Meditation as treatment?

[kaypeeoh]

My first post. Two years ago dx'd with MS. Then a year later the neuros decided it's PD. I was on sinemet for a year with no change in the hand tremor. I have no other signs of PD. I understand that exercise is the only remedy that helps PD. I was a distance runner for over 30 years til this PD problem. I put on 30 pounds in the year of taking sinemet. I stopped the medication and am trying to exercise again. I wonder if meditation could help. I took classes in the past. But trying to sit seems impossible with my hand tremor. Any advice?

[GymBag]

Not enough information

Is that all the problems that you have , a hand tremor ?

Obviously there is more that stopped you running and an MS diagnosis .

What is it?

Does your hand tremor all the time or just at rest ?

Why do you think that meditation will effect a hand tremor ?

[kaypeeoh in reply to GymBag]

It's a resting tremor. I'm a veterinarian and still able to thread needles and make accurate cuts when doing surgery. The neuro says I don't move my arms when I walk. That plus the tremor is about it. But sinemet doesn't seem to stop the tremor. And it made me so tired I had no interest in anything but sleep and food. Hence the weight gain. I'm aware that meditation is supposed to stimulate dopamine release.

[kaypeeoh in reply to kaypeeoh]

Two years ago I had an attack of vertigo. Ended up in the emergency ward where they did an MRI. It showed white spots in the brain and said that's MS. I was on tysabri infusions monthly for a year. With MS treatment may lessen the severity of subsequent attacks but doesn't stop them. I went a solid year with no more vertigo attacks so they said it's not MS. Another MRI confirmed it. I had the tremor back then but nobody took much notice of it.

[park_bear]

Qigong has helped me quite a bit. My Qigong experience here:

healthunlocked.com/parkinso...

Sinemet is strictly for symptomatic relief. If it does not alleviate your symptoms there is no reason to take it. Your neurologist should have informed you of this. It also does throw the PD diagnosis into question. Is your hand tremor on one side only? There are medications that can cause tremor. Are you on any other long-term medications?

[kaypeeoh in reply to park_bear]

I had a pulmonary embolism two years ago. A stent was put in and I take a daily baby aspirin now. No other medications.

[kaypeeoh in reply to park_bear]

When I was meditating in the past I followed Shikan Taza method.

[park_bear in reply to kaypeeoh]

"quiet sitting in open awareness, reflecting directly the reality of life"

Tremors no different than heartbeat and breathing.

[GymBag in reply to park_bear]

I do that every day. It is happening more often now.

[Cons10s]

I can now quite and even stop my tremor after 10 months of meditation training with Dr. Joe Dispenza’s meditation program. I recommend the online Progressive Workshop. It’s the heart coherence that does it. It’s a skill that takes time and it’s still a work in progress. I meditate 1-3 hours daily. If you go to my profile page you’ll find my YouTube clip.

My tremor has always been intermittent but when it does come on I just use heart coherence and it stops or quiets.

Heart coherence is a daily practice that requires learning a new skill if that makes sense. There’s also a company called heartmath.org/articles-of-t.... Worth looking into.

Constance

[laglag]

MS will show up on an MRI, but PD will not.

[Despe]

Whatever it is, test for Vitamin D although taking 10,000 IU a day won't hurt MS or PD patients. You may search Coimbra protocol. Good luck,

[Buckwheat64]

It takes a variety of things. You just have to find the combination that works best for you. It could be meds plus supplements plus exercise. I am constantly trying different things to help fight this demon. Never give up until they thow dirt in your face.

[Hidden]

My husband was diagnosed with PD 7 years ago. He has multiple symptoms (including tremor, gait, small handwriting, mask-like facial expression). His neurologist has put him on various medications to try to alleviate the tremors, including carbidopa/levodopa, but nothing has eliminated them. His neurologist/movement specialist told us that with with some PwP the tremors don’t respond to medication of any kind. This doesn’t mean he doesn’t have PD, just that in his case there’s no way to be rid of the tremors.

[kaypeeoh]

I managed an hour of rough walking meditation yesterday. Rough because my control is poor; Lots of aberrant thoughts invading. But I seldom noticed my hand. If the tremor was bad it wasn't bad enough to be an invading thought.

kaypeeohj

[Hidden in reply to kaypeeoh]

If I was you, given past confusion, I would ask for a DatScan. That should show neuron loss or not. When the change was made from MS to PD, had the amyloid plaques disappeared?

[kaypeeoh]

The MR showed white spots in the brain. These are areas where white blood cells are crossing the blood brain barrier and attacking brain cells. The treatment--tysabri--is a monoclonal antibody that grabs the white blood cells before they can cross the BBB. No one said anything about amyloid. A small percentage of people can have MS and ultimately be rid of it. I'm hoping I fall into that category. I've been off tysabri about 6 months now.

[kaypeeoh]

I forgot my other symptom is small handwriting. That plus hand tremor is all the signs of PD that I think I have.

[GymBag]

My very first visit to a neurologist, expert in the field, had me fill out a 3 page form and then walk etc. At the end he said "I have no idea what is wrong with you" . He then turned the page of my completed form he was reading and said "You have Parkinson's".

I believe small writing is peculiar to Parkinson's . It was good enough for him.

So congratulations , it is not MS or ALS or a lot of other terrible things , it is just PD.