Gait freezing

[Lodiroad]

Does anyone has problems with walking because of gait freezing, i.e freezing suddenly while walking. My husband had DBS done for the freezing problem. The dr who operated on him said that it has to be programmed different way, not as for dyskenesia. But unfortunately the dr who is doing his programming now is not familiar with it. Has anyone had DBS done for same reason and had good luck with it.

Also he does well in the morning but by 5pm he runs out of steam. Can't move, can't talk. If anyone has same experience and know how to deal with it please help.

[bicyclingwithpd]

Dear Lodiroad,

I was diagnosed with pd in 2003 and had the DBS done in 2010. But it is not effective for freezing gaits, it is mainly effective, to my knowledge, in calming tremors. The problem for is that my biggest issues are walking and balance. the DBS does very little with either issue but it does calm my hands and has allowed me to reduce the amount of sinemet I was taking before the operation by about half. that was a great relief to me because I suffer great dyskenisia when I start coming out of a dose.

Your husband running out of steam at night usually means he has passed through withdrawal of his last dose of meds (sinemet) for the day. You might try the "rescue" form of sinemet, or "sinemet-dis". it dissolves on the tongue instantly. I take it later in the day when I'm running out of steam. it goes to work almost immediately. well for me it takes about 15-30 minutes to work but that helps when we are doing something late in the day like having friends over or visiting them or going to a play or out to dinner. it's not as potent as regular sinemet but it's enough to carry me to bedtime still functioning.

sincerely,

bicyclingwithpd

[BillDavid]

I have not experienced DBS. Do have experience with freezing. Physical therapy has several strategies to deal with. I use strategies recommended in MoveIt! available booth by DvD and Kindle . Provides opportunity to practice strategy \one chooses.

BillDavid

[Hidden]

I don't know what DBS is but my husband stopped freezing when the neurologist put him on Rytary.

[Beckey in reply to Hidden]

I'm always hearing people talking about Rytary. What is it, exactly? Is that an agonist?

[Allypally49 in reply to Beckey]

Googled the word and it shows carbidopa levodopa

[Hidden]

Becky Carba dopa leva dopa.Dif.dosages. came out last Fall in the states. Look on the internlet for further info.

[move4parkinsons]

Hi I am sorry to hear that is your husband showing any improvement since having the dbs ?Was his freezing gait as severe before he had the dbs operation ?