freezing

[joyce543]

My mother who is 75 has issues with shuffling and "freezing spells". she has tried several types of medications but nothing seems to help her symptoms. Can anyone let me know what has helped them?

[BillDavid]

Joyce543

Our mobility is controlled by the Striatim. Mobility as a progressions declines as the loss of dopamine to the Striatium increases.

As you are aware with you mother, there are obvious safety issues.

Even with this safety issue, it is not communicated to PWP, that training is available to safely deal with both freezing and festination.

I recommend that you google on your computer Kevin Lockette PT, and his DVD An Exercise and Movement Guide for People with Parkinson's Disease. This can be purchased through the Ohana Pacific Rehab Services. Again Google how to contact,

After you get the DVD, your Mother will likely require a Physical Therapist to facilitate her training in ways to deal with Freezing. Set up Physical Therapy for your Mother and take the DVD to the PT you use. Insist she be provided training on Conscious Posture and Purposeful Movement, as well as developing personal strategies to safely deal with freezing episodes.

We are not used to Consciously Control our walking. It is crucial to maintain continued awareness of what is going on. To avoid reverting back to automatic control, which has not changed, and will continue to cause falls. As Kevin insists....

NO MORE AUTOMATIC CONTROL., is a major part of the battle.

BillDavid

[Ken_Butler]

Hi I have the same symptoms I take 100 mg amantadine twice a day which seems to help

[pauline19]

This may be a channelopathy. If she's "freezing" she will likely have this-- Andersen- Tawil Syndrome or a different from the this of channelopathy will have no problem with a channelopathy. My father has a channelopathy. I also have the "freezing" episodes, but after 2 years of "freezing" and all genetic testing to this cause are.

[JohnPepper]

Hi Joyce. No medication does anything to slow down or stop the progression of Pd. Therefore, if she is getting no benefit from the medication she is taking then she should speak to her doctor and stop taking it all.

There is only one way that has been proven to slow down or even reverse Pd and that is fast walking.

Now I don't expect your mother of 76 to suddenly start doing fast walking.

The 1st thing she has to do is to learn how to take conscious control of her walking. How can I explain this to you? When your mother walks, does she swing her arms properly? If not; then ask her to stand still and swing her arms to see how high she can swing them. If, as I suspect, she can swing them quite well, then you both have to ask yourself why she was not swinging them while she walked?

I will give you the answer, which is that when she walks, she is using her subconscious brain to control the legs and arms and that is not working! She will have realized that she is still able to swing her arms, CONSCIOUSLY, but not subconsciously.

I have been able to learn how to consciously move my arms and legs when walking. It takes a bit of practice but it works well. I now no longer need to take any Pd medication, but that is another story.

'Normal' people are able to 'will' themselves to walk and they don't have to think about it in any way whatsoever.

We have to accept that we have this problem and start to do something about it. We also have problems bringing food and drink to our mouth, and that can also be done 'consciously'.

I have written a book about it, "Reverse Parkinson's Disease". I also have a website that tells you lots more about Pd. it can be found at reverseparkinsons.net.

Good luck

John

[Pete-1]

Levodopa

[serg in reply to Pete-1]

And Amantadine as well

[honeycombe3]

I have recently started ApoGo injections for the same reason & they work well for me. As with all things PD however some people benefit from a certain drug/therapy/treatment & others find it doesn't help them or even makes them worse. If you search this site for ApoGo or Apokyn you will find more detailed information.

[ozepook47]

There are a few different approaches to overcome the problems of festination (shuffling) and freezing. Freezing can happen anywhere and anytime, but often happens as the PwP approaches a narrowing in their path ahead of them (eg going through a doorway or entering a lift). Sometimes, the old brain needs to be fooled, and by placing a stick or even a handkerchief rolled into a cyclinder shape, in front and across your path, and then looking down at it and at the same time taking a step across it, the freezing disappears and off you go. The main danger of freezing is that you may be walking with enough momentum, that if you suddenly freeze, the upper body continues when the lower body stops, and falls can occur. It may be wise to alwys use a rollator to keep you upright when walking.

As for the shuffling, definitely use a rollator when walking and have a tennis ball suspended on a string in the middle of the frame at the back of the rollator, so that the ball swings gently to and fro as you walk. At the same time, try to kick the ball (gently) with your shin with alternating steps and this will ensure a longer step is taken each time.

If you have access to a treadmill, stand on th treadmill and put a suitable sized Swiss Ball in the frame at the front. When you stand on the moving belt, try to take longer strides such that you gently kick the Swiss Ball with each step. This method is used to train the brain into taking longer strides when actually walking. Do not use a treadmill unless you have someone there to help support you or catch you if you lose your balance.

Hope this helps.

[willyjan1]

Does she have Parkinson Disease? If so, as far as I know their is nothing you can do. That's part of the disease. I freeze from the start. I mean by that when I first start walking I have a hard time picking my feet up. As I am walking, I don't have a problem freezing. It's just when I start.

[Polyanna007 in reply to willyjan1]

Willyjan1

I have Same problem. Walking I can go,go,go but stop and or turn I freeze and at times have to tell myself to move or back up!

I talk to myself a lot , aloud an silently but so far it has worked.

Also my knees quiver and I have to full stop to,re-start.

Good luck

Polyanna007

[MichaelOM]

Well for starters, she should carry a cane in public, if only to let the world know she's not stopping for no reason. It'll keep her from getting skoffed at, or worse, bowled over. Then, for me at least, it wasn't the type of med so much as the quantity of mgs that helped me with freezing and all my symptoms. Took a while but higher dosages plus exercise introduced by physical therapists familiar with movement disorders got me back to a much more tolerable state.

[Tz2388]

I find if I walk backward and lock arms just below the elbows, he can walk forward with almost no hesitation. I know this doesn't work in every situation, but within our house and yard we move around just fine...for now.

[jillannf6]

I TOO TEND TO FREEZE WHEN WALKING OR TYRIGN TO WALK ) AND HAVE TRIED SEVERAL THINGS

1 A FRAME ./ LASER = GIVEN UP ON THAT AS I A MMNOW INA WHEELCHIAR

2 PHYSIO HELP - COUNTING 1 - 2 1 - 2 SEEM S TO HLEP WHEN IA M NOT STRESSED OR TRYIKNG TO GO THRO A DOORWAY - I USUALLY FREEZE WHEN RTRYING TO DO THIS

3 TURNIGN RIGHT IS A BIG PROBLEM FOR ME AN D I TNE DTO OVERBALACNE AND FALL OVER AND STAMPGIN HARD AND AGAIN COUNTING 1 0- 2 CAN WORK 4

ME

LET IT BE SAID TJHA T I AM INA WHEELCHAIR INSIDE AND OUT NOW TO CUT DQWN MY F`ALLS AS I DO NTO WANT TO AHVE A SERIOUS INJURY IF I Can HELP IT

LOL JIL

PSP PERSON IN THE UK

[willyjan1]

I don't know what would help freezing. I can't hardly get started because my feet won't get started.