What should I be aware of when taking medication for Parkinson’s disease?

  Since Parkinson’s disease is a chronic progressive disease, once diagnosed, patients will need medication for the rest of their lives. Proper medication can effectively improve patients’ symptoms, enable them to take care of themselves and improve their quality of life. At the same time, in order to delay the progression of the disease and to prevent motor complications such as “allodynia” and “switch phenomenon”. What are the precautions for Parkinson’s disease medication.  1, early medication: there are many early patients, think their symptoms are relatively light, does not affect life, do not want to take drugs so early, or only through exercise, diet, etc. to relieve, we recommend that patients are diagnosed, follow the instructions of the medication, there is evidence that the disease progresses faster in the early stages of the disease than later. Therefore, once diagnosed early, treatment should be started as soon as possible.  2, follow the individualized medication: because each patient’s age, duration of disease, severity of symptoms, physical condition, economic status, nature of work, etc. are different, so the medication will also be different, must be like tailor-made, for each patient “individualized” medication guidance, with as few types, as small as possible dose, good control of symptoms It is only reasonable to use medication. It is recommended that patients actively cooperate with the doctor’s treatment, timely follow-up, do not add or subtract drugs, withdraw drugs, change drugs, etc.  3, the correct treatment of drug side effects: most of the anti-Parkinson’s disease drugs, common side effects may be dizziness, nausea, vomiting, hallucinations, insomnia or drowsiness, etc. Some side effects will slowly decrease after the body adapts, and not necessarily all patients will have adverse reactions after taking the drug; secondly, not all adverse reactions will occur, but sometimes serious side effects will force patients to reduce or stop taking the drug Second, not all adverse reactions will occur, but sometimes serious side effects will force patients to reduce or stop taking the drug for a period of time, and there are also side effects that may become therapeutic. Therefore, do not be afraid of side effects, and cooperate with your doctor more for treatment. Finally, the biggest side effects of long-term levodopa drugs are involuntary movements (dyskinesia) and “on/off” changes in the drug’s effect, which are usually difficult to eliminate once they occur. In case of side effects, patients are advised to follow up and choose the most appropriate drug combination and dose under the guidance of a professional doctor, or consider a pacemaker surgery to get the best treatment effect.  4, the rational combination of drugs and food: drugs and some food at the same time, it is possible that the absorption, distribution, biotransformation, excretion of anti-Parkinson’s disease drugs are affected, thus changing the pharmacological effects of drugs and adverse reactions. For example, fat and protein can affect the absorption of dopamine drugs, but fat and protein are sometimes required for body nutrition, so it is better to take the drugs one hour before or two hours after meals to ensure the maximum effectiveness of the drugs and to ensure the body’s nutritional needs.  5, in the first few weeks of taking new drugs or increase the measurement: because of failure to clearly understand the body’s response, avoid driving or other work that requires a high degree of mental concentration and mobility.