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I Screwed Up

There are some bad things that happen to good people at least once in a lifetime. Getting fired from a job.  Getting a speeding ticket.  Stuff you try to avoid.  This past Sunday I was in Manhattan for the day with my partner Julio.  We go in often enough that it's fairly routine.  I carry my meds with me for the day.  I start to fade around 3 or 4pm, take the train home at that time, Julio comes back later in the evening.  No problem.  But this time J. said stay till 8pm & then i'll come back with you.  I just was not thinking. I took my last dose at 6:30pm.  I had no extra stash at all.  Nada. Zip. Zero. I keep extra doses in my car, but that was parked back in Jersey.  I screwed up.  I was panic stricken. We missed the 7pm train out of Penn Station, the next one was at 8pm.  What a nightmare.  Of course the train was full of loud drunks, screaming babies, the whole nine yards.  I was not a pretty sight.  So I learned the hard way NEVER to go anywhere, anytime, anyplace without lots of extra carbidopa/levodopa.  Each dose only lasts 2 1/2 hours. Now I know why the "off-state" is often mistaken for being drunk when strangers see you in public.  I guess it happens to any person with PD at least once.  But you'd think that after living 9 years with PD, I'd know better !

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