[Jim091866]

hey guys and gals I'm far from the guru but I recently had my DBS settings totally worked over and went through the hated period of dose finding. Here are a few of the things that I have learned.

Tell your doctor, you're not going to stop your meds but you will be trying to find the least dose possible. I think I'm going to be some sort of advocate or something. PD patients are NOT drug abusers why would they take too much medication and abuse it-the dyskinesia's are a pain. You are trying to find the least amount of meds that does the job, right?

1. Use a chart, I did a speadsheet with hourly ratings "Off" "On" and "On with dyskinesia. You "x" the box and at the at the days end you see the timeline of how you did and can adjust the meds as desired.
2. I think that to truly get the best out of this you have to start out in the morning of course being off and be able to basically take the time, check the marks, it will tell you how you're doing.
3. Use a timer, don't rely on memory for taking the meds. I use my cell phone alarm, it's always with me.
4. This is of course best done when you don't have to work, like a weekend if possible.
5. Get some help. Family, etc. you're trying to improve your life.

To make the spreadsheet (I used Excel) timeline across the top in hours
0600,0700...to 2200. on the left put on w/ dysk, below it put "on". Below that one "off". you score each hour with an "x" and indicate when you take your meds.

This worked for me in about 2 days wherin i went from (2) 25/100 every 2 hrs to 1 every three hours with no off and no dyskinsia.

Good luck.