Whats your medication regimen for PD?

[Hadil]

Hello There! I am a PT intern, never handled a patient with PD. i was asked to do a hypothetical Evaluation for PD case. I'd really appreciated if you help me with a list of present medications and if you could tell me the story of how were you diagnosed or why did u decide to seek medical attention. THANK YOU SO MUCH! YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW MUCH YOU'RE HELPING ME! Love. Love. Love.

[wifeofparky]

My husband had PD and timing of meds like sinemet is very important. They need to be taken on a fairly strict schedule and on an empty stomach to get max effectiveness and decrease "down times". Any PT activity should be done with the person at his max abilities so flexibility of appointment times is necessary.

He received his "official" diagnosis after I noticed a tremor in his hand. He had other seemingly unrelated symptoms for several years like decreased sense of smell, cognitive issues, sleep disorders, facial mask and fatigue. After his diagnosis and I researched PD, I learned about the disease and the early symptoms. The National PD Foundation has excellent material on their website to assist you.

[Hadil in reply to wifeofparky]

Thank you so much for your feedback. is he on any other meds? how many time a day is he taken sinemet. YOU'RE AWESOME. Thanks again. xx

[etterus]

Greetings . I'm a 66 yo retired PT. I noticed in 98 that I had dystonia in my R arm and lack of eccentric control of R leg. I. Also lost sense of smell, developed insomnia and fatigue.

Things worsened and I sought neuro evals with no success. My practice was manual therapy. Hobbies were car restoration and drums.... slowly worsening I went to the Mohamed Ali research center in AZ. After 2 years of experimenting with PD meds the PD diagnosis surfaced. I retired in 09 .

Currently take 25/100 c-l dopa every 2 hrs... 12/day. Ambien 2.5 4 x nightly for sleep. Remeron for depression and clonazapam .5 x daily for anxiety. The depression and anxiety are as debilitating as the dyskinesia , dystonia and bradykinesia... I never exhibited tremor. Good luck with your career.

[Hadil in reply to etterus]

What a pleasure to receive a feedback from a senior PT. THANK YOU SO MUCH for the complete answer. i really appreciate it. please, stay safe. if you ever need someone to talk , im just here. Thanks again, Etterus.

[etterus in reply to Hadil]

Hadil.... You are more than welcome. My daughter is also a DPT and currently in an OP ortho practice. She occasionally sees neuro pts with ortho complaints and is very appreciative of the importance of a comprehensive neuro eval/orientation.... the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. As is the case in all aspects of healthcare, you can never know too much. Absorb and integrate as best you can.

[Hikoi]

Hadil

I think PT means physiotherapy right? My presenting symptom was aching Shoulder beginning with an acute episode of extreme pain travelling down my arm. Attended physio and had accupuncture but on reflection it was time that improved this symptom. It is common for people to be diagnosed with rotacuff and end up with surgical intervention when it is actually early PD. My sore shoulder is now gone with medication. This all happened in 1999 and I was diagnosed in 2008.

bcm.edu/departments/neurolo...

Other prediagnosis symptoms included loss of sense of smell, problems with heat control - like hot flushes, bladder and bowel prblems, tiredness, loss of arm swing and dragging my foot, trouble motivating myself, trouble turning over in bed,

You will hear alot about the motor symptoms but the non motor are also very significant. This is a very good summary.

hindawi.com/journals/pd/201...

Current meds Sinemet, Ropinerole, Selegiline.

Enjoy your career, and if you find this all interesting we can always do with more neuro physios!

[Hadil in reply to Hikoi]

Thank you so much, Hikoi. You're a great help! I was thinking more into orthopedics as a specialization but im seriously interested in neuro now. lets see what the future hold. Please, look well after yourself. STAY AWESOME. xxx

[Susie01]

I was first started on Azilect, it made night and day difference in the beginning and if I do not have it, my tremors are bad. Over the years, we have tried various other dopamine agonist without measurable results. I was started on Sinemet about a year ago. I now use Azilect and Sinemet for PD. I also take Seroquel and Ambien for sleep.

I won't go through my whole diagnosis story, but had what in retrospect were classic PD symptoms for about 10 years prior to my diagnosis. Those included, slumped posture, facial mask, voice changes, sleeplessness, tremors.

[hanifab23]

i have too much body pain

[hanifab23]

can some one help me

[soup in reply to hanifab23]

You will have to give us much more information of anybody to be able to make suggestions. How long have you been diagnosed, do you have Parkinson's and what treatment are you on?

Most importantly, have you told your doctor about your pain? That would be my first suggestion.

[gurdeep11 in reply to hanifab23]

what help u need?

[gurdeep11]

once i m healed i m going to start my own free foundation, PD is a great challenge

[McPam]

3 yrs ago i went to the doctor because my arm wouldn't swing when I walked and was beginning to pull up-I was told it was an irritated ulnar nerve. A few months later i started having toe spasms in right foot...was told it was plantar faciitis. Then I started dragging my right leg...told it must be a pinched nerve. Complained of no energy and no endurance at age 58...told it was the aging process. Then started talking in sleep..violent dreams...told it was stress. Then started having anxiety...told it was stress. Finally was referred to a neurologist who gave me the PD diagnosis and by then I had facial masking and stooped posture.

I am taking carbidopa-levodopa 25-100 3x daily , ripinorole 1.5mg 3 times daily, zoloft 1x daily 50mg. I have only been on meds 6 weeks since my diagnosis. it has been a frustrating 3 years and poor health to finally get a diagnosis, If you go to a doctor for dragging a leg..they try to figure out what in the leg is not working..they do not think maybe it is coming from the brain...same for all my other symptoms/