Parkinson’s unresponsive episodes

Posted by bethv @bethv, Sep 16, 2018

My father, 93 years old, is suffering these unresponsive episodes, not to be confused with “freezing” of gait. The episode can last two hours and we think might be related to dehydration. Why can’t I find any mention of this in any web sites that describe Parkinson’s? Only in caregiver sites have I found any information. Is no one studying this phenomenon? There may be some connection here that needs investigation.

Interested in more discussions like this? Go to the Parkinson's Disease Support Group.

Unfortunately I need more information to give you a specific answer. I understand these information are confidential.
The only thing I can say that might be of help and your search is:
As you are aware combination of tremor, rigidity, and progressive postural instability are the main features of parkinsons disease.
freezing of gait:
occurs with walking triggered by initiating stride or barriers/ destinations lasting seconds
It seems his bradykinesia : slow and/ or small amplitude of movements is getting worse.
Due to this fact he is at risk of falls.
I hope this helps with your PD search.
He should see his neurologist, many treatment options are available in theory.

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My spouse has the same problem. He says it feels like he has a low blood sugar. Usually it means he needs to eat or his meds. He wants to eat every 2 hours. So I have a variety of things for snacks and regular planned meals.

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As a note my husband is only 62!!!

Also his brother who is 4 years older has advanced Parkinson’s (and recently had a device fitted);- but as far as we know they are the only two in the family who have ever had it.

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Thank you for your reply and interest.

It started in 2020 when the top of his right hand had a ‘twitch’ for lack of a better word, constantly. From there his right hand hand and arm, and very very little the right leg also began to tremor.

A friend of his had a famed doctor from the New York PRespetarian come into Doha as his aging father had quite advanced PD; and he kindly insisted he take a look at my husband also. This is when we had the first confirmation.

We have since been to Mayo Clinic and his Doctor was Dr. J Eric Ahlskog who prescribed Carba Dopa Leva Dopa.

Obviously we can not constantly fly in to America, so his local doctor has taken over. For sleep, he takes Stillnox.

His symptoms I would describe as Mild. He has the tremor, it has progressed slightly now where when he concentrates I noticed the side of his mouth doing a little twitch;- his mood swings are mild but frequent, and he does mumble a lot. When walking it looks like he has a slight limp. All his symptoms are on the right side, which is a massive blessing as he is left handed.
He is a lawyer and still goes to work and court and does drive himself.

This episode only lasted about 2-3 minutes, and when i asked him the next day, he said he remembers speaking with me but then falling asleep…….veyr scary indeed.

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@donyaki2025

Hello all.
My husband is only 64 and developed Parkinson’s in 2020.
His symptoms are quite mild but getting slowly worse lately and just this evening we had a first!
Very scary he started suddenly talking mumbo jumbo mostly incoherent and was unresponsive .
He also could barely walk to the bed where I helped him and gave him his sleeping pill.
A few moments later he was himself again!
Very scary!

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Hello @donyaki2025 and welcome to the Parkinson's support group on Mayo Connect, I can understand your concern about your husband's non-responsive episodes.

I would encourage you to mention the non-responsive episodes with your husband's neurologist either by a phone call or a message through the patient portal.

You mentioned that his symptoms are quite mild. Could you explain a bit about the symptoms that led to his PD diagnosis?

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Hello all.
My husband is only 64 and developed Parkinson’s in 2020.
His symptoms are quite mild but getting slowly worse lately and just this evening we had a first!
Very scary he started suddenly talking mumbo jumbo mostly incoherent and was unresponsive .
He also could barely walk to the bed where I helped him and gave him his sleeping pill.
A few moments later he was himself again!
Very scary!

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@zaddo

I found this thread because my father is also experiencing these absent states. He is 90 Years old, advanced Parkinsons, on palliative care. I am not too bothered by the episodes as his cognitive abilities have been declining and this is just another thing to add to the list. His episodes can last up to 6 hours, which seems a bit longer than other posts.

His neurologist told us a few years ago that he could not do anything more for my father and that there was no need to make any further appointments. We should just try to keep him as comfortable as possible. So, I don't have anyone with the expertise to tell me what is going on. I was hoping to get some insight here.

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Hello @zaddo and welcome to the Parkinson's support group on Mayo Connect.
I am sorry to hear about your dad's advanced Parkinson's and absence episodes. On Connect, we are just patients who support and encourage each other and not medical professionals.

Until another PD caregiver can respond to your question, I thought that these blog post/videos from The Davis Phinney Foundation might be helpful to you. There are a series of videos that talk about the different aspects of advanced PD. Here is the link,
https://davisphinneyfoundation.org/resources/parkinsons-care-partner-resources/my-person-is-in-advanced-stages/
How long ago was your dad diagnosed with PD and when did the absence episodes start?

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I found this thread because my father is also experiencing these absent states. He is 90 Years old, advanced Parkinsons, on palliative care. I am not too bothered by the episodes as his cognitive abilities have been declining and this is just another thing to add to the list. His episodes can last up to 6 hours, which seems a bit longer than other posts.

His neurologist told us a few years ago that he could not do anything more for my father and that there was no need to make any further appointments. We should just try to keep him as comfortable as possible. So, I don't have anyone with the expertise to tell me what is going on. I was hoping to get some insight here.

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Wow, never have heard that before. Did you do an Autopsy ?

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In reply to @barbaralou "A BLUE nose?" + (show)
@barbaralou

A BLUE nose?

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Is nose actually turned a blue color.

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