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What Causes Sleep Disturbances In A Patient With Parkinson's Disease?
Question: My husband has Parkinson's. He has spells where he first says his chest hurts and then goes sound asleep and snores while breathing very deeply and blowing from his mouth. He urinates while he is still asleep. It is usually over in about a minute or so. What causes this?
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Brief Answer:
Sleep attacks are a treatment complication.
Detailed Answer:
I read your question carefully and I understand your concern.
Patients with Parkinson's have many different types of sleep disturbances. One of the encountered ones are precisely these sudden-onset sleep episodes (sleep attacks).
They often are a treatment complication, most cases a complication of dopamine agonists like pramipexole or ropinirole (but all medications carry that potential to a lesser scale). If that is your husbands case, removing the dopamine agonist drug often brings improvement of these episodes.
I remain at your disposal for further questions.
Sleep attacks are a treatment complication.
Detailed Answer:
I read your question carefully and I understand your concern.
Patients with Parkinson's have many different types of sleep disturbances. One of the encountered ones are precisely these sudden-onset sleep episodes (sleep attacks).
They often are a treatment complication, most cases a complication of dopamine agonists like pramipexole or ropinirole (but all medications carry that potential to a lesser scale). If that is your husbands case, removing the dopamine agonist drug often brings improvement of these episodes.
I remain at your disposal for further questions.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
Answered by
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