Delussions and Sleeplessness
Hello everyone and thank you for inviting me to Parkinson's Disease discussion board.
My name is Peter and I am a caregiver for my father who has been battling with PD for about 7 years now. Well it has not been easy that I can assure you and I am certain that just as me there must be many other people coping or having a difficult time with a loved one that has PD.
Well to cut a long story short I'll go directly to my question
You see, my father has started experiencing falls. It means that when we gets off a chair or car (which I drive) or even a couch nowadays, it is a matter of 5-10 seconds until dizziness gets hold of him and he shivers unable to stand still and eventually falls (thankfully every time) into my hands. As this progresses I help him lie on the floor, sit that is, and wait for 3-5 minutes till we get up and try to battle with the gait. My father now is 72-73 years old and is under medical treatment and physiotherapy.
The thing that bothers me most is the fact that he seems to pop up (especially at night) between delusions, like talking to people who aren't there (and I don't mean via internet) and also messing the room up and asking me about the next flight. This happens frequently. Some experience with anger has also been dealt with. He has become quite bitter and at times he talks about it and say how really remarkable we all are to stand on his side and understand his condition.
I suppose that we have proceeded to stage 3 of PD and here is where I wanted some help (or any kind of discussion) on what to do about the following facts:
Medication
Falls
Delusions
Anger
and Caregiving (especially since I can not allow him to go outside by his self)
We do however continue physiotherapy and he seems to like it and go well with the whole program.
Last I would like to mention that he is past the age to receive a Deep Brain Simulation and we are worried on what to do and how to proceed with this Disease.
Feel free to post any comments and your help will much be appreciated.
Thank you,
Petros Errikos
from Athens, Greece, EU
Peter you are dealing with quite a lot and are wise to be sure he is not left alone.
A discussion with his neurologist about any of the symptoms you mentioned would be wise.
As to the caregiving aspect the Davis Phinney Foundation has a free book for caregivers that my family found helpful. They also have a free book Every Victory Counts that is excellent in discussing all aspects of Parkinson’s. I wish you all the best.
Thea DeStephano Community Team Member
Erik My father had varying blood pressure in his nineties: This caused a spate of falling whenever he stood up after sitting for a while. 
Hi Petros I’m not a carer but I have been living with my PD diagnosis for about as long as your father. I need to be careful about the advice I give, the moderators don’t like medical advice to be shared, even if it’s just general in content. So with the falls definitely try the advice you have been getting regarding dehydration causing low BP. If that doesn’t improve the situation then go back to the neurologist and insist that they try different meds or methods.. my neurologist told me about ‘the pump’ fits just below the waist and pumps the LevaDopa directly into the lower intestine. Because you have bypassed the stomach, less LevaDopa is required and the results are better than oral tablets BUT for your dad the benefit is that less LevaDopa in the body the less side effects such as postural drop. ( blood pressure falling when standing up) your dad will get an even dose all day long which is very beneficial and counters such issues as the on / off wave through the day. Look into the promising treatment of Targeted Ultrasound. Google it , it’s impressive stuff. Tell your dad I said “Hi, don’t use your energy getting angry use it to fight your symptoms you can greatly improve your situation!” have a nominal day Petros. Regards David
