thus it's always hard to think of something he could/would use as a gift for Christmas. I want to give him something at least, but I'm totally stumped. Any ideas from fellow Mefites with relatives in similar situations. Also, I'm straight out of college and not making much, so inexpensive is definitely a plus, and I live halfway across the U.S. from him, so things that require me to be there are also a problem (I'm able to get back for a few days at Christmas, but that's about it).

I have reason to believe that my stepmother may be manipulating my father's health problems.

zharptitsa — Sun, 23 Sep 2007 07:20:06 -0800

I have reason to believe that my stepmother may be manipulating my father's health problems. Looking for advice on how to handle this delicate situation. (Posting for a friend. Thanks, zharptitsa)

About 6 years ago my father was diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease (although this diagnosis is in question...more below). I live quite far away from my father so my ability to monitor his condition has been limited. After 20+ years of being with my stepmother, my father has become very submissive to her dominating personality and she has always made most of the decisions. The passive, obsessive compulsive, depressive personality of my father has led me to believe that these may be factors in his worsening health condition. Another factor that I cannot seem to understand is my father's fear of my stepmother. Although she seems to care and obviously does by all the action she has taken in the past 6 years to try to find out what is truly going on with my father, he fears making any decision against her will and has lost any voice or opinion that he may have had in the past. This may be part of the disease, but she may also have been playing a part of controlling my father and keeping him from knowing what has been going on with his health.

For the past 6 years, my father has been taking Sinemet, a common Parkinson's medication. In turn, this medication has caused brain damage and my father suffers constantly from hallucinations, confusion and panic attacks. Recently, a neurologist diagnosed my father with an illness called Lewy Body--not Parkinson's at all! There is a lot of confusion about my fathers condition, but I feel that my stepmom has not told my father the whole story about what is going on with him and that she has withheld information from me and other members of his family. She is a doctor and has decided to speak with doctors about my father's condition without my father there, leaving my father completely clueless as to what is going on.

In addition, on top of his illness, from years of being a serious athlete, he has severe back problems and is constantly in a lot of pain. According to my stepmother, he may be getting back surgery in the near future which could possibly cause brain damage due to the long time under anesthesia. It is still not definite whether or not he will be getting this surgery. I recently learned though (from a relative who spoke directly with my father) that my father thinks he would be getting some sort of brain surgery. Now I don't know if my stepmother is lying to me about the back surgery or if my father is just confused. I am getting many different stories and I don't know who to believe.

My father is so afraid of her that he doesn't say much to me when I'm on the phone with him. I don't trust her fully, but I also don't think she would do something so malicious. I want to find out what's really going on and talk to his doctors but I haven't been able to get this information from my stepmother, which leads me to further distrust her.

Suggestions on early onset Parkinson's

Yavsy — Tue, 11 Apr 2006 07:46:12 -0800

My Dad, who's 64, has just been diagnosed with Parkinson's. He has had shaking hands for about a year. He's a scientist and a very bright guy. I'm worried about him, and am about to start research on what can be done to eliminate the symptoms and slow things down. Could anyone provide me with good sources to start off with? Also, I'm a bit stunned at the moment, but I'd appreciate any personal experiences you might have had with Parkinson's. Are there any non-drug but diet, excercise and life-style things he could adopt to help?

I know it's not a cureable disease, but that drugs are getting much better at eliminating symptoms and slowing things down. What are the most recent advances in the area?

Thanks.

Parkinson's Support Groups

mkultra — Thu, 22 Jul 2004 06:47:41 -0800

An older friend of mine was recently diagnosed with Parkinson's. She's looking for a good support group, either online, or in the NYC area. The in-hospital one her doctor referred her to turned her off for being "too depressing and not helpful". Does anyone have any good suggestions, or experience in this area?