Has anyone's parent had these symptoms?

Another vote for Parkinson’s/Lewy Body Dementia.

i took my DM to the GP who agreed and referred her to Neurology, but the wait list was 60 weeks! Eventually she had a crisis which caused a hospital admission and she got diagnosis that way. So do ask the GP what the best route for support is, considering waiting times etc. DM ended up at the local Elderly Care clinic with the same treatment plan as if she’d been seen by Neurology.

My nanna was like this - socially withdrawn and reluctant to honour in the early stages of dementia, of course we didn't know it at the time but looking back I remember her saying how she was losing confidence with age, a couple of years before she started to withdraw

Also get blood pressure checked, feeling wobbly and fainting/falling could well be low or high blood pressure.

Her memory was failing pre stroke but is now considerably worse. She previously went dancing, did jigsaws, played solitaire on her phone but she just can’t be bothered now.
She has no interest in what’s has been or what is to come. She very much lives in the moment. Usually a chatty smiley person; she has some moments of belligerence which is difficult to deal with.
Aside from the drinking she has everything you’ve described 🥺

My OHs Parkinsons began with depression and social withdrawal which started some years before the "typical" Parkinsonds symptoms. There are drugs which can help so a diagnosis is valuable.

I was also thinking stroke/tia.

I don’t really post but feel for you. What you describe sounds very much like my dad. He was diagnosed with vascular dementia and later on Parkinson’s. However this was all through lockdown and it was extremely difficult to get a firm diagnosis and talk to health professionals. as a previous poster has mentioned, I suspect the reality was Lewy body dementia and Parkinson’s features (my mum had Alzheimer’s and vascular dementia and “parkinsonisms “). Because of my mum I took him to the gp on the pretext of having bloods etc to make sure nothing physically wrong (long story but he had pre cancerous bowel disease). I wrote down everything that concerned me (handwriting etc) and just gave it to the gp who was very discreet but referred him to a geriatric consultant.

I also thought Parkinson's. Dad had it. I was a teenage expert on it!

I agree with considering both Parkinson's but also stroke and TIAs...

This also sounds like my dm who had had a stroke and now likely dementia although I'd noticed the symptoms before that. Mine had similar physical symptoms. She has difficulty following a conversation and says things that aren't related to what we're talking about and don't make much sense. I'd agree, GP

Does she drink a lot of alcohol, OP? My DM is a lot like this and it's alcohol related.

You could have written these exact same observations about my mum. She has a stroke in February but had shown signs of some of these things prior to that

I'm an adult Speech and Language a therapist and work a lot with PD/ dementia and other neuro conditions. A lot of these symptoms could cross over. I'd be careful about googling and finding matches because there are lots of things that can cause similar symptoms. I'd definitely speak to GP and may warrant pushing for a referral to Neurologist, it's useful to go with a list of your concerns but anything you're thinking, they will address too

I work in Parkinsons disease and it sounds like she possibly has Lewy body dementia with Parkinsons features.
Can she ask GP for a referral either to Mental Health Services for older people or a neurologist who specialises in Parkinsons - this is the pathway in UK for the symptoms she is showing.

Red flags for Parkinsons I suspect.

OP - I had concerns about my dad (turns out he has dementia) .Anyway, prior to taking him to the GP, I emailed them beforehand outlining my concerns as I didn't want him to feel awkward during the appointment. This could be an option for you.

How socially active is she ? Does she speak to people every day?
I'm wondering if some of the symptoms are just from isolation - she's become very insular, voice is croaky because she's literally not used to speaking, poor social etiquette because she's out of practice etc. I have also seen this happen to elderly people.

I'd agree with possibly a hearing problem. I'm 58 and my hearing has declined steeply in recent years. Conversation is hard work. Our brain tries desperately to piece things together whilst only hearing parts of speech. We often just don't hear or hear wrong. It's embarrassing, we feel ridiculous and frustrated and, worst of all, it's lonely. Others speech, even those very familiar to us, can be so hard to decipher that it's often easier to not engage.

The reason I initially went to the GP was because my handwriting became unrecognisably illegible. Now with medication it’s back how it used to be.

I’ve got young onset Parkinson’s disease and there are many symptoms and they can differ from person to person. The speech, shuffling, falls etc do sound like PD. Look at the Parkinson’s UK website, if you have any questions email them and if needed they will happily call you back if you would like to speak with someone.

I read halfway and thought Parkinson's too. Hope she can get checked out. The medication is quite effective at managing symptoms.

Another one who suspected parkinsons
Doesn't always cause shakes