Question Title: Demerol & PD update

Forum: Neurology Forum
Topic: Parkinson

My father has now had a CT scan, EKG, EMG, EEG, and the MRI results came back today. Everything inconclusive. The neurologist did say the MRI showed a herneiated disc in his neck but it wasn't raised or causing any problems. He also has one in his lower back which he has had for some time (years). This was found when he complained of tingling and pain in his left
leg. This has healed itself with no real medical attention. Could this explain the decrease in feeling in his left leg only????
Meanwhile my father is getting better and actually walked a little on his own in PT today but is still very weak.
He does have a UTI as was suggested in your RE: posted and is on an antibiotic for that.
I also found that they had given him a muscle relaxer possibly Prednizone
in conjunction with Demoral. This kind of seems odd to me ??

We are still left with no real diagnoses.

Is it common for people with PD to have "flare ups" that immobilize them then go away after a few days??
Was it just the Demerol that caused this??

Thanks for your first posting. It helped alot.

KT

=

People with PD do have good and bad days, and there are sometimes fluctuations in their mobility related to the effects of the medications as they kick in and wear off. But there aren't any "flare-ups" per se (a la lupus or multiple sclerosis).

A UTI or other superimposed acute illness, however, can make someone with PD take a dramatic downturn, and they typically recover (mostly) after the concurrent illness is treated successfully.

Prednisone? That's not a muscle relaxant. It's a steroid used for reducing inflammation (in a wide variety of diseases). Your father is sounding more complex every day. A second opinion (even if it agrees with the first opinion) may be helpful, if anything to give you a bit more clear picture. Sometimes doctors, in choosing how to say what they need to, say different things and you can learn from hearingn two people articulate what they think is going on.

Good luck. CCF MD mdf.

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