Taking Charge with Parkinsons

Post Contributor:  Dan Roberson

When I was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease twelve years ago my symptoms were slight.  My muscles cramped and I had trouble walking but after taking medication I looked and felt great.  Yet there were days when I stumbled and I showed the effects of PD.

As my condition got worse another problem arose.  Arthritis had severely damaged my knees.  Every day I stumbled along in excruciating pain.  But when someone would ask, “How are you today?” I would always say, “Great!” for I didn’t want to bring negative attention to myself.

Eight years later I had one knee replaced.  The operation was successful but the healing process was slow, due to PD and also because the other knee was equally bad. I still didn’t have a good leg to stand on.

Three months later I had the second knee replaced.  By then the first knee was functioning.  When I had been cleared to drive by my doctors, life returned to normal.  I was still in pain as I shuffled along, happy to be moving.

Now I began focusing on PD.  Tremors on my left side were increasing. Sometimes I couldn’t write or type which disturbed me.  Friends were asking if I had suffered a stroke because my face seemed frozen on the left side.  Fortunately I began listening to my daughter’s advice and trying vitamin B, multivitamins, CQ10, and LDN.  My doctors didn’t encourage or discourage my experimentation.  Visit after visit there was little change in symptoms. I was holding my own for a while.

During this time I decided to wage war against PD.  I exercised by riding a stationary bike, walking, and playing ping-pong.  I tried to be as physically active as health permitted.  I still didn’t walk as well, my face was more rigid and solemn, my hands shook especially when I was tired, under stress, or in need of medication.  I sometimes looked worn and haggard, perhaps due to not sleeping well.

With the medications came other problems.  I was easily confused when I was taking combinations of PD medications and pain meds while I recovered from the knee surgeries. I was single and alone and I was an easy target for scams.  I lost a large sum of money, my beautiful home, and was forced into bankruptcy.

I recovered and took charge of my life.  To sharpen my mental abilities I began playing chess at tournament levels.  I also began writing again.  I became a blogger producing poems and short stories.  Recently my book, “Devils or Angels”, was published and I have hopes of publishing several more.

PD was scary at first but I’ve thrown down the gauntlet and intend to challenge it.  I feel better when I exercise regularly, rest when tired, and stay on my medications.  I’m still taking vitamins and a few supplements that I believe will keep PD at bay, or at least slow it down.  Mentally I’m still going full speed and I’m ready to face a new day.  Is life easy?  No way!  It’s difficult for me to walk or to write or type.  I fall and I still make mistakes.  Despite PD I intend to enjoy one hour, one day, one year, or whatever amount of time I have left.  I don’t fear death but I’m not ready to quit yet.  I have too much left to do. Carpe Diem!

Coming Soon: Supplement Recommendations Condition-Specific

Hello everyone!

Just a reminder that I am not a doctor and please read my Disclaimer on this site.  (just click on the link).  I have started working on pages that I will be putting up soon on condition-specific supplement recommendations.  If you have a disease that you’d like me to put up there specifically, please comment to this post and recommend it!  So far, these are the conditions I have in mind to talk about:

Lupus

Multiple Sclerosis

Psoriasis

Psoratic Arthritis

Pulmonary Fibrosis

Rheumatoid Arthritis

Osteoarthritis

Parkinson’s

Crohn’s

ALS   also known as Leu Gehrig’s Disease

Autism

Thank you for your help and I hope to have this ready for you soon!

Sincerely,

-Sarah Keturah

Alternative Options for Multiple Sclerosis

Having an autoimmune disease, or in my case, a few, has increased my interest in learning about other diseases, as well as other treatments.  Of course, I think I have always had an interest in medical literature.
And since I’m on an alternative path of treatments, my interest definitely sways into the natural and homeopathic, even though I am certainly not against conventional medications.   I have no idea where this interest came from, but it has always been there, along with many other interests in my life.  And Mom, please stop telling me I should have been a doctor…I’m an artist, first and foremost!  I didn’t become interested in learning about multiple sclerosis until I had Rheumatoid Arthritis.  Before this, my uncle developed Lou Gehrig’s Disease (ALS), and later, after I developed RA, my father developed Parkinson’s.  Though my uncle is not related by blood, this still added to my growing interest of wanting to put a halt to all the disease in my life.  Perhaps if I could learn about these diseases, I could also come up with theories on how to improve the lives of those that had them?  And why did it seem like diseases were on an upswing?  My quest for answers continues, so I hope you can share in my journey to help the lives of others.

I was on Daily Strength one day when someone with both Rheumatoid Arthritis and Multiple Sclerosis wrote in on one of the posts.  They mentioned how Low Dose Naltrexone had changed their life.  At the time, I didn’t pay much attention to it and later couldn’t find the member.  But months later I had remembered Low Dose Naltrexone and started researching.

Upon research I found communities who knew a lot about Low Dose Naltrexone, and also people who knew how to be terrific supporters.  I gained friends, many who had MS and as a result became more interested in learning about Multiple Sclerosis.  I also hoped to simply learn more about neurological diseases.  My dad, new to Parkinson’s wasn’t as keen as I was in alternative medications at first, but soon I coaxed him into trying LDN.  I don’t think he thought it was doing much until months later when he ran out and realized he noticed a substantial difference.  I also have him taking higher doses of Coenzyme Q10 which has been shown to slow down the progression of both PD and ALS.

Multiple Sclerosis has been particularly interesting to me because the treatments for MS are currently inadequate.  Ask anyone with MS and you’ll hear the same thing.  That’s part of the reason why so many people with MS discovered Low Dose Naltrexone.  You can say the same for Pulmonary Fibrosis and many other diseases where people are given steroids, antibiotics, and other medications hoping to change the course of the disease and yet the disease for the most part, continues to progress without much change.  Pulmonary Fibrosis is a disease that can also be treated with Serracor-NK and Serra-RX because it reduces scar tissue.  Scar tissue can cause many health problems and diseases which is why reducing this scar tissue and fibrin which causes it, using Serrapeptase can be so helpful.

  What is MS?  Watch this video to learn more.

Recently, I’ve been thrilled to see that Serracor-NK is a recommended alternative treatment for Multiple Sclerosis.  It’s also compatible with most drugs, so another great solution if you have MS and are on CRAB drugs, antibiotics, or steroids.  Because I take Serracor-NK and know how well it works for me, I imagine that it would also work well for MS.  There are lots of theories out there that MS and RA are actualy closely related.  Whatever the case, any treatment that works for MS is a miracle.

   Watch an MS relapse to better understand this disease.

“In MS, the myelin protective sheath that covers the nerve cells is broken down by immune complexes that are embedded in it. Serracor-NK,Serrra RX80 and other proteolytic enzymes break down the destructive immune complexes and can dramatically reduce MS symptoms. While regeneration of damaged tissue is not possible, regular supplementation with enzymes has been documented to halt the progress of degeneration associated with most stages of MS.”-biomediclabs.

  Reversing MS, is it possible?  Research shows new hope!

Hopefully soon we will find real solutions for our medical issues.  Until that day comes, I hope that you will join in the research, theories and recommendations that myself and many other people provide.  I will always mention, I am no doctor and this is all solely my opinion, but I do hope that this site helps you!  Hugs and thanks, -Sarah

Saying Goodbye to Acupuncture for Now

I don’t want t o give it up acupuncture. I do notice a slight difference and enjoy the attention. But since every Saturday I was having to get up a little earlier than I would naturally and since every week it was costing me $20 and I am currently more broke than ever, I simply can’t afford to keep going. I was noticing the biggest difference in my left wrist. And although I think it’s probably worth the money and time, I’m just so concerned with money right now that I can’t rationalize doing something that’s only making a slight difference. Maybe I’ll go back in the future but so far, unless money is no object, the benefits are not extraordinary enough. Supplements are so costly and I spend a TON on them. So that’s where I’m at. I do feel sad about it because I know it was helping a little. It was definitely improving my life, but I would only recommend acupuncture to people with RA who are near remission. Otherwise, it will probably just make your symptoms worse. I always flared during the visit. But the after effect of less inflammation was worth the flare. In the past however, when I wasn’t on alternative meds and tried acupuncture, I had a terrible flare that lasted weeks. It was awful! So again, I would only recommend acupuncture to those who are doing well with their disease and trying to ease smaller symptoms but not to people who are in the middle of a healing crisis, or worse, still looking for the right cocktail altogether.

Accupuncture Visits for Rheumatoid Arthritis

I admit it, I’ve done a terrible job keeping up with posts on how acupuncture is going for me.  So rather than waiting to write a post where I tell you exactly how many visits I’ve had and what’s happened at each one, etc., I’m just going to take the easy road and make it simple.  I’ve gone to every Saturday appointment except for two and last Saturday I got a parking ticket….so much for letting that relaxed feeling linger……

I can tell you that whenever I do go in for acupuncture, I get a flare during the visit.  You might think that sounds terrible, but to me I think of it as progress.  Anything natural will make you flare up, it’s just part of the process.  And that’s the hardest part really, is how to tell the difference between something that is making you worse or something that is making you better when they both have the same reactions.  This excludes immune suppressive drugs because they work entirely differently.

Within an hour usually, my flare subsides and lately I feel fairly great for a few days before the inflammation comes back to its normal state.  I would definitely say the acupuncture is making a positive difference, however it’s very slight.  I’ve decided to keep going however, based on theory.  So here are my theories on why I should keep going to acupuncture:

1.  Acupuncture increases endorphins.  Endorphins help heal the body.  Therefore, I must be doing some, even if it’s small, amount of healing during the visit.

2.  Acupuncture increases circulation.  Over time, perhaps increasing the circulation will make a bigger decrease in the amount of inflammation in my body.

3.  Even if the decrease in inflammation is very slight, it is still something.  And perhaps that small amount will slow down the erosion and disability.

4.  The Placebo effect.  As long as I don’t get any more parking tickets, perhaps the placebo effect of thinking the acupuncture is helping somewhat, will help decrease the inflammation.

Michael has been using a Chinese technique that would make some people cringe where you prick near the fingernail with a needle in certain spots (on a few of the fingers on each hand) and cause your hands to bleed for a moment.  Maybe that doesn’t sound fun to you, and it isn’t really.  It’s nothing compared to RA pain.  I do, in all honesty feel like it is decreasing the inflammation more so than it was before he had tried this technique.  I was glad that he was open to asking me if I’d like to try it because most people would probably be against the idea.  To me it makes logical sense as well, that it would increase circulation.

So there you have it in a nutshell.  I’m going in tomorrow and this time I’ll circle around for 10 minutes if I have to so I can find a parking spot that doesn’t allow for any more cruel tickets.  I hope you all have a great weekend and thanks as always for visiting!