Tips if you are using ‘natural or alternative’ Parkinson’s medicines

It is not uncommon for a person with Parkinson’s disease and their family to arrive at a visit to the clinic with a ‘bag’ filled to the rim with natural or alternative medications for Parkinson’s disease. In this week’s blog we will offer tips to sort out the bottles. We also direct your attention to a recent article in JAMA which discussed “poly-pharmacy,” and vitamins. Dr. Ubel published an editorial on why “too many vitamins feels just about right.”

Image by Jonny Acheson, the parkinsonsecrets.com artist

Tip #1 Just because something is marketed as a ‘natural or alternative” medicine does not mean that there is no value in adding it to your Parkinson’s treatment strategy.

All drugs start in the same place; most start as ‘natural or alternative.’ A drug becomes ‘accepted by ‘Western medicine’ once it undergoes rigorous safety and efficacy testing. Many drugs will never undergo this type of testing and this does not automatically mean they will not have value in your care.

Tip #2 Have a strategy to sort out your medicines.

I (M.S.O.) use a strategy to sort medications into piles. I then discuss each pile of medications with persons living with Parkinson’s and their family members.

· (1) The pile that contains vitamins which could be replaced by a single over the counter multivitamin.

· (2) The pile that contains substances like amino acids, neurotransmitters and other compounds which may not be contained in a regular multi-vitamin.

· (3) The pile that contains cannabinoids (CBD and THC products).

· (4) The pile that contains mucuna or alternative dopamine sources.

Tip #3 After ”sorting out your medicines have a conversation ‘with your doctor and health care team.”

Remember that no one likes being talked ‘at or talked to.’ Talk ‘with’ people and enter conversations with an open-mind. Share thoughts, data, safety information, drug-drug interactions, etc.

Tip #4 The tip I tell folks is to not trust the label. Try to purchase drugs from the same manufacturer and observe if you can get a stable effect. If you switch from company to company this will become difficult.

Tip #5 Remember the ‘capsule’ used for organic, natural, or alternative medications may not be something you choose to ingest. This may be a cheap covering and could impact absorption— or be made of something you do not wish to have in your body.

I (M.S.O.) have found that I learn as much from these conversations about ‘alternative therapies’ as persons living with Parkinson’s (and family members). I think that doctors and health care professional should embrace a more open approach.

Tips if you are using ‘natural or alternative’ Parkinson’s medicines

Tip #1 Just because something is marketed as a ‘natural or alternative” medicine does not mean that there is no value in adding it to your Parkinson’s treatment strategy.

Tip #2 Have a strategy to sort out your medicines.

Tip #3 After ”sorting out your medicines have a conversation ‘with your doctor and health care team.”

Tip #4 The tip I tell folks is to not trust the label. Try to purchase drugs from the same manufacturer and observe if you can get a stable effect. If you switch from company to company this will become difficult.

Tip #5 Remember the ‘capsule’ used for organic, natural, or alternative medications may not be something you choose to ingest. This may be a cheap covering and could impact absorption— or be made of something you do not wish to have in your body.

To read more on Indu Subramanian M.D. she does live interviews of experts in Parkinson’s for the PMD Alliance. She is one of the few doctors in the world trained in both Parkinson’s disease neurology and in integrative medicine.

To see more on our blog by artist Jonny Acheson MD check out his website at JonnyAchesonArt.com. Jonny is a physician in the U.K. who also has Parkinson’s disease.

Dr. Michael S. Okun

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Tips if you are using ‘natural or alternative’ Parkinson’s medicines

Tip #1 Just because something is marketed as a ‘natural or alternative” medicine does not mean that there is no value in adding it to your Parkinson’s treatment strategy.

Tip #2 Have a strategy to sort out your medicines.

Tip #3 After ”sorting out your medicines have a conversation ‘with your doctor and health care team.”

Tip #4 The tip I tell folks is to not trust the label. Try to purchase drugs from the same manufacturer and observe if you can get a stable effect. If you switch from company to company this will become difficult.

Tip #5 Remember the ‘capsule’ used for organic, natural, or alternative medications may not be something you choose to ingest. This may be a cheap covering and could impact absorption— or be made of something you do not wish to have in your body.

To read more on Indu Subramanian M.D. she does live interviews of experts in Parkinson’s for the PMD Alliance﻿. She is one of the few doctors in the world trained in both Parkinson’s disease neurology and in integrative medicine.

To see more on our blog by artist Jonny Acheson MD check out his website at JonnyAchesonArt.com. Jonny is a physician in the U.K. who also has Parkinson’s disease.

Dr. Michael S. Okun

To read more on Indu Subramanian M.D. she does live interviews of experts in Parkinson’s for the PMD Alliance. She is one of the few doctors in the world trained in both Parkinson’s disease neurology and in integrative medicine.