JohnPepper "It took me ten years of exercising and all the other things I have mentioned here before I got to the stage where nobody would ever know that I have Pd."
Rscott "I have followed your advice for 2 1/2 years now and my neurologist is pretty impressed with the results. ...No one can tell that I have PD."
I think it has helped me--I had started having left foot drag and limping. The walking of the last 1 1/2 years has definitely ended a lot of that, although I occasionally do still have brief episodes which are quickly eliminated once I walk a few minutes and get limbered up.
I started doing 2 to 4 hours a day of 120 to 130 beats per minute aerobic exercise (walk/run, bike, swim) and it only seemed to reduce the "buzzing" feeling in my brain during the exercise, but after 2 weeks of this, I seem to be generally doing a lot better emotionally and the amount of work I can get done during the day, zoning out less. But the thumb tremor is the same. I am still working to try to get a more firm confirmation that I do indeed have PD. Also, 2 pieces of 4 mg nicotine gum (same as 4 pieces of 2 mg, each supposedly equal to 1 cigarette, so 4 cigarettes) in the morning greatly worsens my balance while "high" on the nicotine in the morning, but everything seems a lot better the rest of the day and even the next morning, maybe better than 2 hours of exercise a day. So these two things actually seeming to work makes me want to more carefully strive for the other things that are known to reduce PD incidence by 400%: more than 6 cups of coffee a day and more green tea, black tea, and grape seed extract pills, along with broccoli and 2 cups of blueberries per day. I can't emphasize enough that the PD community should look at the things that reduce PD incidence as also "cures" (or at least stopping progression and reverting it at least a year) of an existing condition. The reason this should be the view is that over half of the PD population can think back and see the symptoms at least 5 years prior to diagnosis, so that we should assume that "everyone" is "predisposed" to getting PD to some extent, which is a way of explaining why it increases with age, sort of like a predisposition to muscle wasting in old age. There is a tremendous amount of similarities in PD and cancer, and the general opinion is that "everyone" is "predisposed" in some sense to getting cancer.
My impression is that if I can get into the routine of these things (exercise, ingestion of all known healthy stimulants, and very little empty carbs and even less sugar) and actually do them, then my "PD" will be gone and it will not return until I stop. Alternatively, the zinc I have been taking may be having a substantial effect, at least on libido.
All these stimulants (nicotine and caffeine in both coffee and tea extracts) reduce sleep, but I do not seem any worse for the wear. I just have to find entertaining stuff to do from 3 am until 6 am when the family wakes up. The ideal thing seems to be to start exercising while watching futurama and listening to audio books. With a text-to-speech program at 350 words per minute, I can listen to a book in 2 days. I always hated reading because it made me tired, but now in old age I can listen to every great classic book from gutenburg project
Hi RoyProp, Can you spell out YOUR opinion of exercise?. You quote two proponents of exercise, but then do not rebut or otherwise qualify their remarks. Your statement leaves the reader up in the air and gives a mixed message. Is this just your way of instigating more feedback and discussion?
We (PwP) each search for that treatment. I will leave the decision to each. I simply share news and information. And Opinions.
"Can you spell out YOUR opinion of exercise?." please search my Posts and Activity.
On the basis that exercise is good for you, then of course, anyone will benefit from activity. But those of us who are restricted by other health problems have to look for alternatives. I am 79 and was diagnosed 13 years ago.
In my case, I have osteo-arthritis arising from scoliosis (curvature of the spine), probably exacerbated by playing rugby when I was 40. It is too painful to walk, painkillers don't touch it. I am limited to paracetamol because codein causes the PD induced constipation to get worse and anti-inflamatories interfere with my anti-stroke meds. Oh, and then there is my low blood pressure which makes me dizzy when I stand up - there aren't any meds for that which don't interfere with my PD meds.
I am happy for those who only have PD to deal with, but please don't assume that everyone can benefit from extensive exercising.
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