A follow-up appointment lasts ten to fifteen minutes and covers the period since the last one: often three to six months. That is an unfair ratio, and the only way to even it out is preparation.
Below is what to bring, in the order a neurologist usually builds the conversation.
1. Your on/off distribution
Do not start with how things are going; start with how many hours a day you move well and when that changes. Note:
- How many hours a day you are on, on average.
- At what time off periods usually begin.
- Whether that has shifted over recent months.
This is the question almost every schedule change is based on.
2. Your adherence, honestly
Not the percentage, but the pattern. Do you mostly skip the evening dose? Did you stop once because you felt sick? That is not a confession, it is diagnostics: a dose not taken because of side effects calls for something different from a dose you forget.
3. Falls and near-falls
Count them. The number is the single most important figure in the whole conversation, because it drives decisions about physiotherapy, mobility aids and sometimes medication. Per fall, note briefly:
- Where it happened and what you were doing.
- Whether you got up unaided.
- Whether there was injury.
Near-falls count. They often precede a real fall, which makes them the most useful warning available.
4. Freezing
Where do you get stuck: doorways, turning, crowds, hurry? How long does it last? Does a cue help, and if so which one? This is the part where a concrete answer turns into a concrete exercise fastest.
5. Sleep, mood and energy
The non-motor side is the most commonly skipped in short consultations, while it often weighs heaviest in how your day feels. One sentence per topic is enough, but raise it yourself, because the clock is running and the motor questions usually come first.
6. Your own question
Write down one question beforehand that you definitely want answered, and ask it at the start, not at the end. The last two minutes of a consultation are the worst place for the question that matters most to you.
Bring it on paper or on your phone
Whatever you use: make sure it is one overview and not five separate notes. Parki bundles the points above automatically over the period you choose: check-ins, adherence, falls, freezes, pain and your on/off hours, in the order listed here. You share it by email or message, or you simply show it.
The gain is not the report itself. It is that you get to spend those ten minutes on the conversation instead of on reconstructing it.