Hi Rosemary, I think all of us would like to believe that we don’t have PD, and that there has been a mistake in diagnosing us. It is not a diagnosis that anyone is happy to get. No one on this site can tell you whether you have PD but I can tell you that skipping one dose of medication is not a good way to test or confirm your diagnosis. That discussion should be with your MDS. I would say that when you look at whether you have symptoms of Parkinson’s Disease you need to look at non motor as well as motor symptoms. Do you have non motor symptoms such as constipation, loss of your sense of smell, Rem behavior disorder, nocturia, etc.? Then ask yourself if you don’t have Parkinson’s Disease what other disease would account for the symptoms you do have?
Parkinson’s Disease can be difficult to diagnose and about 25% of the time, doctors get the diagnosis wrong, either they give a false positive or a false negative. I hope you are one of the false positive cases, but again, this is something that should be discussed with your doctor.

I choose to answer the other question -- what happens when you miss lots of sleep. The answer is "nothing good." I have had a couple of 48 hr + awake periods which have blamed as accomplices in contracting pneumonia and another time, shingles (my all time pain threshold setter , and I almost lost an eye). I would be in serious contact with my neuro. And after I missed sleep for a 48 hr period, I would ask him/her about getting me a full power sleeping aid, scary hallucinations notwithstanding.

I have parkinsonism, not PD. But I take sinemet that works for me even though I heard that sinemet works only for PD, not parkinsonism. Go figure! Plus I don't get off times if I forget to take a dose and I can eat anything, anytime with sinemet. But now my neurologist is testing me for functional neurological disorder that mimics PD. I'm just glad that I don't have much pd symptoms anymore, whether I have it or not.

Davidak I agree living in the moment is the way to go with pd ! I laugh at my self and that helps put other people at ease too

I try to arrange my med doses to be close enough together that I have finished all my meds 2-4 hours before bedtime. The night has become a pleasant, med-free time for me, even if I do have tremors sometimes. If I am awake, I am sleepy enough to be in a pleasant doze-like state without tremors. If I am asleep, I often have unpleasant vivid drug-induced dreams. I keep my wine close by at night & sip at it as needed. I have had to pull all-nighters or late night emergency times for my late husband or for friends. It is amazing how capable we can be without the meds when we are tired.