My brother has early stage Parkinsons (diagnosed as benign Parkinson tremulous) and is not on any medication. I have heard that one should report this to the DVLA He has not been told to stop driving.
Does any one know what the DVLA do? Will he have to surrender his licence? Or will he have to get a doctors letter please?
Do they take action in every case?
Thank you
Now this I can help with! When I was diagnosed initially I felt maybe I should not drive. I have annual trips to my neurologist (when he does not cancel at short notice) and always take a list with me of things to ask. He says I am refreshing in as much as I march into his office, tear a strip off him and walk out againl I have never gotten over being diagnosed with PD just on my inability to swing my right arm when I walk. So. Driving. I was told initially that I had PD and must inform the DVLA. This takes time but at least you can say in case of accident (where your brother would most likely carry the can for not reporting his PD - apparently insurers would he happy to have someone to blame. There is a tick box on the Drivers licence form for reporting disease. Eventually your licence comes back with permission to drive. Bear in mind I am 76 and my husband does most of the driving - or he did before Covid confined us to the house. I challenged said Neurologist about the driving situation and he said "You can drive and you should drive. Use it or lose it. " If your brother gives up driving while he is still capable it will erode his self confidence.
I take sinemet 25/100 3 times a day and a whole raft of supplements. I have very little tremor and when I walk I stride out. Even round the house. If you don't speed up you will slow down, This is purely my observation.
When it comes to it he might find constipation problematic. We eat a bowl of fresh berries every evening (raspberries, blueberries grapes, fresh apple etc.) works a treat. In case of a problem the doctor will prescribe something or he could take sennokot. This is the worst side effect of PD. Keep on top of it. Two days no poo - take something!
I take high doses of Gingko Biloba 120 mgs twice a day. For my memory and this works and now am supplementing with Vit B1 100mgs x 2 twice a day - breakfast and lunch and this comes highly recommended. Google Dr. Constantini - B1. Covid got him last year sadly but his work continues. Now for pain this is to me a personal thing. 5 years ago I fell in the bath and had crush fractures to two vertibrae. No treatment - no cure but I am too old to take Ibuprofen or aspirin and the pain was exquisite so I asked the internet. "I told Google I have chronic pain in my back is there a supplement for this? Up came Serrapeptase - the second gift from the silk worm and a website from an expert called Robert Redfern. Investigate. To be pain free is a real achievement. Vitacure supplies it
I hope this helps but firstly inform the DVLA but ask his neurologist as he does not seem to have been confirmed with PD! Good Luck.
A big thank you for replying so helpfully and comprehensively to my post. Very helpful. Best wishes and keep safe. Jo
I found that reply very useful, too. I didn't realise there was a space on the driving licence form and have been trying unsuccessfully to do it on line.
Phone them they are there to help!
I am my husbands carer and suffer with back pain. What strength of Serrapeptase do you take and how many? I am taking cbd oil which helps to a degree but not totally. Thanks. I am in UK also.
I take 2500 ius twice a day. On an empty stomach 2 hours after food and half an hour before. So you need a two hour window. It is God knows the most wonderful thing I ever encountered. I am most of the time pain free and I buy it from Vitacure. Google Robert Redfern - the 2nd gift from the silkworm. I also take Gingko Biloba 120 mgs. twice a day as recommended for my Parkinsons and it has restored my memory. OK I still search for words sometimes but I am 76 and will he appearing on the Chase this evening. No I don't win but at least I had a go!
Wow. We watch it every night. Its my husband with PD. I need to lift and move him sometimes and its so painful.
We have electronic beds. Ours were ridiculously expensive but we had to have them. Simply the best, Adjustamatic. You would never need to lift him at night again. I know this because we had bought 2 for my brother - a paraplegic - one for his house and one in ours in Surrey (He would have been 82 on Tuesday but he died at the age of 58 of a ruptured aorta. He was vastly overweight and a greedy beggar! But I digress. We sold the beds for £100 pounds each. One went to the cardiac nurse caring for my husband in the Humana Wellington hospital after he was taken in with a heart attack and she had a husband with PD. She had to lift and turn him at night. He was apparently very heavy. The other was the doorman of the investment bank where my husband worked. His wife had PD. I came home one day to a huge bouquet. He had had his first night's sleep since forever as she only had to press a button to take the pressure off her pressure points. There are lots of manufacturers but we know these are the best. We have had our two since we moved here (14 years) and have just replaced the mattrasses. I love our early morning (8 am) tea ritual with the bed heads up and us playing guess the composer with Classic FM. (How often it is Shostakovich!!!) So I did not want to ruin the effects of our drawing room my putting in ugly invalid chairs. I found the answer in the garden centrel. We have two straight backed padded garden chairs (£65) and they have straight backs. Even slightly reclining I never get back ache. Just a thought. By the way we had our beds made to fit our 4'6" bed frame. They are 2'3" wide and this is no hardship. However we are not big people. Himself is 5'7" and 72 kgs and me - well you have seen me I am 4'10" and 55 kgs. (I lost 2" when I damaged my back). This is just food for thought. I love my bed!!!!!!!
Byeee
S
Sandra. You are amazing. Just watched you on The Chase and one wouldn't know you had PD. I think your cash builder questions were hard. Seems to be the way on the Chase for the 2nd contestant.
Thank you. It was a hoot. Imagine a 60 year old bloke might assume that a 75 year old pensioner might fantasise about him! No I fantasise about finding the cure for PD. Some sort of magic bullet. Not just for me but also for Paul Sinha.
PS when I'm sitting at home I know AALLL the answers. Believe it or not it has released quite a Twitter storm and we don't even have an account. One wit even called for Sandra for Prime Minister! Several want me to be their Mum or their Nan! The only negative comment was very thinly veiled so as not to cause offence (which is not allowed). They said I had forgotten my Dalmatian coat! Cruella de vill I assume and were absolutely amazed at my sharp delivery and dead pan expression. Well PD does not allow for long convoluted speechyfying, and as for my dead pan expression well just try being animated when you have the Parkinsons mask. We will get there. Bring it on. Vit B1 twice a day has my vote. I noticed when I watched it that at one point I actually smiled. Haven't been able to do that for a long time!
Byeeeee
Haha.
I also found your reply very helpful, especially regarding serrapeptase. Pain is the most debilitating symptom for my husband. He has had many steroid injections as well as a back op all to no avail. He is presently on some strong pain medication which we are trying to titrate down.
Thanks so much for this. I'm going to investigate serrapeptase further and will probably order from Vitacure. Do you take the delayed release, and what dosage do you take?
Once again, many thanks.
I take 2500ius twice a day and always on an empty stomach. Serrapeptase is a digestive enzyme and a wonderful anti inflammatory. Truly magical, Vitacure have a wonderful turnaround. I have cousin who takes it for his Crohns disease and he is given huge dosages via the hospital on the NHS. It is not addictive and if taken together with Gingko Biloba is an effective treatment for Reynauds Syndrome. Do investigate Robert Redfern's website and download his ebook.
Your brother should report this to the DVLA here:
gov.uk/report-driving-medic...
Make sure he has his licence, GP's details and neurologist's details to hand as you only have an hour to fill in all the required details.
The DVLA will then write to either his GP or, mostly likely, his neuro.
I had to surrender my up-to-age-70 licence and it was replaced with a 3 year one.
Then he needs to inform his vehicle insurers. Mine just made a note and it didn't affect the premium at all.
The DVLA have a good process so I recommend your brother follows it. I am in the middle of renewing my own medical driving licence. You will need his neurologist's contact details. Use the online form as postal is having more delays with covid.
I believe it is a legal requirement to declare Parkinson's - otherwise, as mentioned above, insurance may be invalid in the case of a claim.
I was diagnosed at 46 and was issued a new licence, renewable every 3 years - recently renewed.
The second time the process was much easier and from memory you can keep driving while your application is being processed and they are waiting for a response from your neurologist - the website has all that info. I second using the online form if possible.
The message from the neurologist was definitely to keep driving as long as symptoms don't interfere - but that it must be declared.
Individuals are required to notify the DVLA once they are diagnosed with PD. The process is that the DVLA will seek assurances from the individual’s GP, or more likely their neurologist, as to whether they are still fit to drive. Every case is of course dependent upon an individual’s symptoms but if still deemed to be ft to drive it is likely the individual will be given a 3 year licence
You fill in form and you have a three-year licence. GP has to comment that you are safe. On my renewal Aug'20 my Neurologist was asked about my capability to drive. Other conditions have to follow this procedure too.
My husband was diagnosed with Parkinson's nearly 16 years ago and is still driving short distances.
4 years ago, he had to jump through many hoops to retain his licence. The DVLA requested a report firstly from his GP and then the Neurologist. After that, they wanted him to have a full medical (which they paid for). Still not satisfied, they requested that he complete a driving assessment at the Test Centre. The DVLA then correlated all this information before making a decision. Thankfully, the decision was that he could carry on driving for another 3 years. It took 9 months to arrive at this conclusion. During this time he was still allowed to drive.
Surprisingly, at the end of the 3 year term, they issued another 3 year licence after just one letter from the Neurologist.
Hope this helps.
I am in the US and in my state it’s not required that a driver self report any condition that could impair the operation of a motor vehicle. Unfortunately there are older drivers out there who shouldn’t be on the road. It often comes down to adult children reporting them to their primary care physician (GP) who notifies the state. Short of taking the license away, the person can be limited to driving only during the day, local roads, etc. I know several folks who keep having accidents, totaling the car, get the insurance money and buy another one with nary a thought. If the accident is serious and clearly their fault, however, the license is revoked immediately. As a PWP I don’t enjoy driving or even being a passenger but my neurologist reports that I’m perfectly competent. I limit myself to curbside pickup at the local supermarket and the occasional essential medical appointment; rare in the time of Covid, and drive mostly in the morning when my dopamine level is highest. I have thought that it would be fun to live in a city with public transportation to everything, but since Covid, I’m so happy to be in a quiet suburb where it’s safe to walk out the door to exercise instead of taking the elevator and going through the lobby, then dealing with crowded sidewalks.
Being 74 and female, my friends without PD are all getting to the age where they limit driving at night, on freeways etc because it’s too stressful. It’s more the men who don’t want to give it up.
Thank you. How interesting that one doesn’t need to report. What state are you?
My HWP gave up his license after further assessments by occupational and neurologist - that was a year after his diagnosis. This is in Canada
I was diagnosed with Parkinson's in 2012 and I was advised to contact the DVLA which I did. 9 years on and my PD has progressed significantly but I still have my driving license. I regularly drive both long and short distances, last year I clocked up a little over 11,000 miles. Basically, drivers are required by law to declare their PD diagnosis to the DVLA who then seek the guidance of your doctor and other clinicians before making their decision. PD is one of dozens of health conditions which the DVLA require drivers to report when a particular health condition is present. It get's worse, you can be fined up to 1,000 pounds if you fail to do so and you can be prosecuted if you're involved in a collision as a result. In my experience the DVLA have been pretty good and my license has now been renewed three times. However, they renew it with a three year limit and they have removed all my vocational entitlements e.g. HGV1, PSV etc. (understandable). I try to make it easier for them to decide in my favour. Every 18 months I submit myself for a driving assessment run by one of the many NHS driver assessment centres around the UK. My main reason for doing this is to ensure that I am safe to drive and that this is the objective opinion of a qualified professional person. However, being able to include that assessment report in my license renewal application to the DVLA must speak volumes. Best wishes.
Thank you. Reassuring and informative advice. Best wishes
PD and driving
Driving a Car
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