Guest guest Posted March 23, 2004 Report Share Posted March 23, 2004 My father died on 21st October 2002 I suspect he had LBD for 7-9 years, getting much worse in the last 2 years of his struggle. Here are my answers. Family History Yes - depression in dad's side of family. His dad (my grandfather) committed suicide, as did 2 or 3 other of his (grandfathers) siblings. My paternal grandfather spent some time in an asylum and had ECT. Yes - there is dementia on my dad's side. Yes - there is Parkinson's on my dad's side. My dad's uncle is presently dying of PD and recently diagnosed LBD. LO Medical History Dad was about 58 - 59 years when it started. He was diagnosed in Aug 2001. Mistook LBD for trauma and PD My dad had the works! MRI, CT and other tests. Aged 66 when diagnosed. First diagnosis was PD. My dad had cognitive symptoms first - word muddling, sudden forgetting mid sentence, confusion and forgetfulness. Very soon motor difficulties started - falling over, balance problems, dragging his left foot, lack of spatial awareness and then the dreadful tremor.Neck and head first then down his left side. Cognition Definite cognitive fluctuations occurred - some days he was almost back to 'normal' then other days he was 'switched off' Definite mental inflexibility - simple tasks became complicated. He couldn't sequence thoughts or actions. Couldn't follow a TV programme - lost his train of thought. Dad became fearful of decisions - paranoid and anxious in the extreme. My dad was very easily confused and lost his sense of judgement. He was afraid of everything. He had great difficulty with word finding. Lost track of time. Forgot where he was. Attention waned - especially if tired. Problem solving was impossible! My dad was too frightened to plan anything - he was scared to think! Emotions Yes - my dad was depressed Yes - my dad was paranoid Yes - my dad became savagely aggressive and unreasonable, even violent and threatening. Memory Yes - dad had terrible memory loss In the end stages my dad forgot who he was and who we were. Behaviour Yes - my dad spent hours staring at nothing, looking vacant and out of it. He often wasn't listening or 'switched off'. Yes - my dad suffered chronic fatigue Yes - he hallucinated day and night Yes - dad had REM disorder Yes - dad often couldn't identify simple everyday objects Yes - dad had delusions. Abilities Dad had to stop driving 6 months before he died. Dad had no sense of direction Dad lost his ability to read - he couldn't figure it out! He lost his ability to deal with his money Dad lost his ability to write - he couldn't remember which letters went where and wrote down complete nonsense Yes - my dad's writing went very small and wriggly. Physical Yes - my dad fainted sometimes Yes - my dad had a constant runny nose and drool Yes - my dad became incontinent about 4 weeks before he died Yes - my dad could no longer weight bear and went off his legs 4 weeks before he died. My dad was constantly clearing his throat and his voice was raspy Dad had hot and cold sweats He was often shivering then he'd be sweltering! Yes - constipation was a nightmare! Yes - loads of dizzy spells and low blood pressure My dad became slow and doddery Dad was constantly falling - he lost his balance all the time Yes - he had a perpetual 'jerk' - uncommon I think Rigidity and stiffness always a problem made worse by drugs Yes - the tremor was PD like Yes - my dad had horrendous difficulties with antipsychotics Hope this helps Get back to me if I need to explain more. Thank you so much for doing this - I admire you so much! You are a star!! Sally x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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