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Submitted by PatientsEngage on 10 February 2016

Question from a community member:

My father, who is 75years old has been living with Parkinsons Disease for over 10years now. It was well managed so far with medication and his very active lifestyle especially walking and swimming.  However in last one year we have noticed a significant deterioration, especially unstable first steps when he walks and frequent loss of sleep at night. This despite him being on the medication that includes Levodopa (125mg every 4hrs), Clonazepam (0.5mg taken at night for helping him to sleep), Ropark(0.5mg) and Rasalgene (0.5mg) taken twice a day. Doctor has also suggested that there has been an outset of Alzheimer Disease.

While he has a healthy appetite, at times in the middle of the night he gets severe hunger pangs, wanting to eat sweet food.

Any advise on helping him good sleep at night and help reduce the progress of the disease is most welcome. We are also open to the idea of exploring alternate medication (in TCM or Ayurveda), so look forward to hearing any experiences.

Arunai Thelirc…

Thu, 02/11/2016 - 11:06

Though I will not be able to really help you without an assessment and more detailled history, from your post I understand there is rapid decline in his health status over the year. Were there any falls or surgeries? Change in medication? Vit B12,Thyroid,Sodium and other metabolic changes? Changes in living situation? Any emotional triggers? Would love to help you but I can't (and should not)with very limited information. If you can give me your location, I can probably help you find resources to help you.

Akanksha K

Mon, 02/29/2016 - 15:25

Sleep disturbances are common in patients with Parkinson's, while some may have trouble falling asleep (initial insomnia), some patients wake up more frequently in the middle of the night (Middle insomnia).
Setting a consistent sleep routine is beneficial. If visiting the washroom in the middle of the night frequently is what is usually bothersome, in general limiting liquid intake 2-3 hours before sleeping is recommended. Furthermore, napping in the afternoon should be restricted to under an hour and not after 3 pm to ensure that the patient feels sleepy in the night. Anything stimulating the brain two to three hours before sleeping like watching tv, drinking tea/ coffee, exercising etc must be avoided.
Not sure if the patient is stressed and there are emotional factors involved, in which case breathing exercises or any routine to calm oneself can be used before sleeping.Sweet and junk food cravings are common in dementia, as brain areas related to self- restraint are affected.

PatientsEngage

Sun, 04/17/2016 - 09:07

Dr. Meenakshisundaram Umaiorubahan's response on our FB page: The two symptoms that you have mentioned appear to be :
1. Freezing or motor fluctuations. This needs some meticulous dose adjustment of the medicines he is taking.
2. Insomnia..drugs can help, but it's also important to implement sleep hygiene