Ask the Pharmacist
Do you have questions about your prescribed medications used to treat Parkinson’s or other conditions? What about over-the-counter medications or herbal remedies and how they may interact? Ask pharmacist!
Lindy Wood Swain received her Doctor of Pharmacy degree, summa cum laude, from Washington State University in 2009, and completed a specialty residency in geriatrics from 2009 to 2010. She is currently a research fellow in geriatrics. Dr. Swain also serves as a clinical pharmacist at Elder Services; a division of Spokane Mental Health. She also aids in teaching and training pharmacy students and provides in-home medication reviews and consultations.
As a member of the WSU Geriatrics Team, Dr. Swain assists in geriatrics-focused research, including medication safety. Her clinical areas of interest include type 2 diabetes, and neurology with a focus on neurodegenerative disorders such as Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s diseases. Dr. Wood assists with medication consultations for the Inland Northwest Alzheimer’s Association, and also serves on the Board of Directors for the Parkinson’s Resource Center of Spokane.
If you want more specific information or have questions for the pharmacist, email Lindy at lindy_wood@wsu.edu.
Dr Lindy Wood, Pharm.D.
The following comment is re-posted because of an issue with the site.
Q: My husband is struggling with insomnia and was given sample of Lunesta but does not want to “get hook” on that type of medicine. Do you have any suggestions on an natural type sleep aide that I can buy?
Answer from Dr. Wood: Sleep in Parkinson’s in something that often tends to be elusive! Many people with Parkinson’s use medications, like the Lunesta you mentioned, or others such as Ambien (zolpidem), or trazodone – an agent traditionally used as an antidepressant but now mainly used as a sleep aid. While many medicines that we use for sleep do carry some risks of becoming dependent on them for sleep, this can be avoided by only using the medicine when necessary and using the lowest dose possible.
As far as natural sleep aides, the most commonly used over-the-counter and herbal agents include melatonin, valerian, and products that contain diphenhydramine (Benadryl, Tylenol PM, Advil PM, etc). Without knowing all the medicines your husband takes, it is difficult for me to recommend a specific agent. Before using any kind of OTC/herbal/supplement, you should show a doctor or pharmacist a list of the medications that you’re husband takes, to make sure the supplement won’t interact with his prescriptions.
An important point to remember is that just because something is “natural” or available over-the-counter, that doesn’t necessarily mean it is safer or that there is less chance of getting “hooked” on it. I would recommend that you consult with your husband’s doctor or his pharmacist to see if an over-the-counter sleep aid would be appropriate. If you want more specific information, please feel free to email me at lindy_wood@wsu.edu with your husband’s regimen.