Breathing problem with Parkinsons

I took care of my Mum for over 20 years. She had PD. She never had breathing problems until she contracted the flu 7 years ago. the first symptom she had was she was having breathing difficulty. once she recovered after almost dying form a heart attack and heart failure, she lived well for almost 7 years until thsi January when she again had breathingissues and wss hospitalized wice. we did not know at the time but she had hypercalcemia and that was contributing to her issues of weakness, not eating, dehydration and breathing issues masked by coughing and phlegm. since last October. The doctors never told me she wss hypercalcemic, a treatble problem if treated in time until it was too late and she died 30 days ago from respiratory failure. The parkinsons complicated everything.

What I am trying to say is depending on what type of breathing issues your loved one is having, as their caregiver or advocate, you should look for undrlying reasons for the breathing changing, and or at the least it may be that her meds may need to adjusted since she may be having her chest muscles contract leading to basic breathing issues.
You want to ask her if she having issues all the time or at specifc times of day or certain positions such as lying down. This will show whether it is an issue with undermedication, etc.

Elevating her head when she is lying down will help her. But if the breathing issues worsen and including coughing, phlegm, have her checked out for other issues.

I see you are an early riser also. Thank you for the info. I had an appointment with my movement disorder doctor yesterday and he increased my meds and thinks that will help. Happy 4th.

Aveline, so sorry to hear about what you are going through. Knee pain is really bad to endure. I have it myself from an accident. My Mum had Pd and also bad knees but doctors advised us against surgery due to her PD and basically said she would not recover as well as someone without PD. You may see about getting either Cortisone injection (helps with inflammation) or hyaluronic acid (acts as a lubricant ) injection. As far as caregivers go for PD, PD patients need specialized care especially those that are mobility impaired. most caregivers are not trained specifically for PD , most think PD is only about tremors. They have no clue that it is far far more than than just tremors. PDis a rough disease to handle without any type of support and is also isolating. Do you have any family that can temporarily move in with you or you with them. If you were closer to me in Virginia, I would do my best to help. Right now, I can only give you a hug through the web. Please write back.