I think I'm begining to experience some s... - Cure Parkinson's
I think I'm begining to experience some short freezing episodes. I wondered if folks could describe how they experience freezing episodes.
Freezing is my main symptom of Parkinson's. I use a laser cane to help me get started. Works up to a point but I have still had falls using this. I find the best way is to try and relax before taking a step forward. Never be in a rush to do anything and always take your time even if the phone or doorbell is ringing.
Music helps. I have a PD movement class with a professional dancer with PD. And she describes her techniques for moving when off her meds. Mind over matter. I give myself orders . Heel toe, heel toe, knees up, all five toes. Etc. In NYC it's not considered to talk to yourself in the street. But it does get awkward on the bus.
Hi Grayland. I started freezing over thirty years ago. I did not know I had Pd in those days. I found that when I stood for quite a while, watching my son playing football, I could not move my feet, when I wanted to get something to eat. They were stuck to the floor as if someone had tied my shoes together. Let me explain this with the benefit of many years of experience behind me. Pd appears to affect any movements we do, which are controlled by our subconscious brain. When we are very young, we learn to walk and from then on, we never have to think about walking. When we want to walk, we just do it. Now, with Pd, our subconscious brain is unable to communicate with our bodies properly, so the messages don;t get through to the legs and arms. But what about our conscious brain? It still works normally! So, instead of trying to WILL MY FEET TO WORK, my conscious brain is able to take over and TELL MY FEET HOW TO WORK! I start by placing the weight of my body on one leg and then lift the other foot off the ground and take the leg forward and plant the heel firmly on the ground, with the knee straight. Then I do the same with the other side and there we go! I have had to learn how to use my conscious brain to control most of the movements I have always been able to do without thinking, like bringing food to my mouth without spilling it and writing. I have shown hundreds of people how to walk this way, using the conscious mind to control the movements. Even people previously confined to a wheelchair have been able to do it, providing I hold them while they do it the first time. The moment they stop using their conscious brain to control the movement, they start to shuffle and freeze. There is no magic in it, just plain common sense. Nobody has ever failed to do this, NOT ONE SINGLE PERSON. When dancing, we use our conscious brain to control our movements. When cyling we do the same. Music helps us to maintain our concentration on what we are doing.
To start off, it is quite tiring, having to think of every movement, but practice makes perfect. As you may have seen elsewhere, I no longer take any Pd medication and nobody would ever know that I still have Pd. My brain is stimulated by this activity and I have taken control of my life again, by just using my conscious brain. I am not selling anything and not trying to make money from my experience!
Best of luck.
John
Thanks. Very helpful
Greyland this information looks good, hope it may be useful to add to the feedback you get.
When I freeze ,it's because I've sat too long or crowds,or doorways. I agree with john, mind over matter.
how does it feel, you feel like your feet are glued to the ground and won't move, but your upper body wants to move & so as it seems to lean forward you panic because you think you will fall. Then your feet decide they will move so I generally end up with a stagger forward then a little run. If outside once I move I keep on going up the road like a looney but then the legs kick in properly and life settles down again. But definitely telling your legs to walk or march or listen to a beat helps.
yes I agree entirely , crowds and busy places make me freeze and I can only inch forward it is a vicious circle the more I freeze I find people looking at me so I freeeze even more. I find it very hard to beak he cycle. I am not on any meds at the moment altough I am due to take some new anti anxiety drugs in Feb.
I am finding that I'm better off without any medication.
thanks. Totally helpful
Hi I,tend to freeze when I a,m turning rifh
Especially when trying to set off walking or when turning one gets the 1 foot stuck problem. To describe this get someone to stand with say 80% of their weight on one leg then ask them to take a step using the that leg carrying the 80% of their weight. This move is not possible you can only take a step using the other leg holding 20%. Not until you have redistributed your weight will continued walking be possible.
I find I have to rock from one foot to the other and then make a decision regarding which is the best foot to set off again. Once this is done walking may then continue relatively normally. When walking along the pavement and there is a side road to go across then I have to stop to turn and make sure nothing is about to turn down this side road. If I don't allow several steps to slow down before getting to the kerb then I feel very unsteady, very liable to fall.
This is compounded for me as I have double vision too. This means there are two kerb stones to step down from or step up at the other side. If I choose the wrong one I easily miss step, treading half on half off the kerb and am very likely to fall.
The other times when walking is tricky is in confined spaces. The brain can be confused by people being relatively close thereby emulating a confined space. In the supermarket pushing your trolley is very very difficult because of the sudden change in speed and direction of all the people with or without a trolley.
If I have taken a dose of Levodopa of whatever type after 1 hour I can walk normally and nearly all fear of falling is gone.
