It will be in your favor that you're not that dependent on meds yet. BUT if you have a family member around who can do the insisting for you, in case the nursing station doesn't get it, it would really be a good idea to have them be in charge of your PD meds. Rick is right that they don't know how much difference timing makes to us. I've heard a lot of horror stories--no details necessary here--search on hospital if you want to know. I'd like to emphasize that hospital personnel will NOT take your word for what meds you need, nor will they necessarily accept that those pills in your daily packet are what you say they are. You MUST have your neuro write out what you're supposed to have, and it must be ahead of time, again, as Rick said. I had the shock of the nurses telling me the first day that my pills all had to be in their original bottles. Fortunately I had engaged the chief pharmacist in pleasant conversation by chance, and he was interested in my meds, so I showed him the computer-printed list that I got off my account at the online mail-order pharmacy that my insurance company uses, with the last 18 months of PD meds on it. He took the list and scanned it and said, "This looks like original bottles to me," then went to the nursing station and squared it with the nurses.

Ice is good for pain. Nurses bring ice packs if pleased with you, and let you use them for, like, 20 minutes an hour. I like ice on top of my head, too, for any kind of pain. I have talked to back-trouble patients in the chat rooms, and they mostly use a combination of acupuncture and attitude to deal with the pain. Being very religious helps, at least for the duration of the healing, or finding some way to get "in a zone" above your body. When I had a hip replaced a couple of years ago, I used narcotics to take the edge, but only the edge off.

Another caution: don't expect anyone on staff to know the first thing about PD, but you can teach them. For example, a wheelchair pusher intent on getting you to physical therapy can get impatient, but you can explain that you're a slow mover on account of the PD--you get the idea.

Back to your main concern...I didn't experience any worsening of the Parkinson's during my hospital stay and recovery. In fact, PD was the least of my problems, once the med question was settled. I actually felt better in the recovery room than I had in a couple of years (and the nurse gave me a sinemet as soon as I awoke). With my increased mobility and some good physical therapy and more exercise, I got better for quite a while--for about two years, actually.

APDA has a wallet-sized fold-over card that carries a list of meds and anesthetics to avoid. You can get them from any APDA chapter, or call one of their offices to get some.. The also say "I am not drunk" and other useful info for getting around town. I'll bet their website would be helpful, too.

Good luck and good wishes,

Jaye