Slowly switching off

[proforma]

Hi My father inlaw has a very strange condition which no doctor seems to be able to find a definite answer. He has had numourous scans, MRI etc but nothing positive has showed up.He has been back and forth to hospital.
It all started about 1 year ago when he started loseing his taste for certain foods e.g carrots at his then onto all vegies.
He also was a man who was very interested in current affairs and read the paper everyday . He slowly lost interest in life. Then he started losing weight and his legs started to get weak and he would feel very very sleepy and would go to bed  and sleep during the day. This is not something he would normally have. done. As theyear went on he became more and more removed from social family interaction and speaking to to him was a one way conversation. His legs got weaker and weaker and he could just about walk with the use of a zimmer frame. He also became incontinent.
He has been treated for depression but no change. He has become weaker and weaker and is now permantly in hospital. Doctors are still scrathing their heads with various theoryies but none seem to be working.
Any help would be appreciated.

[ILADVOCATE]

  I would say that one thing to make sure is that he recieve some form of rehabilation because otherwise pressure sores can occur which can be dangerous. It would be good to apply for home attendant services as well. Its essential for him for him to live in the community and at home. Hopefully what he has is treatable but if not then its a matter of accomodating around it. It will take a while for them to diagnose him but if they can't come to any conclusions then it would be good to see a neurologist who is an expert in the field. It doesn't neccessarily preclude depression as well. Some aspects of depression and psychosis I experience are neurological even though I have made a good recovery from schizoaffective disorder. My neurological disability is still in study but psychosis and depression that come specifically from Parkinsons' for example are very common. Some of the medications I take (Zofran, Tenex, rhodiola as a natural remedy in clincial study) are helpful for Parkinson's (what they were originally studied for) but that doesn't seem to be his diagnosis.
  However, if they diagnose any form of dementia I would ask about Namenda because although its not really able to reverse Alzheimer's as they first thought, it is indeed helpful on many common forms of dementia and memory loss as I know my grandfather who had a series of minor strokes and cardiac conditions that caused this regained a good deal of his functioning with it. I'd post more in the neurology forum if you haven't because unless standard clinical depression which is psychiatric in origin is diagnosed the treatment for what's going on would be very different.

[LeftCoastChick]

I can't imagine how hard this must be for you, I wish you all the best.

[proforma]

Thanks for your help.He has seen an neurologist who has not been able to pin point.
He at first said it was the onset on MSA (multiple system anthropy). Then said it was frontal lobal dementia. They the did a lubur punture test which revealed he had TB/mengitis type virus in the spinal fluid. They then started treating him for this with a large coctail of drugs. About six weeks after that they did another lubor punture test and the results of that are inconclusive and so it goes on. MSA seems to fit the bill but could beany other illness that he could have. At first depression seemed obvious but he started to not be able walk and become incontinent. Surely that couldn't be depression!
He now has a cloth in his upper thigh and also got a  chest infection probly from the fact that he is not mobile. Many thanks in advance for any advice.

[LeftCoastChick]

There are many neurological conditions that can have psychiatric symptoms included because of the direct affect on the brain. Parkinson's Disease to name one of them. He could have an atypical type of Alzheimers, which can hit as early as the 40's. A family member started showing symptoms I believe very early 50's with odd things, slowed speech and weird eating habits. It took them at least 3 years to see anything on a CT scan so they just took a stab at what was wrong. Unfortunately with many of these types of conditions not much can be done except good daily and palliative type care, so that pain and discomfort can be eased. I'm sorry to hear that your family member is in such a condition. I hope they figure out what it is.

[ILADVOCATE]

This should be addressed by a neurologist as lack of interest in social relations can be part of depression and the onset of the negative symptoms as well but if there are physical symptoms involved then a neurologist would be the one to understand it. They need to rule out cardiac conditions as well. Also if they haven't done it they need to do a medication review as often older people are on many medications prescribed by different doctors who are unaware of each other and they can interact in unknown ways. If you want post the medications he is on and I'll look up long term side effects and interactions but the doctor should do this as well. I can clearly say its a physical disability regardless of the fact that he has depression and there are a lot of criterias that have not been ruled out.