PD or Arthritis?

Hi,

My mom's legs have been like jello the last 3 mornings and only mornings. This seems to happen about 10 minutes before we are set to leave the house to the senior center. By the afternoon she is walking fine. This particular morning she got up from the toilet and as she walked out of the bathroom she just lost her balance and fell. Her knees buckled like she was crouching down to walk.

I called her Neurologist thinking that her PD has gotten worse and she said it sounds more like it's inflammation of her joints that's causing this due to chilly mornings we've had the past few weeks. Also because it doesn't happen through out the day that is why she doesn't think it's PD related.

I also told her that my mom has been very inconsistent in taking her Stalevo (horse pills) Sometime she swallows them whole and sometimes they melt in her mouth or she chews them up. So now she said to put her on Sinemet and see if that will solve the problem since Sinemet is much smaller sized. I hope it will be as effective though.

What do you think? Could it be arthritis or also due to not taking Stalevo at the full dose?

She's now been on Sinemet 25/100 for 5 days and she's very SLEEPY and not much energy. She's having trouble getting out of a chair and the toilet. 2 nights ago she fell backwards as I sat her down on the toilet and she hit her back on the toilet lid but she's ok.

Her doctor knows she went from Stalevo 150 3x a day to now Sinemet 25/100 3 times a day but wants to start her off slowly. Meanwhile she's not getting enough in her system. Stalevo really worked for her if only she would swallow them like a good patient. At least now she swallows Sinemet with ease and is not so scared to take her medicine when they are shown to her.

I don't know how long I should wait until I call her doctor and request that she add more Sinemet to her prescription. Maybe I should increase Mirapex instead. She currently takes .75mg morning and night and .25mg in the afternoon. Too much Mirapex makes my mom confused and sweaty so I try not to give her too much of it if I can help it.