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At 01:30 PM 7/20/96 -0400, in a reply to Glenna and Don C, Marjorie
Moorfield wrote about the difficulty she had in a nursing home.
>I NEVER EVER got my MEDS. on time--usually several hours off--they had
>time to chase a woman who kept taking her clothes off & running down
>the hallway--but never time to get the MEDS to the patients on time!!!!

This has been my experience too.  My father is a nursing home patient and
they tell me the law allows them to give meds 1 hour before to 1 hour after
the designated time.  So if you are on a time-scheduled dosage of sinemet
and have to go to a nursing home, you can be sure you'll always be going off
the sinemet for at least an hour or have side effects from it because they
give one dose late and the next dose early.

The dr. changed his sinemet to CR, and this has helped some, since it lasts
longer and requires much less attention from the nursing home staff.

Marjorie also said:
>NEUROLOGISTS are the ONLY Doctors who know ANYTHING about PD

I have to agree here, too, but with a qualification.  Some neurologists
don't know anything about PD and if you live in a rural area like we do,
it's very hard to find a neurologist who does.  I have forbidden my dad's
family doctor to consult with or take any advice from the one here in town
since he is crazy - put dad on a medication that said right on the medicine
"do not give this drug to PD patients since it inhibits the absorption of
levadopa" and refused to discontinue the medicine when I pointed this out to
him and that dad had gotten much worse suddenly, and then had the gall to
bawl me out because I wanted the med discontinued!

Be very careful.  If a PD patient suddenly gets worse right after a med
change, it could be the meds!

Marjorie, hope you're better soon.

Vicki