Does anyone see a functional medicine doctor for their Parkinsons/general health?

[Annieartist]

I'm interested in their attitude to Parkinsons

[Sandakan]

Yes my wife has been seeing a Functional Medicine doctor for 18 months. No measurable improvement in her PD yet but we are hopeful as her body improves with supplementation. We live in Buckinghamshire, UK and our doctor works in London .

John

[Hidden in reply to Sandakan]

18 months on “functional medicine “ with no signs of any PD improvement seems a long time to go without improvement.

[bepo in reply to Sandakan]

Your doc should know about mucuna. What about B1. Our doctors educate us, and we educate our doctors.

[HersheysMom]

I've been seeing a functional doc for about 10 years now. Also see an MDS for my PD. Functional doc treats me with supplements, but no drugs. MDS would prefer that I take drugs, but I'm avoiding for now. DX with PD three years ago, while it's not "going away" my symptoms have progressed very slowly. Without any meds, I can do all the tasks I could before my DX,; I sleep well and continue to work.

[bepo in reply to HersheysMom]

look at mucuna pruriens. It works just as well as the pharmaceuticals without the side effects. Take B1.

[HersheysMom in reply to bepo]

Yes, mucuna pruriens is one of the supplements that my functional doc suggested I take. I've been using it for about two years.

[bepo in reply to HersheysMom]

Great! Are you taking it with 5-htp and Tyrosine?

[gigi9 in reply to HersheysMom]

How does it help you?

[bepo in reply to gigi9]

Mucuna is a natural form of L-dopa. There are no side effects. It has to be balanced with L-tyrosine and 5-htp. It is a bean that grows in nature and is not a chemical the body doesn't recognize.

[Gioc in reply to bepo]

Interesting, L- tyrosine ? Why?

[bepo in reply to Gioc]

This is an abstract by Dr. Marty Hinz who 'discovered mucuna pruriens'

Abstract: An extensive list of side effects and problems are associated with the administration

of l-dopa (l-3, 4-dihydroxyphenylalanine) during treatment of Parkinson’s disease. These

problems can preclude achieving an optimal response with l-dopa treatment.

Purpose: To present a case study outlining a novel approach for the treatment of Parkinson’s

disease that allows for management of problems associated with l-dopa administration and discusses the scientific basis for this treatment.

Patients and methods: The case study was selected from a database containing 254 Parkinson’s

patients treated in developing and refining this novel approach to its current state. The spectrum of patients comprising this database range from newly diagnosed, with no previous treatment, to those who were diagnosed more than 20 years before and had virtually exhausted all medical

treatment options. Parkinson’s disease is associated with depletion of tyrosine hydroxylase,

dopamine, serotonin, and norepinephrine. Exacerbating this is the fact that administration of l-dopa may deplete l-tyrosine, l-tryptophan, 5-hydroxytryptophan (5-HTP), serotonin, and sulfur amino acids. The properly balanced administration of l-dopa in conjunction with 5-HTP,

l-tyrosine, l-cysteine, and cofactors under the guidance of organic cation transporter functional

status determination (herein referred to as “OCT assay interpretation”) of urinary serotonin and dopamine, is at the heart of this novel treatment protocol.

Results: When 5-HTP and l-dopa are administered in proper balance along with l-tyrosine,

l-cysteine, and cofactors under the guidance of OCT assay interpretation, the long list of problems that can interfere with optimum administration of l-dopa becomes controllable and manageable or does not occur at all. Patient treatment then becomes more effective by allowing

the implementation of the optimal dosing levels of l-dopa needed for the relief of symptoms without

the dosing value barriers imposed by side effects and adverse reactions seen in the past.

[Gioc in reply to bepo]

Ty 👍🙏

[healthabc]

been dx'd 4 yrs,, have been seeing a functional med dr and MDS all the while. The functional med dr hasn't been able to modify my pd, but she helps me be in the best shape I can be for the long battle that lies before me, both nutritionally and medically. She has helped me with some supplements that curb minor pd symptoms. I believe this is the individualized medicine of the future. I will keep her on board! She is, however, expensive.

[bepo in reply to healthabc]

Take Vitamin B1. I educated our doctor about it. He takes many classes and seminars, but it's hard to keep up with all the new information.

[Sane1]

Interesting you should mention it. I had my first appointment with a functional medicine practitioner yesterday. She spent 2.5 hours with me. This after having had to submit a 2 hour medical questionnaire prior to the first appointment. A computer program took all that information and printed out a Matrix diagram covering 7 arms of wellness in the body. It spits out a personal wellness score. She then tries to devise a plan to get that score and my wellness as high as possible.

My FM provider is a nurse practitioner who has worked with Alzheimer an PD patients for a number of years. She is employed by a large neurology practice. She seemed well versed in supplements and the gut brain relationship etc.

She ordered two pages of baseline labs, some dietary suggestions, and see her in 2 months . We’ll see.

[fifthbird]

I do. He's an OMD and his attitude is not to focus on the diagnosis or symptoms as much as work on healing the root causes of imbalances in my body -- primarily gut dysbiosis leading to inflammation. This approach can take a long time and it sometimes feels like a lot of work, but it makes sense to me as more science points to gut inflammation as a cause of PD, particularly because of how it affects the alpha-synuclein protein. I tested positive for methane-dominant SIBO so I'm beginning treatment for that through diet and other elements of a treatment protocol. We also work with supplementation.

I consider my functional doc an important part of my team along with my neurologist (a movement disorders specialist), physical therapist, and psychiatrist. Plus a few exercise and dance classes and a daily qigong practice. Whew. I was diagnosed quite recently (youngish onset) and quickly learned that it will take a village to help me navigate PD, but that I have to stay centered in all of this and take responsibility for my body and my treatment choices. The functional approach is an important element for me.

[bepo in reply to fifthbird]

Exactly! Look for a Functional medical doctor.

We have seen several, and are lucky that we are currently seeing one in the closest city to us, in our rural location, with a population of 4,000.

[Sane1 in reply to fifthbird]

You summed it up beautifully..."healing the root causes of imbalances".

I too have SIBO. That treatment and treatment for kidney stones and PD seem to work against one another. Her optimism we will get it all sorted out helped me the most so far.

[chartist in reply to Sane1]

Sane1,

In the realm of natural remedies for kidney stones, have you looked into the herb, Chanca Piedra? I and several friends have had success with it. Nothing works for everyone, but CP has a very good safety profile and track record.

SIBO is significantly tougher, but there are a few natural remedies that my be helpful.

Art

[Sane1 in reply to chartist]

I will look into that. Thank you.

[fifthbird in reply to Sane1]

Sane1: I understand what you say about a practitioner's attitude. I so appreciate it when someone can acknowledge the complexity/reality of the situation while remaining optimistic and encouraging -- just helping me focus on the next agreed-upon step, not the whole mass of problems and possibilities. That helps me maintain peace of mind, which is some of the best medicine we can get!

I wish you well with your SIBO treatment and all the rest. I'm at the very beginning of mine and it seems pretty daunting, but see above about just focusing on the next right thing.

[Sane1 in reply to fifthbird]

Thank you. I wish you well with yours too. One step at a time..

[jacewildman in reply to fifthbird]

Who is your functional medicine doctor, fifthbird?

[fifthbird in reply to jacewildman]

Hi jacewildman: I've actually switched. I'm now working with Samantha Evans, who is one of Laurie Mischley's colleagues at Seattle Integrative Medicine. I made the switch because I felt like I really needed to work with someone who has a good understanding of GI issues in pwp and that's her focus. Even though I'm in the SF area, they see patients by video visit and email follow up. Seems to be working out fine so far.

[chartist]

Annieartist,

Doesn't Dr. Mischley fall into this category? If so, it seems she has significant experience working with PWP and she can see people in many places using skype, facetime or similar. Feedback on this forum from members who see her seems fairly positive.

Art

[Annieartist in reply to chartist]

She probably does - she’s agreed to see me if I get my grant to research PD. However I will also need to talk to at least one if not more functional doctors to see their attitude to PD. Do you know any good ones. They often seem very focused on Alzheimer’s and often don’t mention PD. Is it just less common?

[chartist in reply to Annieartist]

Well, that is understandable considering AD is the number one neurodegenerative disease followed by PD. I guess they figure that is where the higher demand will be, and AD may possibly progress at a faster rate, at least for some, so time is of the essence in many cases.

Art

[Hidden]

U.K. guidance currently is as follows: discover.dc.nihr.ac.uk/cont...

[Sane1]

Got it. Thanks.

[Rosenmu]

I also see a naturopath and he is making every effort to slow the progression and alleviate the symptoms, so far it's been good, I feel better than when originally diagnosed. No meds.

[simonasays]

Wondering how you found your providers and if any of you are in florida

[Annieartist]

I’m in UK where it’s harder to find a functional practitioner