Parkinson’s disease can be divided into 5 stages and the last stage or the fifth stage is the most painful to watch.



In these final stages of Parkinson’s disease, the doctor will prescribe Levodopa for the patient, the effect of which can be made to last longer with the help of COMT inhibitor. Another curative option is pallidotomy surgery which can destroy a few of the neurons or brain cells, stop tremors and minimize the rigidity and muscular stiffness. One more option is deep brain stimulation.


What are the debilitating symptoms in the final stages of Parkinson’s disease?
When a patient reaches the final stages of Parkinson’s disease, the symptoms get more and more debilitating and the patient’s mobility will become thoroughly limited, he will be bound for the rest of his days to the wheelchair and confined to bed, swallowing food or water will become an insurmountable difficulty and speech will be almost non existent.


At times those unfortunate family members who have to take care of their relative suffering from the last stages of Parkinson’s disease find it painful to watch the struggling efforts of the PD patient to communicate and articulate his thoughts into coherent words. Many patients, not being able to carry on with this difficulty of speech just give up trying to communicate altogether. At times, to an outsider it might seem as if the patient has forgotten to speak or forgotten the question asked in his struggles to bring words to his lips.


At times of Parkinson’s disease or rather in most cases deep depression sets in. Health will fail rapidly. The patient will start losing weight alarmingly because neither will he be able to eat well nor will he have the desire to sustain himself through food. The patient is often put on a feeding tube, perhaps permanently and in this vegetative condition, he can go on to survive for months. He can derive nutrition from powdered supplements like polycose mixed with water, frozen Boost or Ensure which will take care of whatever nutrition he requires.


One option can be palliative care. At the final stage of Parkinson’s disease, if the patient’s heart has stopped, the patient won’t be resuscitated.

Tags: Brain Cells, Coherent Words, Deep Brain Stimulation, Depression, Family Members, Feeding Tube, Fifth Stage, Levodopa, Lips, Losing Weight, Muscular Stiffness, Neurons, Non Existent, Outsider, Pd Patient, Polycose, Rigidity, Stages Of Parkinsons Disease, Tremors, Wheelchair