Welcome to the world's daftest disease!

[jeeves19]

I've had about a month green juicing, fasting here and there, supplement after supplement, salads for tea, no alcohol, gluten etc etc......the list goes on.

Two days ago I got a bit down in the dumps and fell off the wagon and had two days of comfort eating (most of it secretly away from the family). You name it: chocolate, beer, pizza, French fries with a sausage, doughnuts from a stand in the mall. I managed to pull out of this tail spin but was alarmed (amazed?) to realise how well I felt! I give myself a grade in a PD diary each day dependent on symptoms to record 'progress' (1 being awful and 5 being the best). Well, I haven't had 5 for ages, until I went on my junk food bender. Funny, ridiculous, unpredictable and frustrating. What a disease this is!

[jimmydook]

Having a rest from your ridged regime has done you good;were not made ill by eating bad food;wot makes us ill is eating to much of it;a treat is good for anyone: especially pwp; just enjoy yourself friend

[Eliza-Jane]

Hi Jeeves. I'm with you! I have my 50mg of Madopar 3 times per day. Last one at 3pm. At 5-6pm I have my first wine. I don't need medication after that. I believe exercise is helping me a great deal, but stress is such a big factor in this. I relax in the evenings, cook dinner, sip my wine and enjoy my time with my husband. I am now sleeping well. Do what makes you feel good - at present there is no cure. Enjoy your life.

[Enidah in reply to Eliza-Jane]

Here, hear! At one of our support groups we went around the circle and everybody shared what made their Parkinson's the worst and down to the last person it was stress. There you go.

[faridaro]

Very interesting comment. I remember going on Lyme blogs where some were saying that the healthier they eat, the sicker they get, which kind of corresponded with another opinion that it is not so important what we eat but how we eat. Thanks jeeves for sharing your experience!

[jeeves19 in reply to faridaro]

So how should we eat?

[faridaro in reply to jeeves19]

Good question with no easy answer, because it all depends on our genetic makeup, gut flora and food sensitivities. I used to tell my husband to eat almonds for heartburn (which were highly recommended as an alternative to PPIs) but afterwards he would feel even worse. Eventually turned out he has high sensitivity to almonds and now days almonds are in just about every "healthy" snack or paleo recipe. Interestingly enough, our son and I also turned out to be highly sensitive to almonds, so this sensitivity might be more common than we realize.

Also, some people have problems with oxalates which are abundant in spinach, beets and other supposedly healthy vegies/ legumes, however if our gut flora lacks certain bacteria, we can't break them down like our ancestors did. Cooking is supposed to reduce amount of oxalates, so I would rather use cooked spinach instead of raw ( the last one also can suppress thyroid - some of my family members are hypothyroid).

So, there are many factors and the best thing to do is to observe your reaction which unfortunately can be significantly delayed. I used to keep food diary for my son when he had serious health issues and found out that he is worse after eating anything fermented, be it kimchi or feta cheese which he loves, and the worse offender were carrots (and they were organic!) which I was buying in quantities making juices and different dishes, eager to provide all the natural vitamins and nutrients.

So, as the saying goes - one man's cure is another man's poison...

[jeeves19 in reply to faridaro]

That’s truly fascinating! I was considering having s food intolerance test but the overwhelming opinion online is that these are inconsistent and not worth the money. Any thoughts on this?

[faridaro in reply to jeeves19]

Yes, those tests are not 100% accurate, cost money and hard to figure out which one is better. In our case we were desperate to find any answers and treated them as loose guidelines only. I feel that the most important thing is to observe how you feel and eat variety of products, may be avoiding or eating in moderation the most common allergens like dairy, corn, soy and eggs - turns out many people are allergic to eggs due to immunizations because eggs are used as a medium to grow vaccines.

By the way after reading your initial post I've decided to get myself a butter croissant next time I am at the store - didn't have one in a looooong time

[answerseeker in reply to jeeves19]

An elimination taking out food suspects and keeping a careful diary of symptoms experienced is best. Some sensitivities can be caused by overindulgence and after taking a troublesome food out for at least 6 weeks, reintroduce to see if you still have the same reaction. Previously reactive foods may be better off being more occasional in the diet--perhaps not more than a couple of times a week.

[stepan13]

I always tell my friends that PD is the most sophisticated and scientifically challenging disease! I am very proud to have it

[stepan13]

BTW: why eating chocolate, beer, pizza, French fries with a sausage, doughnuts from a stand in the mall is frustrating?

[Alistairs]

Food, I definitely after all these years with PD that less, is the key but often

I find fruit the best release of the dopamine from the tablet, protein all seems to slow everything down, and then I can't move.

If I don't eat a little the stomach shuts down and no Dopamine again.

So I find a little and often is best, and reduce protein in take on a General scale. How I miss that bacon sandwich!!!

[Enidah]

I just had to share that my mother is 96, still lives on her own and is healthier a lot of the time than her children, and eats cookies, Cheetos, Donuts, cupcakes, candy and drinks milk like its water. At this point I'm not about to nag her for obvious reasons. When I got to her house the other day she was having Cheetos for breakfast. I eat incredibly healthy so probably won't live very long, ha!

[ramondo4]

does anyone have sneezing fits and excessive runny nose

after eating anything spicy, I used to love Indian food but

scared to touch it now, so embarrassing if you are in public.

[jrg54321 in reply to ramondo4]

Yes. Same thing happens here.

[NRyan]

Your body detoxes and does feel worse for a while when you start taking care of yourself. Also, opioid-like chemicals are released when you eat junk food....although it does not last.....just ask anyone with diabetes, heart disease, etc. Beware of the lure of junk food. Glad you enjoyed yourself....Tim Ferrias says you need a cheat day once a week. Maybe there is something to it.

[jeeves19]

Nice post

[CplParkinson]

You may have felt better because the for we're eating and sneaking made it taboo. Your body was excited and such from sneaking around you had a rush. Like a kid sneaking candy.

[jeeves19]

Ha. Anything’s possible eh?!

[Phusson]

I seem to get better results when I take meds with sugar and protein makes things worse.Fortunately I have a sweet tooth and still manage to keep weight in check.

[Allyn]

I think it shows just how much a decrease in stress can benefit us!

[Astra7]

I'm now thinking the enemy is protein not sugar. Junk food is usually low in protein as it's expensive. Maybe that's it? Doesn't explain the exanitide results tho. Nothing ever quite fits!