Be Inspired!!!!

[healthabc]

Check out this young woman with pd; video Be inspired...

click2houston.com/health/wo...

[Bailey_Texas]

This can be you.

Meds and exercise.

It works for me.

[JohnPepper]

Hi Healthabc. I am most impressed with what I saw in the video. We are in a similar situation. While watching you doing your exercise I can see your balance problems, your speech difficulties and your determination. I still have these problems but nobody who does not know about Pd, as we do, would say that you don't have Pd. but we know that we do. I am a lot older than you, so I only do fast walking as my exercise, while you are able to do exercise that uses a lot more brain involvement than fast walking. Well done and don't give up!

I have been medication-free for the last 14 years now, and I know that when I am unable to do my fast walking my symptoms get worse, but I continue to live a normal life, even at the age of 81. I have been to England, Amsterdam, Australia and New Zealand and have spoken to over 3000 people, showing them how they can immediately walk properly and therefore start doing exercise. When we exercise we can start to reverse our symptoms as you and I have done.

I am planning to go to the USA and Canada from August to October to show patients there how to start reversing their symptoms.

Well done!

John

[texasL in reply to JohnPepper]

Hello, John. If I may ask what supplements are your taking to stay away from meds for the last 14 years. What else is beneficial except walking. Thanks in advance.

[clajac in reply to JohnPepper]

John, will you be anywhere near the Denver, Colorado area when you are in the US?

[JohnPepper in reply to clajac]

Hi clajac. Unfortunately not. I love the Rockies and have fond memories of skiing there but I had to cut my trip down to 2 months as it was getting far too long, but I am already planning another trip to the USA next year, after winter.

Kind regards

John

[Bailey_Texas in reply to JohnPepper]

John please read the post again Healthabc is not that lady. Allison Toepperwein is the ladies name she lives near Austin Tx. healthabc just posted the link. She shows no balance problems in the video. She drops on a foam pad which anyone would have a hard time walking on. I see no speech problems.

[JohnPepper in reply to Bailey_Texas]

Hi Bailey. I watched Allison's video and responded to healthabc above. What I saw is what I saw. She works very hard at keeping her balance and her speech is consciously controlled. She is a fine example of someone with Pd, consciously overcoming her movement problems.

John

[JohnPepper]

Hi Texas. I only ever took Cal-Mag tablets since I can remember. I started taking Omega-3, Vitamins B & C, Carotenoids and Flavonoid Tablets since I got re-married in 2014. Before then I took absolutely nothing.

From 1992 to 1994 I took Sinemet & Symerel tablets. In 1994 I was put onto Eldepryl (Selegiline) until 2002, when I came off all medication, including blood pressure pills.

My regimen was simply keeping stress to a minimum; having a positive attitude; keeping my brain active with Su Doku puzzles, computer programming, writing articles and books, painting in oil colours; teaching myself to control my movements by focusing my attention on the actual mvements and not on willing my legs and arms to move.

I hope this answers your question to your satisfaction.

John

[HeartSong in reply to JohnPepper]

John, could you clarify something? You said, "focusing my attention on the actual movements and not on willing my legs and arms to move". Could you explain the difference, please? Thanks.

[JohnPepper in reply to HeartSong]

Hi Heartsong. We walk without thinking about what our legs and arms are doing, with the result that when we want to walk our subconscious brain takes over and we can walk uninterupted, only consciously guiding our legs where we want to go and at what speed. Pd affects the area of the brain that deals with all those movements and for some of us, that area is unable to control those movements properly. So we have to consciously put our weight onto one leg and then consciously lift the other one off the ground and extend that leg forward and land the heel onto the ground a distance in front of us.

So in order to walk properly we have to consciously do that all the time. I have heard doctors say that doing that is tiring, which it is, but if we want to walk properly we have to get used to doing it consciously. I have been doing that for the past 18 years and I still lose my concentration and find myself shuffling and occasionally falling over my feet. It is difficult to maintain concentration on one thing to the exclusion of all else, but we can do it if we try hard enough.

The subconscious brain keeps us in balance and tells each muscle what to do and when to do it. I have found that doing it consciously is impossible if we had to think of each muscle and movement all the time but I choose to think only of LANDING THE HEEL ON THE GROUND WITH THE TOES STICKING UP IN THE AIR AT APPROXIMATELY 30 DEGREES. In this way, on every step, I only have to think of that one action and the subconscious still does the rest. Don't ask me how this works but it does.

I have to assume from this that what is missing is not a total non-use of the subconsious but a lack of initiation of the movement, if that makes any sense.

When I walk with patients, while holding their left arm so that they will not fall, leaving them to only worry about the walking; I first of all say to them, "Place your weight on one leg so that you are able to lift the other leg off the ground without falling". Then I say to them, "Just think about extending that leg out in front of you and planting the heel on the ground with the toes sticking up in the air". Everybody is able to do that! Then we continue to lift the other leg off the ground and extend that leg out in front and land on the heel of that foot and off we go.

When they only have to think of that heel hitting the ground they have no problem in walking, but when they get scared or distracted they suddenly freeze. Why? I can only thnk that they either lose consentration or they panic and everything stops working.

When that happens I tell them to relax and place their weight on the one leg again and balance on that one leg and lift the other leg off the ground and think of planting that heel on the ground in front of them and get the rooutine going again. They very soon get used to that routiine and are able to walk unaided by me.

Give it a try with someong holding your arm!

Good luck!

John

[HeartSong in reply to JohnPepper]

Thanks, John. I'll try that.

[Hikoi in reply to HeartSong]

Heart song

From what John has written in the past youneedtohave symptoms like his for his regime to be effective.

"..... I do a lot of work with Pd support groups and come across all kinds of people with many different types of symptoms.

I do not have a resting tremour, but I do have an essential tremour. I have found that I am unable to help those people with the resting tremour. I must assume that their Pd is therefore very different to mine,

I have been able to help a lot of people with walking problems, and freezing problems. I must therfore assume that we have something in common. However! Those who have a walking problem and a resting tremour I have not been able to help. ......"

[HeartSong in reply to Hikoi]

Thanks, Hikoi. I will try John's suggestion to see if it helps. If it doesn't, then nothing lost.

[HeartSong]

What a courageous woman! I pray that she is completely healed one day.