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parkinson’s is not the end
Anonymous
Posted: Sat Sep 20, 2008 7:39 pm Post subject: Parkinson’s is not the end
Parkinson’s is not the End by Staff Condition Overview It’s there if we want it, but we must reach for it. Fulfillment is not far and is entirely accessible. A diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease is not a sentence of something terrible, if we accept it as we accept without question the consequences of ageing! We must move ahead into that part of our future within our control by: Identifying our unused talents and skills. Applying them. How do we identify our latent abilities? Easy! Make a list, a long list, of goals in which you have an interest (what would you really like to do or be?), and one or two will stand out as being the most appealing because you plan to work on them first. It can get exciting! Every one of us has hidden abilities we have not yet used, as I discovered. Until I was a year or so into Parkinson’s, I had not realized I was able to write well. Now I have authored quite a few books. I discovered yet another hidden talent in writing children’s books. My new full-time avocation is keeping me busy and constantly presents new goals. Just as Satisfied With Life Now As I Was Before Parkinson’s Hit! I wish to add the very important fact that I quit driving years ago— before I did something bad. This keeps me at home most of the time. My lovely bride of 37 years works full time, but that’s OK. I have plenty to look forward to, every day, as I count my blessings. Life is good.
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Dr. OkunJoined: 19 Jan 2007Posts: 251Location: University of Florida
Posted: Tue Sep 23, 2008 9:21 am Post subject:
Thanks for your wonderful note and you are right Parkinson is not the end._________________Michael S. Okun, M.D.
Exercise facts for Parkinson’s Disease
Research has also proven the benefits of exercise, even in the short term, specifically for people living with Parkinson’s disease. The list of benefits that scientists have discovered includes improved:
- Motor performance
- Trunk rotation
- Hand-eye coordination
- Stability and balance while walking
- Non-motor symptoms
- Muscle volume and strength
Perhaps one of the most compelling studies about the benefits of exercise came from researchers at Osaka Medical School in Japan. Research nurses visited 438 patients for an average of four years. During that time, 71 of the patients died. They found that patients who did not exercise were about 80 percent more likely to die.
It is probable that exercise increased the health of the study patients and contributed to their longer lives. Likewise, if the rest of your body is relatively healthy, you will benefit from that overall health in your battle with Parkinson’s disease.
Reasonable Ideas about Exercise in Parkinson’s
The benefits of exercise usually far outweigh the potential side effects. Nevertheless, there are some facts that you should know about exercise, and some risks you should be aware of.
- Research has not proven that exercise slows down Parkinson’s. People living with Parkinson’s disease report improving their physical and emotional health through physical activity. However, we cannot report that exercise will miraculously protect precious brain cells.
- Benefits of exercise in Parkinson’s may be somewhat short-lived. Most of the studies exploring the effect of exercise on people with Parkinson’s disease have only followed patients for a few months. There is limited information about long-term benefits.
- Some people develop unwelcome conditions and injuries from exercise including sprains, arthritis, and heel spurs just to mention a few. Work with medical professionals to identify safe and effective exercises.
- Exercise can be expensive, but it does not have to be. You can pay a premium for gyms, trainers, and equipment. However, there are many ways to exercise such as walking, or participating in activities at community centers, that are less expensive.
- Exercise is hard work, especially if you are not used to it. Some people may need to start with short and easy activities, and build strength gradually.
- There is not yet definitive proof that exercise improves depression or reduces falling.
Making Life Better
You do not need the validation of a scientist that life with Parkinson’s disease is extremely challenging, and often discouraging. Because of the overwhelming evidence of the benefits of exercise, we want to encourage our readers who do not currently exercise to find activities they can safely enjoy. Your activities will be a source of strength.
People who exercise sharpen their mental and physical abilities. Working out with Parkinson’s can be an exercise for the mind as well as for the muscles. The eventual benefits may include improved independence and quality of life.
Souces:
Is exercise the tool or the end of parkinson
Is exercise is an end or tool for Parkinson’s Patient?I think exercise is the end to maximise our physical mobility and flexibility with the combination of the PD medication (Sinemet, Comtan, Zelopar, Mirapex, amantadine), they are the tool to relief our physical stiffness and rigidity._________________to help the PD patients aware the diseases and encourage to set up support groups to educate the patients and their iwheelersceJoined: 02 Mar 2007Posts: 408Location: MIPosted: Wed Apr 02, 2008 5:23 am Post subject:It certainly seems that everyone can agree, exercise is valuable! Your posts are interesting, Teokimhoe, though I’ll admit I’m often at a loss as to how to make a worthwhile response. Thanks for being part of the forum. Sue W.
Parkinson’s Disease: Exercise and Parkinson’s Disease
Because Parkinson’s disease affects your ability to move, exercise helps to keep muscles strong and improve flexibility and mobility. Exercise will not stop Parkinson’s disease from progressing; but, it will improve your balance and it can prevent joint stiffening.
You should check with your doctor before beginning any exercise program. Your doctor may make recommendations about:
The types of exercise best suited to you and those which you should avoid
The intensity of the workout (how hard you should be working)
The duration of your workout and any physical limitations
Referrals to other professionals, such as a physical therapist who can help you create your own personal exercise program
The type of exercise that works best for you depends on your symptoms, fitness level, and overall health. Generally, exercises that stretch the limbs through the full range of motion are encouraged.
Here are some tips to keep in mind when exercising.
Always warm-up before beginning your exercise routine and cool down at the end.
If you plan to workout for 30 minutes, start with 10-minute sessions and work your way up.
Exercise your facial muscles, jaw, and voice when possible: Sing or read aloud, exaggerating your lip movements. Make faces in the mirror. Chew food vigorously.
Try water exercise, such as aquarobics. These are often easier on the joints and require less balance.
Work out in a safe environment; avoid slippery floors, poor lighting, throw rugs, and other potential dangers.
If you have difficulty balancing, exercise within reach of a grab bar or rail. If you have trouble standing or getting up, try exercising in bed rather than on the floor or an exercise mat.
If at any time you feel sick or you begin to hurt, stop.
Select a hobby or activity you enjoy and stick with it. Some suggestions include: Gardening; Walking; Swimming; Water aerobics; Yoga; Tai chi.
Reviewed by the doctors at The Cleveland Clinic Neuroscience
The Controversy Surrounding Driving with Parkinson’s
The Controversy Surrounding Driving with Parkinson’s
You might think that the most controversial Parkinson’s disease-related topic involves politics like the stem cell controversy, sexual obsessions and compulsions from dopamine agonists, or a religious quandary (Why me, God?).
The most controversial issue is driving with Parkinson’s disease. Writing about this emotionally charged topic feels like writing about end-stage Parkinson’s disease–gut-wrenching and anxiety provoking.
Joseph Friedman, M.D. thinks the topic of driving with Parkinson’s disease (PD) is so important that he devoted an entire chapter to it in his latest book Making the Connection between Brain and Behavior: Coping with Parkinson’s Disease.
Patients with PD may be unable to evaluate their own driving, while their neurologists may be overestimating their patients’ abilities to drive.
Driving involves a number of activities including perception, information processing, judgment, decision-making, coordinated limb movements, reaction time tasks, continuous tracking, and attention. PD causes a number of abnormalities in these areas.
Research on drivers with PD revealed a number of problems we all need to consider as we work to keep our abilities sharp.
Reduced physical and mental reaction time is due to bradykinesia (slowness of movement). PD patients are slow performing most tasks, and may react to emergency situations with more delay than people without PD. It may be difficult to react quickly to a road hazard.
Visual-spatial orientation problems can result in:
Problems judging distances (e.g., gauging the distance to a stop sign or traffic light)
Keeping the car in the correct lane
Driving too far to one side of the road
Difficulty scanning the road
Difficulty spotting and interpreting traffic signs
Problems identifying roadside landmarks
Difficulty distinguishing shapes
Concentration difficulties are common among people with Parkinson’s disease, and they also have difficulty attending to multiple tasks. Naturally distractions from passengers, radio, and traffic can be taxing.
Fatigue and sudden sleep attacks while driving are often caused by PD medications, particularly dopamine-agonists. Patients who are excessively sleepy fall asleep suddenly, and have no recollection of being drowsy before falling asleep.
On-off fluctuations in physical symptoms due to PD medications.
Muscle stiffness contributes to:
A limited range of motion, particularly in the neck
Dystonia (muscle-cramping) in the toes
Rigid muscles that affect the ability to turn the steering wheel, use the gas pedal, push down the brake, and make quick movements
Strengthening Driving Skills
With PD, my driving skills are a little more limited, and I need to compensate. Driving is important to me to maintain my independence and self-esteem. I fear the isolation and dependency when I stop driving. To keep me and others safe on the road I’ve come up with some compensation strategies.
A couple of years ago, I traded my stick shift car for an automatic which has helped with my multi-tasking problems.
Some of my PD driving problems have lessened with deep brain stimulation (DBS) surgery and with proper programming of the neurostimulator. I no longer have muscle-cramped toes while driving (you can imagine how difficult it was to push down the gas pedal or hit the brake pedal). Also, my on-off fluctuations in medications have decreased.
Fortunately, the sudden sleep attacks I experienced as a passenger in a car (and thankfully not as a driver) have stopped, because I’ve discontinued taking Mirapex, a dopamine agonist.
I’ve also set limitations and choose to restrict my driving by:
Planning my itinerary before leaving the house
Driving in the day only
Driving on well-known routes and back roads, and avoiding the freeways, if possible
Driving when there is less traffic
Driving in good weather conditions, if possible–no snow, ice, or heavy rain
Driving without passengers
Avoiding distractions by turning the radio and CD player off (It’s obvious, but I should mention no eating or using a cell phone while driving.)
Researching the topic of driving with PD has scared me into enrolling in the AARP course, 55 Alive Driver Safety Program.
To improve my driving skills, I will also contact the Association of Driver Rehabilitation Specialists at 1-800-290-2344.
Once the snow stops pounding in Colorado, I intend to take an on-road driving test through a private driving organization.
I want to confront this taboo topic of driving with Parkinson’s disease. By understanding and dealing with my deficits as a driver with Parkinson’s disease, I can update my driving skills, or recognize when the time comes to give up driving altogether.
My article was first published in Parkinson’s Hope Digest in January 2008.
Parkinson Disease may affect your spouse as well
Parkinson Disease May Affect Your Spouse As Well
If you are living with a chronic disease, you know that it can affect everyone around you–including your family and friends, and especially your caregiver. Usually the caregiver is a spouse but may also be a good friend or other family member. The caregiver can be under a lot of pressure or feel rushed to “get everything done” and may even experience anxiety or depression.
When you think of Parkinson (PD) disease, the classic motor symptoms come to mind: stiffness, difficulty with balance, shakiness of the hands, and slow movements. There are, however, symptoms of PD that are not related to motor function. These others symptoms may include depression, dizziness, constipation, problems with sexual function, and a change in the way you think or process information. These are called non-motor symptoms.
A recent study looked at the ways in which early- to middle-stage PD can have an effect on the spouse caregiver (husband or wife). The researchers wanted to find out if there was a link between the two different types of PD symptoms (motor and non-motor) and the mental health of the caregiver. Researchers examined the motor and non-motor symptoms of people with early- to middle-stage PD and then looked at levels of depression and different types of strain experienced by caregivers.
What were the results of the study?
The researchers found that, although motor symptoms in the people with PD were linked with a few types of strain and depression in the caregiver, non-motor symptoms were even more strongly linked. This does not necessarily mean that symptoms of people with PD cause depression in caregivers but simply that there is a link between the two.
Why is this study important?
This study is important because, even though motor symptoms are more noticeable in the early and middle stages of PD, it seems to be the non-motor symptoms–the mood changes and the difficulty with thinking–of the person with PD that have an even greater effect on the caregiver at this time.
What can you do?
Be sure when you talk to your doctor about your PD, you share with him or her anything that has been bothering you. PD may affect more than how you are able to function physically; it may also affect your emotional and mental health–and perhaps those of your caregiver. Doctors need to treat the person who has PD, not just the disease. If your doctor doesn’t ask you how you are feeling, start this discussion yourself. It is okay to ask for help, and together you can find resources in your community.
If you are a caregiver who finds it difficult to function because you feel depressed or overwhelmed, please ask for help. Caring for a loved one may be a challenging undertaking, but you don’t have to do it alone. Be sure to take care of yourself first. Ask for help or check out local resources and support groups that will help you feel connected. You may also wish to take part in our PD discussion forum at WE MOVE. Here you can find help and support not only from people who have PD, but also from the people who care for them. Click on the discussion tab at the top of the home page. Scroll down to the Parkinson disease forum and log in to find others who, like you, are facing the challenges and joys of living with a person with PD.
The man behind the name
Perhaps we don’t give much thought to the man who researched his own illness; but then no one seems to know all that much about James Parkinson.
James Parkinson was an English physician and paleontologist, born April 11, 1755 in London. He was the son of John Parkinson, a surgeon practicing in London. Fairly soon after marrying, James succeeded his father in his practice. He began writing and publishing various articles and enjoyed a flourishing medical career.
In 1799 he published a work called Medical Admonitions. It was the first in a series of popular works that focused on the improvement of the general health and well-being of people. He also gained attention as humanitarianism when he crusaded for better safeguards in regulating what was known in the day as “madhouses” and for legal protections for the mental patients, their keepers, doctors, and families.
His most important medical work was “An Essay on the Shaking Palsy.” In this work, he elaborated on the symptoms of the disease that had no name. The only symptom he didn’t originally include was rigidity. Forty years later, Jean-Martin Charcot added this symptom to the disease and dubbed the un-named disease, “Parkinson’s disease.”
I’m sure if Parkinson were here today, he would be pleased with all the information that has been gathered and built upon for possible cures.
Meditation and Parkinson’s Disease
Many holistic and some medical professionals are firm believers in meditation—especially if you have stress that needs to be released.
Many people may think that learning to meditate is difficult. Actually, learning how to meditate is quite easy! There are several types of meditation to choose from such as:
- Simple mediation
- Walking meditation
- Transcendental meditation
- Mindfulness meditation
- Movement meditation
As we all know, stress exacerbates Parkinson’s symptoms. In order to help alleviate symptoms, meditation is a very useful tool. For our purposes here, I will explain how to do “Simple Meditation.”
Simple Meditation
Plan to make meditation part of your daily routine. The best time to do meditation is first thing in the morning and then again in the evening. Set aside 10-20 minutes of time for each session.
- Choose a comfortable, quiet place to meditate
- Choose a time when you will be uninterrupted
- Sit comfortably–you may want to try different positions
- Close your eyes and try to relax
- Pick a focus word or phrase that will initiate the beginning of your session (reciting a poem or a phrase that gives you peace and comfort, such as Om or “I am at peace”)
- Take deep breaths–breathe in slowly and breathe out slowly.
- Be aware of your body. Start at the top of your body and focus on relaxing your forehead, your mouth, tongue, neck, and shoulders, and so on until you reach your toes
- Once you are completely relaxed, repeat an affirmation or focus word or phrase. Block all worries or free floating anxiety from your thoughts. Instead, use the focus phrase or word such as “I am at peace, I have energy,” or “I feel rejuvenated”
Once you have completed the meditation for 10-20 minutes, allow yourself to slowly open your eyes and start to move.
You have just completed your first meditation exercise!
Source:
Holistic Online
