L-dopa pump for treating Parkinson's Disease

@wkrebs59 i've had my pump since FFebruary 9, 2024. It was rolled out in Januaary 2024 ain the EU. I go it so quickly because my Neurologist was on the board that reviewed and tested it.for release in the EU (I live in Germany.) I'm a lucky ducky!. Ooccasionallly my pump has had an 'episode' but she pulls herself together very shortly and we re-staart the process that we were trying to do when she had her little snit fit. In 2 years, I think that may have happend 10 times, and not all of them were her fault. One of the humans involved in the ptoccess --who shall remain nameless) was trying to do something and hit the wrong button and she ins(ists on having her buttons pushed in the correct order. Shes' not a mindreader But if it happens when you are sure that that the buttons have been pushed correctly more than once a week, you may want to just call the help desk; they will bring a replacement usually within 24 hours. If it stopped completely, then I would guess that the folks at the h lp desk have routines they can walk you though to get it running again. If that doesn't work, I'm sure that they would get a new pump our as quickly as they couldl. But I suggest 2 things: 1. Always have on hand a months supply of oral meds to (and a schedule that you had to followed before you got the pump. Also remember the bit abot fasting 2 hours before and 1 hour after pills. The level of l-dopa you're takng now may be lower than when yoou were taking pills, or your needs may have changed so yuor doctormay have to change the pill rouitine while you get the replalcement Normally, you would get the pump in 24 hours but if you live in Buffalo in the winter, or Floida during hurricaine season, there may be some difficultly getting your pump to you.. I always have a mnoths supply of pills on hand. and once a year I have my nerologist review the list to ensusre that the dosages will match the dosages you normall get from the pump. AND that would be a good time to check the expiration dates on your pills because you wouldn't want to think you had a god back-up plan and the pills that had been in your ccabinet for 10 years won't be of much use. If you live in Florida, you might want to have a go-bag ready n case you have to eacuate.And if you have the tiniest reason to think your pump is going hinky on you,get a repladement sooner rathe than later, So much easier to manage than under crisis conditions.

@noe73 There are a couple of things you can try.I want to say they geet rid of those nodules more quickly, but the truth is that they get rid of the less slowly than doing nothing. One is a muscle stimulator (mine is a wireless because I didn't want to hang myself with yet another set of wires to manage. You can get these stimulators for anywhere from !under $100 to c couple of thousand. Mine is more like about $50.. It has 2 units and you can hold them in the palm of your hand. Use them for 30 minutes in the mornin and 30 minutes in the evening. Confirm with your doctor to make sure there's not some condition you have that would containdicate uasing it - don't know if you had another deice - pacemaker for instance, it might not be a good idea. I do feel that it helped a lttle but thos things are really persistent I had one that was the size of my li;ttle finger and I was going o start charging it rent ! Another thing that some fdolkks havve found helpful is a hedgehog ball - it fits in your hand and it has little ruklber spikes all over it. Just rolll that arond ayour little visitors while you're watching TV and perhaps that can help get rid of them sooner. And if you find out about any other thing that might be helpfull, please posst it. I'm involved with a couple of PD oranizations ans that will help spread the around for others .

@hopeful33250
The lumps range in size from a pea to larger than a lima bean. These have acumulated since the start of using the pump. I have found accupunture helps to diminish the larger lumps. Applying castor oil with a warm compress
is a traditional remedy used to reduce inflammation, which I find helpful .

Our neurologist just recommended the Onapgo device or the Vyalev Pump for PD. Has anyone else started using either of those and have they been beneficial?

@spatase I've beeen on the pump since Februay 2024. If you go through all the things I've posted here (jatonlouise) you'll see how much I love this pump and what a monstrous difference in my llife it made for me. I now have a life worth living. It's an experilence that lots of folks with iPD have had:. Because there is not yet a definitive test for PD, it has to be inferred from the tests taken (which might show some readings that are consistent with PD, but they are also consistent with other diseases and if they pick the wrong diasnosis for you , they'll give you the wrong treatment, so they need to be very careful to avoid doing that. I'm lazy so I'll just refer you to what I've posted in res ponse to others' qyestions. If there's somsething I missed after you look through the rest lt me know and I'm sure I can cobble ome words together and I'm sure to have an opinion of some sort. 😉

@wkrebs59 That's fantastic!

@noe73 There are several salves that can be useful for treating most of the things you may encounter. Thes meds aare used in Germany. I have included the Active ingredients as I expect if you searched on that you would find the US equivalens.
BED SORES
MEDICATION IVP-JOD Antiseptic
ACTIVE INGREDIENTS AND OTHER MEDICATION
Povidon-lad, 100 mg/g Salve: The PVP-JOD AL Ointment is an antiseptic with the active ingredient povidone iodine, especially for use on the skin and wounds. It is suitable for repeated, time-limited treatment of damaged skin such as decubitus, lower leg ulcers, superficial wounds, burns and infected skin diseases.

RASHES /ITCHING
MEDICATION Ecural Fett Creme
ACTIVE INGREDIENTS AND OTHER MEDICATION
Active ingredient:Mometason furoate
Ecural is a medicated cream to treat various inflammatory skin conditions. Mometasone furoate reduces inflammation and associated symptoms (itching, swelling, and redness). It is in the class of moderately potent to potent steroids. It reduces symptoms by suppressing inflammatory processes in the skin and minimizing the immune response, which is the root cause of the problem, as skin overreactions are one of the triggers for dermatoses.
The use of this medication is particularly indicated for dermatoses such as psoriasis, eczema, and allergic skin reactions
BRUISES
MEDICATION Heparathrombin Heparin
ACTIVE INGREDIENTS AND OTHER MEDICATION
Heparathrombin Heparin-Active Ingredient: Contains an active ingredient from the group of mucopolysaccharides with heparin sodium. This group is characterized by anticoagulant activities and reduces swelling. in case of acute swelling conditions after blunt injuries (bruises/bruises).
Heparin Heumann Cream is used for supportive treatment of acute swelling blunt injurie injuriess (bruises/bruises).