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Words for the ups and downs

The stretch when the medication feels like it is working

ON

A common shorthand for the stretch of time after a dose when the body moves comparatively well.

In the graph

An example curve rising after a dose and holding for a while The horizontal axis runs from 06:00 to 15:00. The vertical axis is how well the body is moving, relative to that person's own range — higher is better movement. Doses are marked at 07:00. The highest point is around 08:15. higher lower 07:00 06 08 10 12 14 An example curve rising after a dose and holding for a while The horizontal axis runs from 06:00 to 15:00. The vertical axis is how well the body is moving, relative to that person's own range — higher is better movement. Doses are marked at 07:00. The highest point is around 08:15. higher lower 07:00 06 08 10 12 14
  • Response through the day
  • Time a dose was taken
An illustration generated for teaching. It does not represent the response to any particular medication or dose, and real curves differ from person to person.

ON is not a diagnosis. It is a name for a stretch of time — a short way of referring to the period after a dose when the body follows along comparatively well.

On a curve, it is the part that rises after a dose marker and stays high for a while. Drawing a line to say exactly where it starts and ends is difficult, though. Real curves do not switch on and off like a step; they rise and fall gradually.

That is why this diary does not ask you to decide whether you are ON right now. Note how well you are moving at this moment, and the higher stretches emerge on their own when you look back at the curve. Moments that feel ambiguous can be recorded exactly as ambiguous.

People often put it like this

  • I can feel it come in
  • Walking is easier and my body feels light in this stretch
  • The hour or two after my morning dose is the best part of my day
  • I plan errands around this time

Worth writing down alongside this pattern

  • When you first felt it A start time is what lets you see the gap between the dose and the change.
  • When it ended With an end time as well, the length of the stretch can be worked out.
  • How well you were moving during it Two stretches can both be good ones and still sit at different heights.
  • What you were able to do Concrete things — walking, dressing, handwriting — make days easier to compare.

What you could show your care team

A record is material for describing your situation. Decisions about which medication you take, at what dose, and at what time belong with the clinicians who look after you.

Start recording