How long do people with Parkinson's disease live?

My father-in-law had it for about 10 years, no obvious dementia, but fell a lot, and died of heart failure. My brother had it, original symptom was memory problems, and then lost his ability to get around and was completely paralyzed at the end--about 10 years. I developed a typical PD hand tremor in my left hand about ten years ago which disappeared about over two weeks when I discontinued taking a statin drug and has never recurred.

Then she needs to be tube feed.

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency has a reputation for taking on challenges that sometimes seem to defy the laws of physics — or at least common sense. The term “DARPA hard” refers to the problems its researchers attempt to solve. I solve those problem. That is what keeps me going.

I have had Parkinson's since i want 30,
i am 58 now.
i am not going to die from Parkinson's.
i am going to die with my boots on, and causing trouble at work.
after a long career working on improving human society
i believe i have earned the right to be a mean old cuss., LOL
You got to have something that makes you want to get up in the morning
Technically i'm not suppose to be alive right now.
I have the spark of life that keeps me going, and death is not an option for me.
I have too many things yet to do.

I am not the caregiver but my mother. She takes care of my almost 90 year old grandma who has had Parkinson's for years now. My mom shows all signs of caregiver burnout but she will not get any help. My sister and I have both had heart to heart talks about taking care of herself also, not just grandma. Lately, my mom has been verbally abusive to my grandma. She has lost her patience with her. My dad always sides with my mom but their marriage is very strained. I have mentioned online support groups, therapy and having a nurse come into the house more frequently. I am ashamed of my mom for treating my grandma this way but don't know what else to do because my mom will not accept help. This is putting a strain on the family relationships. Any advice would be welcome. Thank you.

The neurologist is likely right. Many diseases last until something else takes the person. There's still much to learn about Parkinson's and other brain diseases, but a neurologist is likely to be the most informed. Addressing other health issues is important for a longer life.

I hope that you can still enjoy time together, WillieJim.
Carol

My uncle was diagnosed with Parkinson's in his early 60's - he passed away a few weeks ago nearing his 88th birthday.

My brother's first symptom of PD was memory issues; 15 years later he became physically disabled and immobile. My father-in-law appeared to be mentally OK but had the typical tremors and balance issues which worsened over more than 10 years, and when he got to where the chance of falling was serious enough to look for care beyond what we could do, he passed from heart failure. No predictability!

My husbands Neurologist said, "You don't die from Parkinson's, you die with it. My husband has had in for over 10 years and is 74. At first it was a tremor in his left hand and now he is shuffling his feet even with his walker and his voice is getting softer (he's always had a loud voice). But, he also is Diabetic, Stage 3 kidney disease, and has a bovine Aortic Valve Replaced. I am his full time caregiver and I myself have several health issues myself. We live on a fixed income but, through the Grace of God, we are making it. It's very important to communicate with each other and remain happy for both of your health's and souls.

My father has parkinson's from last four years. He is dealing with it confidantly. He is not losing hope and doing exercise regularly. the patient just need little bit attention of you, nothing else can work.

Have a good doctor or pharmacist check all the meds he is taking; some years ago I developed memory issues and a typical parkinson's tremor that turned out to be a side-effect of a statin drug. When I got off of that, the tremor disappeared permanently almost immediately, and I could feel my head clear over about 2 weeks. Not all doctors take side-effects seriously.

It varies for everyone. My husband had a traumatic brain injury in 1988, developed Parkinson's about 6 or 7 years ago, went into Lewy Body Dementia. Plus he started having seizures in the last 6 months. He passed away on June 15th. He was pretty healthy up to the last 6 - 9 months.

My husband is in year 18 and is only 61. Uses a walker, wheelchair at times but for the most part is otherwise healthy.

My mom was diagnosed with Parkinson's 8 yrs ago. She started and kept losing wt. as soon as we noticed she was having the symptom of being bent over from waist and shuffling her feet. She has gone from 165 lbs to 116. The 1st neuro Dr. we went to said wt. loss wasn't associated with Parkinson's which we soon found out wasn't true. But after the Dr. kept raising the levels of Sinemet she began to hallucinate and become confused for 6-8 months. Now the Drs. say she has dementia because she has become totally confused as to where she is, when it is and constantly shifts from 1 story that makes no sense to something else and it's breaking my heart. How, in 8 yr., do you go from being on the surface healthy with small tremor and shuffling feet to having dementia? I don't understand and wonder if the Dr. has messed her up with the meds.

My husband was diagnosed with Parkinson's about 31/2 years ago. However, he had a traumatic brain injury in 1988 and some of the same problems have been present since then. That incident took him a year of recovery to come home. Now the Parkinson's is robbing him of the years he has left. He is physically okay for the most part. I have sworn to not put him in a home and I will do the best I can to keep that promise. We don't have a lot but we still have each other. I hope he lives as long as possible without suffering with issues from Parkinson's. The main thing is to monitor his needs daily and make sure you give good information to the doctor so he isn't just throwing meds at him because he thinks it is 'time.' They do that. I keep a spreadsheet daily log with anything I notice that may be different or things that happen that may affect him. It is a great tool to take to the doctors with you. Good luck to you.

My mother is 73, and she was diagnosed at 36. She did very well and only in the last 10 years has it goten to the point where she has lost her independence.

Sherah, it sounds like your husband took care of you by putting his foot down.

I agree that all patients are different as far as how long they live. Take care of yourself first. My dad wound up living with me for 7 yrs. after he took care of my mom who had Parkinsons. She made him promise not to put her in a nursing home and both times when he had a heart attack she had to go in one. The social worker called me and told me your dad should not be taking care of your mother. She belongs in a nursing home and soon after he had the second heart attack and was in the hospital for 4 months (till his medicare ran out). He had a feeding tube for a yr and a half when he came to live with me for 7 yrs until his death. My doctor put me on zoloft. He wanted her to come to live with me too but my husband thought it was too much. He did not like it when my husband said if she comes down here she goes in a home. She died about 3 months after he came to live in my home so we did not have to deal with moving her into a home here. I took care of her when he went in the hospital once for kidney stones and she woke me in the night. I could not sleep and the next day when I was driving around to get meds I felt like a zombie with no reflexes if someone went in front of the car. I still take a 1/2 zoloft. Now I am dealing with my husband who had alzheimers. I have long term care insurance and plan to hire people when necessary. It cannot be stated emphatically enough TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF FIRST OR YOU WILL NOT BE ABLE TO TAKE CARE OF ANYONE. Hang in there.

My mom sometimes; won't open her mouth when feeding. She chokes from own saliva, when drinking water. She forget to swallow. She has Parkinson's and Alzheimer's

I would say look at Muhammad Ali who was diagnosed in 1984. That's going on 30 years now.

My mother had a strong heart but one day in the nursing home she had a gran mal seizure that lasted 10 min. Since a gran mal seizure of a few min is very serious... she was going to be in dire straits. She had signed for no code. She could not swallow. She was given no water which is not really a horrible death according to an article my eldercare lawyer sent because the mind goes first. With no water she died w/in three days. She was 79. My cousin tried to make me feel guilty telling me having no water was a horrible death, I was an only child and could order intravenous feeding. My mother wanted to die. She was always saying I wish I was dead. The good lord doesn't want me and the devil won't take me. I never asked to come into this world. She used to say these statements when I was a child so it made it easy for me to think -- well mom you have gotten your wish. The quality of life at the end also makes it easier to make the decision to let them go.

My dad is 92 and has had PK for 10 yrs. He is just entering stage 3. It is different for each individual.

My husband is 65. He was diagnosed when he was 35.

I imagine that ANY feedback you might receive from ANYone about when Parkinson's-Diseased people die would be educated guesstimates at best. I'm curious about why you need that question answered. Getting actively involved with a local Caregiver Support Group can be quite enlightening.

I started having tremors in my left leg in January of 2001. Exactly one year later, the tremors began in my left hand. Since then, I have had no other symptoms to deal with and operate a full-time consulting practice. The tremors have only been noticeable to others for the past year. My gait and balance are excellent.

My Mom has had mild symptoms for the last 15 years and has coped well. My MIL had it the same amount of time. She did not die from the Parkinson's but from other age related issues. Each patient is different.

Tease, my dad had Parkinson's in addition to cancer, Alz, heart disease, glaucoma, etc. From the Parkinson's diagnosis until he passed was about 8 yrs. Because he had so many diseases and conditions, it may not be an accurate comparison between him and your husband. I hope you have a support system and you take care of yourself also as Carol mentioned. You deserve to have a life too.

People understand what you mean - the suffering and decline takes a toll on the patient and the caregiver - both suffer. How long people with Parkinson's live depends a lot on age and general health. Please try to get some support for yourself and see a doctor for yourself. This long caregiving can cause depression, and that can usually be treated. Also, you likely need some respite care.

Try going to AgingCare's Parkinson's Support Group section. They can be most helpful and provide you the support you need. You are not alone in this.
Carol