A great way to help your neurologist better understand your symptoms is to keep close track of what you’re experiencing and when. The American Parkinson Disease Association (APDA) developed the free APDA Symptom Tracker mobile app to do just that.
The free APDA Symptom Tracker mobile app was created to improve your ability to easily and accurately track your PD symptoms and medications, and relay that important information to members of your medical team; with the ultimate goal of receiving better, more personalized care. A new and improved version of the app has been released, so now is the perfect time to try it out. There’s even an in-app Spanish language option.
How does it work? The APDA Symptom Tracker App guides you through a simple set of questions that has you rate how certain motor symptoms (such as tremor, rigidity, balance) and non-motor symptoms (hallucinations, delusions, fatigue, anxiety, depression, and others) are affecting you. It then creates a graph indicating which symptoms are most impacting your quality of life. That graph can be saved in the app, printed, and also emailed directly to your health care team. Over time, you can compare the results to see if certain symptoms are getting worse, and determine which symptoms need to be addressed more urgently than others. The app also includes an interactive medication tracker, helpful notifications and reminders, and other useful features.
The enhanced APDA Symptom Tracker App 3.0 has the following new features:
- An expanded list of 16 PD symptoms
- “My Medication List” – a list of medications, dosages, and dosing times that can be saved or printed to share with a care team
- “My Notes” – a helpful section to add notes during doctor appointments or when at home to reference during future appointments
- Updated resources and medications referenced within the app
- Enhanced home screen design for improved user experience
- And more!
How do you get the app? Simply go to the Apple App store or Google Play to download the free app.
Why is this app important? The more specific you can be with your health care team, the better doctors can tailor your treatment plan. But it can be hard to remember how certain symptoms have or have not affected you since the last time you connected with your care team, or if you missed a medication dose. The APDA Symptom Tracker tool not only empowers you to take an active role in managing their condition, but also equips your health care providers with the critical data needed to provide the best possible care.”
We hope the APDA Symptom Tracker app helps you or your loved one play a more active role in your PD care.