Having two kids ages 12 and 14 requires that I attend events for my children and act as a taxi for them when it comes to any of their activities. In order to do these things I need to plan ahead when it comes to the timing of my Parkinson’s medications.
For the summer, my kids are going to a summer day camp every day. This morning it was my turn to drive them and I needed to leave by 8:15 AM to get them to camp on time. I was actually able to sleep last night and I ended up sleeping in till about 7:15 AM.
When I woke up I was in a bit of a panic because I knew I needed to be on the road in an hour and I hadn’t taken any of my meds yet. My medication seems to take affect slowly. I usually can expect that it will work about an hour and a half or so after I take it.
After the initial panic subsided I calmed down because I realized that I could just use my Inbrija inhaler. I did exactly that and it worked out just fine. The inhaler is still relatively new for me but I’m grateful to have it because in these times, when I screw up the timing of my medication, I have a solution.
Does anyone else feel this stress or anxiety with timing their Parkinson’s medication?
I typically don’t have any issues. Mine doesn’t take long to be effective. I take medication every 3 hours except after 7 pm and I don’t take another dose until 7 the next morning. I do have to say that sometimes I wake up confused which causes me to panic thinking that dementia is starting. I don’t know if the confusion is from lack of medication for so long or if from something else. The only other issue I have is stiffness and pain but I can deal with it until the medication kicks in.
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I believe it causes me anxiety. I just returned from an out of town 2 week trip.
I worried how I was going to manage my on/off times for the flights, the activities, etc. When to time my meds for dinners out…you name it. Im taking entacapone as an addition to my CL as needed to make my on times longer. However I notice I get some dyskinesia when I do. So there’s that.
We do what we can, and just keep trying.
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Yes traveling can be very stressful when timing your meds! I have learned that sometimes I need to skip activities if I’m not up for it when on vacation. I did this a couple of times when I went on a cruise recently.
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I just started C/L 25-100 1 tablet 3x daily two weeks ago, and I’m struggling to plan my day appropriately. If I don’t take it with something starchy, I pass out in a cold sweat. Just happened at work about an hour ago. And I get super sleepy between 20-40 minutes after each dose. I also have a 7 year old and a 16 year old (who just got her license, thankfully), so there are lots of activities and obligations to manage. Does anyone do this successfully? 
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I struggled with the medication when I first started it. Symptoms were so bad I quit. My uncle who had the disease (passed away in April 2021) insisted that I go back on it and to give it time. It took me about 3 months before my body adjusted. You definitely need to eat something with it. Avoid protein an hour before taking it if you can. I no longer can because I take it every 3 hours now. I wish I could say that you won’t get tired but unfortunately, it is a side effect. Best wishes!