Parkinson's personality

[bassofspades]

Exploring the concept of psycogenic Parkinsonism in idiopathic Parkinson's disease. Whay do you think of "Parkinson's personality "? I certainly fit the mold, myself. Trying to learn more to work through this.

[alexask]

Only a parkinson's personality would worry about having a Parkinson's personality! You can't really change that. My take on this is that perhaps lack of sleep may have helped caused the issues - the average PwP probably worries a great deal at night - I know I did. I have gotten better recently ( mostly thanks to Mannitol and some other stuff).

One thing I did look into was meditation, not with much success, it has to be said. My only tip here is when awake at night is to try and think of the most boring thing possible in my case thinking of the number 1 when breathing in and 2 when breathing out.

Also a really dull book helps me just before bed. I am reading the secret life of trees at the moment (once you put it down, you have trouble picking it up again).

I would think some PwP's are introverted - getting out and mixing can help.

[bassofspades in reply to alexask]

Thank you! I didnt sleep for 5 yrs when my kids were born, thats when it all went down hill for me. But since my job wipes me out all day i have no trouble sleeping at night at all.

[Jeansm in reply to alexask]

"Secret life of trees". Just what I've been looking for! Hope it's on kindle. Thank you.

[guitarman56 in reply to alexask]

I once knew an agnostic fellow with dyslexia who came down with a bad case of insomnia - he would stay awake all night wondering if there really is a Dog. (Sorry).

[SilentEchoes]

I think they're looking for ways to blame the patient. I've done extensive research, and have concluded that all of the neurological disorders are a result of environmental poisoning, some acute and some chronic; because these disorders are associated with some form of psychological pathology (depression, anxiety, emotional lability and dementia), and because some people are more susceptible than others, a "Parkinson's personality" would be indicative of a genetic susceptibility to environmental toxins.

Genetics load the gun, exposure pulls the trigger. Don't blame yourself and don't let anyone else blame you either. I used Genos for whole exome sequencing and discovered I possess a deficiency in BCHE (butyrylcholinesterase), this is a detox enzyme, and approximately 30% of the population carries this gene. One indicator of this enzymatic deficiency is over sedation with morphine because people with this defect cannot efficiently metabolize it out of their system.

We have a lot of work to do to defend our patient rights against the medical, pharmaceutical and chemical complex. I'm working on it, I was poisoned by pesticides and I'm in the position to prove it; organophosphate nerve agents in the form of Glyphosate based herbicides (Roundup) are ubiquitous in our environment. Roundup doesn't just cause cancer, it is a neurotoxin and we need to demand the EPA cancel its registration.

[park_bear in reply to SilentEchoes]

Yup. I most likely got my PD from exposure to permethrin, the common ingredient in household "flea bomb" type insecticides. More here: tinyurl.com/y8tckmx4

[JohnPepper]

The question is, "Does Parkinson's effect our personality or have we always been this way?" I can't remember what my personality was before I developed Pd. Did it change slowly or was it a sudden change? I do know that Pd took away my confidence and that alone will have changed me from being outgoing to being more introvert.

[bassofspades in reply to JohnPepper]

I always wondered about the chicken and egg thing, which came first? In my case, the anxiety or the PD? I recall clearly the anxiety I had was outrageous leading up to my handwriting / arm rigidity symptoms.

[bassofspades]

Help me hash this out, please.

I've always been a pathological nice guy, although I wouldnt consider myself very introverted. Always punctual, honest, responsible, not much of a risk taker. Never gambled, never cared to screw around with sluts (like all of my friends). I do recall 2 significant factors, too -

1. late 2011, I had just taken a job with what turned out to be the most wicked co workers I ever knew. I had a massive increase in anxiety in the year leading up to my first noticeable symptoms - diminished handwriting and lack of arm swing / rigidity rt arm. (went to a neurologist late 2013 to see if I had a pinched nerve, told me it was parkinsons!). I was also diagnosed with Lumbar Spinal Stenosis around this time, which came as a shock as I was only 43 yrs old.

2. At the time of the anxiety onset, I clearly recall talking myself into a dissociative state, which helped numb myself to the misery and back pain to make it through each day. This continued for a year and a half until I moved the heck out of Ohio to beautiful east coast Florida, where I took a way less stressful job. Escaped my bad situation, although to this day, I still have nightmares about those people.

Trying hard to shake myself free. Saw a hypnotist a few weeks ago and that helped a lot, but this was before I read about the dissociative state hypothesis. pdrecovery.org Think I'll try to get another session soon. Perhaps Parkinsons Disease can be psychogenic in nature, at least in some cases, and knowing this, perhaps in those cases, where dopaminergic cells are alive but dormant, it can be curable. We always hope!

[carpark in reply to bassofspades]

Sounds eerily like my situation. I've had years of stress mostly due to a very angry teenage daughter (now 23 and slightly better ). I had so much adrenaline running through me, I knew it was harming me. Felt like PTSD sometimes, I would literally start shaking when she came near me.

I had an increasingly stiff hand, which I attributed to ulnar nerve compression and years of typing at my IT job. When I realized I was walking slower and talking softer and one of my friends mentioned PD, I went to a neurologist. He ordered brain and cervical MRIs and dat scan. Dat scan positive and cervical MRI showed severe stenosis.

[bassofspades in reply to carpark]

I could empathically feel the stress as I read that! I know what you mean by start shaking when certain people draw near. As I am now learning more about balancing neurotransmitters and I have been on Amino Acid therapy a few months now, I personally feel much better and am able to handle emotional stress more rationally - without changing how I think. I am starting to believe that we are victims of chemistry.

[NRyan]

Interesting....I believe my PD has been activated by a few things related to myself. I am co-dependent, which is filled with worrying, negative thoughts, constant rumination, no self-care, etc. Having PD is the only thing that is really knocking me out of the life long pattern. I am recently looking into IFS (internal family system therapy) as I am having terrible procrastination about just two tasks at my job (clearly something is going on in my head). Anyway, my friend happens to work for the company that puts on IFS trainings. I ran into her yesterday and was talking about my delve into IFS. ( She does not know I have PD). She was telling me about all the different things that IFS was now showing success with and the new research that is going on. She mentioned research with IFS and MS that is having a positive affect on the disease and symptom manifestation. I didn't say anything to my friend, but I absolutely believe that therapy can help heal some contributing factors to my PD and thus have a positive affect on it. It's worth a try.

[bassofspades in reply to NRyan]

Amino acid therapy has helped me with all of the above. I believe it can be due to a neurotransmitter imbalance. ????

[NRyan in reply to bassofspades]

My keto diet and supplements (including goat whey protein) has helped with all the above too. It has made me realize how much in my past has been PD/neurodegeneration and also how much my mind affects my body too (I believe my thoughts helped my PD being turned on). A great book I am reading based on my psychogenic assumption is called "Your Resonant Self". See if you can get it from the library. Let me know what you think.

[bassofspades in reply to NRyan]

I will look for that book!

[NRyan in reply to bassofspades]

Have you read this?

bcm.edu/healthcare/care-cen...

I really do feel that there is a psychological component to my PD symptoms to some degree (not like a conversion disorder). It may be that I was under such psychological distress that increased cortisol levels and oxidative stress created imbalance in neurotransmitters. Who knows.

[bassofspades in reply to NRyan]

I think youre close to the answer, if not spot on. Back to the chicken and egg situation - which came first? The imbalance of neurotransmitters or the psychological stress and subsequent cortisol wake of destruction? Or is it all a vicious cycle that culminates in Parkinsonian Syndrome?

Good read, by the way.

[NRyan in reply to bassofspades]

It makes you think...at the very least.

[silvestrov]

The concept of a specific PD personality has been researched for decades and here is a recent study on the subject:

Premorbid Personality and the Risk of Parkinson’s Disease

neurores.org/index.php/neur...

[bassofspades in reply to silvestrov]

Interesting. I dont know if I agree with their assessment factors of early age smoking and drinking. I smoked and drank and partied in my youth but it was out of peer pressure and I never really felt good about doing it. People who partied and partook in risky behavior always intrigued me so I hung around with them, sort of as an anthropology experiment / to observe them. Naturally, I partook in a few risky activities as well, but like I said, I never felt comfortable doing them.

[GymBag]

This is from 2 years ago, I brought it back because I just found the whole concept so unusual . It was said here that one would have to be a Parky to think like this . That is also interesting. It may take a Paranoid , insecure , individual to think that some way of thinking was literally unhealthy, or would it? I believe some personality is destined for a short life but because they are prone to accident by neglect or lack of proper diet and sleep and drug overdose and alcoholism.

I guess what bothers me is the brain rules the body. I have witnessed people get up on their feet and will themselves healthy and well from cancer when the doctors said prepare to die and others, who a few days after their life time partner died , just gave up and died so very fast, usually 2 weeks. We know so much more in the last 50 years but 100 years from now , a thousand years from now , it will look like simple witchcraft.

Of course by then we will have thin, weak bodies augmented by robot technology and big heads and every one will be allergic to wheat.

[bassofspades in reply to GymBag]

Thanks for revisiting the subject. Ive been exploring this all the while and found out a few things about how personalities are formed early on . I also found out that certain personality traits actually do correlate to chronic diseases and syndromes, Parkinson's being one of them and some others such as chronic fatigue, chronic pain and fibromyalgia as well as irritable bowel syndrome and even eczema. The people pleaser personality traits seem to be a sort of ptsd from childhood which keeps inherent stress levels constantly on high alert and this takes its toll by chronically releasing fight or flight chemicals in the body and never really giving the individual the switch off to fully recover.

Long story short , the remedy is meditation. Although how much relief can be achieved will vary.