Delusional thinking from Parkinson's

[Lookingforhealing]

My husband was diagnosed with PD in 2018. His body is sensitive to medicine, so his neuro has not prescribed any yet since his physical symptoms are still mild. He has been taking 1000 mg. of Vitacost HDT since January 2019, along with vitamins/ supplements. My husband is most bothered by the drooling, but I am most concerned about his delusional thinking. He has been in contact with scammers over the last two years who have talked him into wiring over $40,000 so he could get $1.2 million which they promise him. There are never ending fees and "taxes" that the scammers demand. He did all the transactions behind my back when he sold stocks, cashed in 401K, withdrew savings, and got a loan. Even though the fraud department of a large major bank stated it was a scam, my husband believes the scammers. I cannot rationalize with him and nothing seems to break through his delusional thinking. He says he needs another source of income when he cannot work anymore. Our former pastor said it is both a neurological and spiritual problem. I had read that some Parkinson's medicines have gambling, delusions, and hallucinations as side effects, but he is not on medicine yet. Any thoughts from forum members would be appreciated.

[MBAnderson]

I am sorry for your loss. That's a lot of money.

I would have him sign over power of attorney or get a court to issue it on grounds of mental incompetence, then notify your bank and have new checks issued, take him off all checking and savings accounts, investment accounts, credit cards, etc.

Stay In touch with law enforcement in case they catch the people and can recover some or all of the money.

I don't know if more spirituality will cause him to stop believing scammers.

For future reference, dopamine agonist cause Impulse Control Disorder in 20% of the people who take it, although I believe that percent is higher.

[rescuema]

Unfortunately this problem is not so unusual and scammers often target innocent gullible elderly victims to help out with $ in the name of love, investment, threats, etc. As high as 6 figure losses happen all the time and the victims often take out equity loans to finance these criminals and truly believe their scammers to the extent they're hostile to the law enforcement informing them of fraud. The window to recoup these losses are very small. Reach out to your local Secret Service agent and ask for help to investigate/consult your husband of the scam - it's their jurisdiction. I don't know if this tendency is a new development for your husband or not but keep a close record of the law enforcement involvement to support your case and proceed as MBAnderson advises to take control of your fiance before it gets any worse.

[st8farm]

There is no other answer than the one I am giving you! If you have a family of children or close relatives, call a meeting immediately and have an intervention. File for a legal custody and remove your husbands rights from all accounts and properties. Create a Trust that you or a trusted advisor will administer for everyones protection. Your husbands Parkinson's need not be a sentence of destitution for your last years nor his. If you don't and he continues unabated, you will grow to detest the situation and him and the entire integrity of the family will dissolve. Call it what you will but "tough love" is the only answer. Sooner not later. Later will be too late.

[chartist]

Lookingforhealing,

I am very sorry for this major financial loss. There are many predators out there who prey on senior citizens and this is a very sad fact of life!

The three answers above spell it out for you clearly in black and white and time is of the essence to be sure! I realize that this is now one more problem for you to have to deal with, but you must as soon as possible before further financial damage is done to your futures!

Letting your bank manager know what is going on, perhaps he/she can help you to further protect your accounts.

Art

[LAJ12345]

Is he on any antidepressants? My husband was on fluoxetine and mirtazapine and the combination made him start gambling, speeding, overeating and buying everything.

[Lookingforhealing in reply to LAJ12345]

No, he is not on antidepressants. The only prescription medicine he has is occasional prescription sleep aid, generic Lunesta.

[Sugarbear67]

Dear Looking, this may sound harsh but it is coming from first hand experience...Me. If I were you I would see about you having spending say at the banks till the meds get adjusted. I was on a med that made me into a spending nut on Ebay, super angry, and a sex addict. I spent thousands of dollars and alway thought I could control it; that's a LIE the individual can't control it without help. My friends were afraid of approaching me for years until a friend confronted me; it was terribly embarrassing. I wish someone would have confronted me earlier.

[ion_ion]

I was dxd 3 years ago but my mental integrity did not change. Not sure if in your husband case the PD is the culprit. The HDT also solved my drooling issue plus all non-motor issues. He may have something else. Usually it is not easy to dx PD. He may need to see a psychiatrist.

[bepo]

That's terrible! Change over to Solgar Vitamin B1 HCl. Most are saying that is more effective. My husband takes Mucuna Pruriens along with amino acids. We just started with the B1 Hcl. He stated, after a week that he feels better than he has in years. Stay away from chemicals, i.e. pharmaceuticals. They will help people temporarily, and then they get worse. Keep with products the body recognizes, and would have encountered naturally. Mucuna fits that parameter.

Maybe he needs a higher dose of B1.