Debilitating Shortness of Breath in Parkinson's

[JosieDi]

I am a 70 year old female who has had Parkinson's disease for 12 years.  It has been managed  well for the most part.  Recently I have been having respiratory distress.  I have lost a considerable amount of weight and am down to 99 pounds.  I have had a thorough workup from my primary doctor and various specialists and everything checs out ok. In my 'off'' time I am struggling to breathe and feel I am suffocating.  My neurologist has me on Sinemet, Requip, Amantadline and Comtan.  She added a carbo/levo tablet this past week that dissolves on the tongue. .i have not seen anywhere that debilitating shortness of breath is associated with Parkinson's.  My neurologist thinks that this breathing distress is due to the wearing off of my meds although these  episodes can happen randomly.  Nedless to say it is affecting my quality of life.  Does anyone heard of this or have any suggestions?  Thank you.

[shakymama]

I have had the same symptoms, I have had PD for 8 years. I should say I was diagnosised 8 years ago, but my symptoms went undiagnosised for several years. I have also struggled to keep weight on I am 5'4 and I am at 115 lbs, this is good. I have been hospitalized several times because of my sensitivity to medication changes and PD has effected my autonomic system. My blood pressure can drop very rapidly causing me to feel as if can't catch my  breath, I know that I had better sit quickly on my own if not I going down and it might not be so gently.  
I take requip,Selegeline, Amantadine, Stalevo, Sinemet I also take Fludrocortozone this helps me to retain fluid and keep my blood pressure up.  I also find that if I drink alot of water, when my weight gets too low I drink Boost in addition to my regular meals. and get lots of exersize (walk, Swim, use exersize equip. something that really works my muscles ) I feel my best. My best advise I can give it does sound like end of dose failure see how the med change does, get your weight back up and if you are an active person continue on, if not talk to your Doc about starting with physical therapy. Good luck and God Bless.

[andrewPD]

My mother is 75 this year, and she sounds almost exactly like you and the "shakymama" above. She has been diagnosed with PD for about  25 years now, and she has taken all the medications you and shakymama listed above. She has been having the shortness of breath episodes for about 5 years now - at times, she swears she's going to die, and then she's fine in about an hour or so. She deals with it by taking a warm heating pad and clutching it to her chest until the tightness in her chest goes away. She has been checked out for heart and lung problems, and all was clear. Her prior neurologist kept telling her during repeated visits that shortness of breath had nothing to do with PD - after doing some web searching, now we know that it's "normal" and that neurologist didn't know what he was talking about. It just seems to be part of the PD progression.
I just pray for my mom to keep dealing with it day by day and will pray for you, too.
Just know - you're not alone. See the following sites for some reassurance.
http://ucanhealth.com/topics/?T=secondary_symptoms_parkinsons_disease
and
http://www.ucsfhealth.org/adult/medical_services/neuro/parkinsons/conditions/parkinsons/signs.html

[Nicknameless46]

You need to have a workup of your respiratory condition just to be certain you don't have some form of emphysema or asthma contributing to your shortness of breath. I also have Parkinson's - for 12 years now - and also have severe COPD for which I'm on oxygen 24/7.  That's not pleasant, but at least I can breathe. My doctor believes that much of my shortness of breath is due to the wearing off of my Parkinson's meds, but also says that shortness of breath is shortness of breath - which means it must be kept at a tolerable level regardless of how many factors are contributing to it. No one should feel that they're suffocating - that's not just part of the disease; go to an internist or pulmonologist if your neurologist just treats your Parkinson's and ignores your shortness of breath.