I have been a caregiver for a als gentleman for 10 years. he can not move anything but his eyes and lips a little. He has a trac so he can not talk. The mda has helped us get a computer that is used for a talking device. he can type letters and have it run off on a printer and it also has a alarm on it to signal you that he needs something. before we got this we had to read his lips or use a letter board. if he needed something we bought a childs toy that makes noise when you push the button. as time went on we had to move to diffrent parts of the body that would work and strap it on in some places. he had to sleep with it at nite so i would wake me up when he needed things. have other helpful hints if you would like to know what we used. we have had to figure all this out a little at a time. but some things looked funny but worked.

I'm hoping mine is a helpful comment. My father was diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease and had it for approximately 8 years. His meds then ((1972-1980) were Cinemet, Cimitrel and the Dopamine med. During the day (as the meds were given), he exhibited either calm, agitation or alertness. Don't know if you have had this experience, but if you note how the patient behaves after the medication (their reaction to the med), you might want to discuss with his primary care physician the effects and see what they can do about changing the times of giving the med for the patient's benefit (maybe the one where it is so calming to before bed, etc.). Note how each med effects his speech if they are not given together (?) and let your p.c.p. know. With the physician's help, we juggled my dad's meds to where he was 1) more comfortable and 2) could function with more alertness at a better time for him during the day.. My thoughts go out to you.

My husband has been diagnosed twice. 11 years ago with Parkinson’s Disease and in 2006 with Progressive Supranuclear Palsy (PSP). He began having tremor and difficult speech at around age 55. His voice often faded to a whisper. He gradually developed movement problems and a tendency to lean forward to the right, which is also a genetic posture in older members of his family tree. He has developed Ptosis of the eyelids and has had Botox injections over the years which are no longer affective. He has implants in his larynx and receives annual injections of Radience to keep his vocal chords closer together to help in swallowing and clearing mucous. This does not help his speech but at times it does help him have a ‘voice’ instead of only a whisper or no sound at all.
Recently his movement has gotten much worse to where he cannot walk easily, even with me half -carrying him and pushing and holding his belt. He can use his walker only with someone beside him guiding and keeping a firm hand on him. His eyes are not ‘tracking’ and yet he can still focus slowly once his eyelids are lifted. His speech is still soft and slurred or completely unintelligible and he is gradually learning some sign language.

The last neurologist took him off Sinemet and Silegiline so I am wondering if there is something better that would help him? I add wonderful JUICEPLUS and Co-Q10 to his herbal regimen. Randyl