Thank you for this informative article with questions to ask after a diagnosis of Parkinson's disease. It is important to understand the disease and how to best help a loved one living with Parkinson's. It's also helpful to ask the doctor for safe ways for an older adult to exercise since research shows a positive link between Parkinson's and regular exercise

Check out Rock Steady Boxing for Parkinson's. My aunt started a few months ago and has had great success.

Treating Parkinson's and dealing with it is a two way street. Doctors, patients and caregivers should be on the same page as to what is going in the daily life of a patient with Parkinson's. The five areas of questions listed in this article should also be addressed by the physician at time of the office visit. There many times the patient and/or the caregiver are so involved in the daily activities that it is difficult to step back and notice the changes between office visits. Sleep patterns, medication schedules, food intake, behavioral patterns, physical changes, etc. should be brought up by the caregiver, and if not, the doctor should have a list of these areas to ask about at the time of visit. Or, better still, the physician should ask the caregiver (which is often the one to ask in later stages of PD) to keep track of these areas. By giving the caregiver a set of areas to keep track of between visits, I believe there can be a more intelligible way of discussing these areas between physician, patient and caregiver.