DIAGNOSIS GONE WRONG

My grandmother suffers from Parkinson’s disease.
For a certain period of time, say, 6 months, my grandmother was responding well to the Syndopa Plus tablet we gave her everyday. She was able to perform her ADLs (Activities of Daily Living) without any help from us.
My grandmother also suffers from osteoporosis, so her greatest fear is of falling. We have to coax her to walk more. She often complained of acidity so she was having the tablets Parit and Levosulpiride, prescribed by a gastroentologist from a very reputed hospital.
The freezing attack happened one evening, out of the blue. Grandmom was improving steadily so this was a surprise. She could not move her legs at all. She was absolutely scared and we thought she was having a stroke. Although the attack passed soon, it left her shaken. She did not want to go to the bathroom on her own. We had to be with her for a few days to instill confidence in her but the terror of falling just grew. We increased the dosage of Syndopa Plus but once she had it and the effect wore off after a few hours, she would be left feeling weak.
Grandmom’s neurologist, from the same reputed hospital, when contacted, told us to check the gastro medicines which had been recently introduced. We got a shock when we found on the net that Levosulpiride was caution for Parkinson’s patients.
Mom called the gastroentologist. This was how the conversation went…
Mom: Doctor, is it alright for my mother to take Levosulpiride despite being a
Parkinson’s patient?
Doc: Of course, no problem with it.
Mom: But on the net it says “caution for Parkinson’s patients”.
Doc: Oh, in that case, stop it.
Dear reader, in case your gastroentologist is thick-headed enough to prescribe a dangerous drug knowing fully well that the patient suffers from Parkinson’s disease, don’t let his callousness and indifference make your loved one go through hell.
Sometimes, we shouldn’t run to a doctor for every little problem we face.
We immediately stopped the tablet which she had been having for a month. We were thinking of hiring a full-time nurse. She needed 24/7 nursing because of this godforsaken tablet. Even now, we have a part-time nurse who comes to help her with her bath. We visited a reputed doctor for a second opinion and he was appalled at the error committed. He told us that it would take at least three months for her to get back to normal.
So far, so good. Touchwood… Grandmom is on the road to recovery.