Information
for Caregivers
Helping Patients with Parkinson's Disease
As a caregiver, you play an important part in helping people with Parkinson’s disease. You’ll provide essential day-to-day care, take them to and from healthcare-related appointments and, most importantly, provide essential physical and emotional support.
Who is a caregiver? A husband, wife, partner, son, daughter, or neighbor to name a few. Essentially, a caregiver is anyone willing and able to assume the responsibilities of helping a person with Parkinson’s disease manage the disease and its symptoms, and live a more active life.
A Caregiver Provides Essential Support
The goal of Parkinson’s disease treatment is managing the symptoms so the patient can maintain their daily activities. Although the patient and their doctor will make decisions regarding treatment, caregivers provide essential physical and emotional support. Here are a number of ways you can help:
Assist with Medicine
Keep a list of all prescription and nonprescription medicines, vitamins and herbal supplements the patient is taking, including dosage and frequency taken. You may want to use the Doctor Visit Worksheet (PDF) found here to record this information and share it with the doctor. Ask the doctor for specifics about each medicine, and what to expect as the disease worsens.
Help the patient organize their medicines each week into a medicine organizer, which makes it easier to keep track of multiple medicines. To learn how to reduce the number of doses required to manage Parkinson’s symptoms, ask the doctor about REQUIP XL, the once-daily treatment for Parkinson’s patients.
Encourage Activities
Ask the doctor if simple, enjoyable exercises like walking or gardening, or group programs like yoga or massage, are right for the person under your care. If balance is a problem, ask the doctor about seated exercises.
Suggest a Healthy Diet
Discuss dietary recommendations with the patient's doctor. Encourage a balanced diet rich in whole-grains, fruit, and vegetables. Ask the doctor about foods to avoid that might interfere with any medicines.
If the patient has trouble swallowing, be sure to cut food into small pieces, and have him or her drink plenty of water during meals.
Prescription REQUIP XL is not for everyone. REQUIP XL may cause you to fall asleep or feel very sleepy during normal activities such as driving; or to faint or feel dizzy, nauseated, or sweaty when you stand up. Tell your doctor if you experience these or the following problems, or if you drink alcohol or are taking other medicines that make you drowsy. Side effects may include nausea, dizziness, drowsiness or sleepiness, headache, and sudden uncontrolled movements (dyskinesia). Increase or decrease in blood pressure and heart rate may occur. Hallucinations may occur at any time during treatment. Also tell your doctor if you experience new or increased gambling, sexual, or other intense urges while taking REQUIP XL. REQUIP XL may increase the side effects of L-dopa. Most patients were not bothered enough to stop taking REQUIP XL.