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Juliedhere Posted May 2021

Parkinson's, feeding tube, trach. My dad has all 3. What is his life expectancy as he is already 93?

My dad has all 3. What is his life expectancy as he is already 93? Dad had trach, feeding tube put in Dec. 2020. Difficulty swallowing, aspirating, gagging, coughing for over a year. Big weight loss also. ER 3 times for breathing difficulties Nov/Dec. of 2020. Diagnosed with P April 2021. Now on beginning dose of carbidopa-levodopa for 2 weeks. Dr. is hoping meds will help with pain in swallowing phlegm and facial tics. Any benefit to body tremors is a plus. Dad is housebound and my mom is his caretaker. They are both rockstars to me!
P.S. Dr. has said Parkinson's does not skip a generation. Has anyone seen generational Parkinson's in their family?

AlvaDeer Jun 2021
Your Dad's statistical life expectancy is not good, period, at the age of 93. Like many of us seniors (myself included pushing 80 pretty hard) we have outlived our "sell by" date, as my partner and I tease one another. I am certain watching the progression of his Parkinson's all this time, and being in contact with the Doctors caring for him, you will have more information about his life expectancy that we on Forum could ever give you with out own guesswork. The progression of chronic disease is individual to each patient; any doctor will tell you that even they can only give you a guesstimate. This just isn't something that you can know.
I wish you good luck. Stay in touch with your Dad's doctors. Follow your Dad's wishes regarding end of life care and how much longer he wants to fight this fight. He will be your guide, and when/if he is unable to make further decisions your Mom with all her devotion will step in. I am so sorry for all the grief you are in the midst of, but with that you have also been a witness to great love, and a participant in it. I wish you all well.

vegaslady Jun 2021
Wow, I'm guessing that this doctor is not a neurologist and especially not a Movement Disorder Specialist. Good grief there is so much here to correct. First of all, get him to another doctor who is at least a neurologist for evaluation. Next, Parkinson's Disease is NOT thought to be primarily genetic. I have PD and have had genetic testing and counseling as part of a research study. Most PD is idiopathic which means that they don't know how somebody got it. Most genetic related PD occurs earlier in life, not at 93. The doctor gave you the wrong info about PD, no doubt scaring you unnecessarily about your own medical future. Call the Parkinson's Foundation at 1 800 4PD INFO for better information and help in finding another qualified doctor. Also, you might start searching for a hospice agency for an evaluation. With the feeding tube, his age, weight loss,, and traech it is very likely that he would score in the range of being eligible for hospice. He could have this additional service at home covered by Medicare to support him and mom. To answer your question about life expectancy, talk to your parents about what they've been told (if they've even asked), and definitely get another medical evaluation soon. He could go on for quite a while, or not. Please check out another doctor and hospice. I don't think you will regret another viewpoint on the situation.

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cwillie Jun 2021
Have you asked his doctors that question? One thing I do know is that the feeding tube won't stop him aspirating his own saliva.

As to the comment about the hereditary nature of Parkinson's - as far as I know in most cases it isn't.

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