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Title: A patient states “My doctor said sometimes I would have an on/off problem with t Post by: colleen on Mar 12, 2013 A patient states “My doctor said sometimes I would have an on/off problem with this medication what does that mean?” The best response by the nurse is which of the following?
1. “The on times will be when your symptoms are under control; the off times are when you will have increased problems with symptom management.” 2. “There will be times when you are depressed (off) and when you are happy (on).” 3. “You will have to take breaks from this medicine by stopping (off) and starting it (on) again, so you don’t build up a tolerance to it.” 4. “I’m not a pharmacist, so I shouldn’t be answering this question.” Title: Re: A patient states “My doctor said sometimes I would have an on/off problem with t Post by: robertling on Mar 30, 2013 1 -- Patients taking Parkinson’s drugs can experience episodes of hypomobility (off) when the dopamine/acetylcholine are imbalanced, and periods of symptom management when these two neurotransmitters are in better balance the on time. On/off phenomenon has nothing to do with depressive episodes, and the medication for Parkinson’s should not be started and stopped. A nurse should be able to answer questions about the patient’s medications, or at least attempt to find the answer if it is not known.
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