Summer reading

[Beckey]

Hi all, two books I'd requested arrived at the library quite recently and I checked them both out. One is Alex Kerten's "Goodbye Parkinson's, Hello Life!" Frankly I don't know what to make of it. He has pioneered something called "Gyro-Kinetics" which blends dance, martial arts and behavior modification. It's a mind-over-matter exercise program involving guided response to music. The other is "Optimal Health with Parkinson's Disease," by neurologist and movement disorder specialist Monique Giroux. Giroux integrates conventional medicine with alternative treatments and lifestyle changes, and her book is wide-reaching, thorough and well researched. Kerten enraged me discussing the "aha!" moment his students reach: "Wow, it is so obvious now. I brought Parkinson's upon myself." Some nerve!

I must say I appreciated reading stuff about PD that is written in plain, friendly, clear language!

I'm still waiting for my third book to arrive: "If I Can Climb Mt. Everest, How Come I Can't Brush My Teeth?"

Has anyone read either of these books? I'd love to hear your impressions.

[NanCyclist]

The third one is "If I Can Climb Mt. Kilimanjaro, Why Can't I Brush My Teeth? Courage, Tenacity and Love Meet Parkinson's Disease", written by me. Kili was tough enough. I can't imagine climbing Everest! If I Can Climb has been selected for the Book Nook at WPC and both Monique and I will be giving book talks in the theatre at WPC, quite an honor. I hope you enjoy the books.

[Beckey in reply to NanCyclist]

Whoops! My mistake and I apologize. I know I requested your book by its proper name, Nan, and I'm going to put in a second request Monday.

[Dylpup]

For me, "Goodbye Parkinson's", was a mistake on several levels. I have used a similarly named program called Gyrotonics with good results for back pain and thought the application to PD would be helpful. Mistake #1.

I too stopped when I read the "brought it on myself" statement. While there is a large component of paying attention to your movements and relearning how to move, blaming oneself is a new low. Mistake #2.

Contacted Amazon to return the book. They said keep it, I could have it for free. Not worth the shipping. Save your money.

On the other hand, Monique Giroux's books are thorough and based on lots of experience. Definitely worth their price!

[Beckey in reply to Dylpup]

Thanks -- good to have the validation!

[park_bear in reply to Beckey]

Heh - the ever popular blame the patient. First occasion I know of in PD, though.

How are you doing, Beckey?

[Beckey in reply to park_bear]

Crummy! Morale is in the tank, and I'm not sure why. I'm sick of being sleepy, for starters. I do notice I feel better when I'm with others. I have to make the effort to get out and around more.

[park_bear in reply to Beckey]

Yes, socializing helps direct attention outward instead of inward. Any progress with the tremors? Did your other meds turn out to have anything to do with it?

[Beckey in reply to park_bear]

I don't THINK so, but I'm not 100% sure. Tremor stubbornly persists, although when I'm sitting down sometimes it's barely perceptible. I didn't take wellbutrin for a few weeks because they said it exacerbates a tremor, but my daughter couldn't stand my grim mood so I went back on a low dose (150 mg).

[park_bear in reply to Beckey]

Is it improved? I remember a while back you said "a whole lotta shakin' going on". I take it there is no good substitute for the wellbutrin.

[Beckey in reply to park_bear]

I am trying to get an appointment with a psychopharmacologist at ucsf to find out. Here's hoping!

[silvestrov in reply to Beckey]

I just read an article which may interest you in starting to take the mineral zinc.

Interaction of bupropion and zinc with neuronal nicotinic acetylcholine receptors.

" These results suggest that bupropion interacts with α4β4 nAChRs in a non-competitive manner, that zinc increases the sensitivity of nAChRs to bupropion, and that bupropion decreases the sensitivity of nAChRs to zinc."

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/217...

[Beckey in reply to silvestrov]

Interesting. Thanks. Much appreciated!

[silvestrov in reply to Beckey]

Just a few more articles on zinc to consider:

Zinc Deficiency in Older Adults

todaysgeriatricmedicine.com...

Evidence of functional zinc deficiency in Parkinson's disease.

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/101...

Ascorbate- and zinc-responsive parkinsonism.

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/250...

[Beckey in reply to silvestrov]

This is really exciting information, Rich. On pay day I plan to hit the health food store for zinc supplements (I've got plenty of C).

[silvestrov in reply to Beckey]

I take 40 mg of zinc a day because I have a history of infections and zinc is depleted from infection (in addition to PD). Along with vitamin C zinc is recommended for infection.

[Beckey in reply to silvestrov]

zinc piccolinate?

[silvestrov in reply to Beckey]

That is fine.