Hello everyone can someone please help me out here. I was diagnosed with PD about 4 years ago. At first I was very particular about timing of meds but lately I just cannot be bothered. Sometimes I take my meds on time but more often than not lately I miss taking them on time. So I might be 30 to 60 minutes late. My question is does it really make a difference? I don’t detect any worsening of my condition when I am late taking my meds. I am not just that structured as I get older. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks
1 Like
Hello Boomerang … I am supposed to take 21 pills a day. Some I don’t take every day & some I don’t take at all. My main pills I take twice a day. One lot when I wake up between 6am & 8am [11 pills].
The main evening pills I take between 6pm & 7.30pm [7 pills].
The mid day Parkinson’s pills 2 between 11.45am & 2pm.
Finally 1 pill at 10pm.
I don’t think it makes a great difference to me what time I take them. Very occasionally
I totally forget then I do notice.
Of course it is best to take them at the same time each day.
I did decide to totally stop my Bisoprolol [Beta Blockers] for A Fib. After 4 days
without them I had a bad A Fib attack so I started taking them every day.
Best wishes
Steve2
Thanks so much Steve for your prompt response and I concur with much of what you said. Of course I would like to be more disciplined when it comes to medication timing but sometimes I think the so called experts don’t really know and are just surmising. Thanks again, warmest wishes and good health in 2025.
I’m afraid as the disease progresses timing gets more important as symptoms such as on/off and dyskinesias become more frequent. So you will probably have to become more precise again but enjoy having a little flexibility for the moment.
Podd
Hi boomerang83. Its my husband who has Parkinsons, but i can tell you from his experience, 6years diagnosed, he does indeed need to be more disciplined now with timings . Podd is correct, as the condition progressess, you will probably find that to be the case, and if you dont find its problematic just now, enjoy that flexibility. However i agree with you re the experts. Of course they have the in depth knowledge of the condition, but they dont have the individual lived experience. My hwp does alter timings a bit daily, depending on whats happening that day, or what activities are planned,he has to be sure he is ‘on’, and able to function. But we are all prone to forget, like Steve has mentioned. A distraction and late administration is not the end of the world. You learn over time what Parkinsons will let you away with! Every days a learning day ! Best wishes to you
thankyou]]]==
thank you for your response, PD is definitely not a one size fits all disease, I was just wondering what age your husband is? Which symptoms does he find most troubling?
Hello my husband has had Parkinson’s for just over 10 years and he actually NEVER had much response to the parkinson’s meds - never really had the same on/off periods as I’ve heard others describe. He used to tell us this… that he didn’t think the meds made much difference earlier on in his journey but I wasn’t that involved as I am now that he has advanced Parkinsons (he needs daily assistance and also help with the meds). Anyway, it wasn’t untill this year when I’ve been a carer to him that we realised he had such a poor response. I also asked the consultant about dropping the rigid timetable and she said it was fine… if you don’t notice much difference when you take the pills late, it could be that you are just not very responsive to the meds. My partner doesn’t have the tremour dominant form of PD, it’s more balance and freezing that he always struggled with.