Are you living with Parkinson’s Disease?

Take charge of your disease — be your own best advocate.

It used to be that doctors were in charge of your health care. You sought their advice and took it, often with no questions asked! Today we know that when you are engaged and informed about your own care, you are healthier!

For PD patients, being your own best advocate will help you stay as healthy as possible for as long as possible. To do that, you need to ask yourself candid questions about your care and your health. You also need to be willing to make changes if you find you’re not satisfied. Know that assessing your care is an ongoing process.

Be in charge of your care and your disease! Here are some questions to ask yourself when assessing your care:

• Am I getting the best possible care with my current physician? Is my doctor a movement disorder specialist or one who specializes in Parkinson’s Disease?
• Is information about my condition being shared among the different providers I am seeing?
• Are my loved ones getting the support and information they need to help me manage my disease?
• Am I communicating with my doctor on important issues such as quality of life, medication side effects, frustrating personal and professional changes?
• Am I providing my doctor with detailed notes regarding my “On” and “Off” times?
• How am I feeling? Are the drug treatments working? Do I have more “on” time than “off” time? Am I experiencing intolerable side effects?
• Have I asked my doctor about new medications?
• Are there other treatments I should explore and how do I find out about them?
• Am I feeling depressed?
• How is my diet? Am I getting enough fruits and vegetables? Am I drinking enough water?
• Do I exercise regularly?