My husband is now getting very depressed,... - Cure Parkinson's
My husband is now getting very depressed,how can I help him,apart from staying cheerful
Marijuana
Tandem riding. CharlottesTandems.co.uk
Hi Crosshalls. The best non-medicinal treatment for depression is exercise! It has no side effects and does not cost anything. I am not a doctor but to the best of my knowledge, anti-depressants can have very serious side effects. Exercise produces the feel-good endorphins, which lift you up immediately. They are a natural cure for feeling down. Your husband must not go at it like a bull in a chinashop, he should start doing energetic exercise for a maximum of 15 minutes and it should be done every second day, so that his muscles have chance to recover properly. Every second week, he should increase his exercise by five minutes. When he is doing one hour every second day, he should concentrate on improving his times for whatever exercise he is doing. In that way he will get fitter quickly and his condition will continue to improve. Hard walking is the best form of exercise. Strolling along at a leisurely pace is no good at all, but it is better than nothing. Before embarking on a brisk walk, he should do some loosening-up exercises and again, when he is finished. For advice on all this I would suggest talking to a biokineticist.
Why not join your husband on his walks? He would appreciate that and you would get as much benefit as he does, from it.
Kind regards
John
Love this letter,he can hardly walk,just shuffles along,and frequently loses his balance,plus his speech,has gone really bad,and I have difficulty understanding him sometimes,still will try,off to the supermarket,so he can shuffle round with me,instead od sitting in the car,thankyou for your reply.
Hi Crosshalls. If your husband wants to walk properly again, he would have to learn how to consciously control his walking. The subconscious control he has always been using does not work properly anymore. How to go about this is too lengthy for this blog. May I suggest that you go to my website - reverseparkinsons.net or order my book - Reverse Parkinson's Disease from Amazon.com.
Kind regards
John
Thank you will order your book,got him to walk round the supermarket,he did well,he is fast asleep now,dont like to push him too much,after all he is 85,guess some of it is down to old age.
Hi Crosshalls. You have to make allowance for your husband's age. Many old people start to shuffle, when in their 80's. My maxim is, if it does not worry the shuffler and they do not want to change the way they walk, then that is their choice and they should be left alone. Don't give up on him!
Kind regards
John
You don't mention if he is on anti depressants, if not he probably should be, Depression is a symptom as much as stiffness, tremors etc. Speak with his Dr. about it.
Hi Arwenmark. I have just read in a British Psychiatric journal that the following medications can lead to depression: •Parkinson’s disease medications such as amantadine and levodopa/carbidopa (Parcopa, Sinemet). Large numbers of people take these meds and large numbers of Pd patients suffer from depression. Are the neurologists aware of this? If so, why don't they tell their patients?
Fortunately, I do not take any Pd medication any more.
Kind regards
John
I would never give up on,been together 54 years,and always remember in sickness and in health,Thankyou for your messages.
I realize that you don't take PD meds anymore and I am aware of you pushing your book, However my husbands first symptom was severe depression for two years before other symptoms, he also had a compulsive obsessive problem that lasted a year and a half, all on NO medications and before diagnosis.
It is well known that depression is a symptom of PD itself not just PD medications.
Hi Arwenmark. I am sorry that you feel I am pushing my book but I cannot tell the whole story in a blog. I suffered terribly with depression, long before I was diagnosed. I was put onto all sorts of anti-depressants, with no positive results but some awful side effects. The only thing that kept me going was the exercise program. I do not take part in this chat room in order to sell my book, but as there is a lot more than exercise that I did in order to overcome the symptoms, the only way to understand how this all happened to me is to read the story. I have given away almost as many books as I have sold, because many people with Pd are unable to afford a book and I want everybody to know what they can do to help themselves.
Kind regards
John
He is on sinimet plus,and ragasaline,I would not be surprised if they make him sleep so much,but I will talk to the neurologist on his next appointment about all this,must admit I like the idea of more exercise,some good weather would help
Is he on medication .
If or when I think my husband is depressed I start stinging and get him to join in with me . It works for us
As long it not a sad song lol
I hope you mean singing, because stinging would be a cure for depression, at least in my house
lol yes sorry should have been Singing .
Can I get suggestions on how to involve my husband in a support group?
is there anyone i can talk to now
This is how I fight My Parkinsons
How can I be sure the renewal of my Rx is correct/
