Around five years ago when I was 42, I started developing twitchy wrists, close to the spot on the wrist used for taking one's pulse. I also had trouble balancing food on a fork and holding a glass of water steady. My father thought I might be starting to exhibit symptoms Parkinson's.
My father was diagnosed with Parkinson's in 2004 and has been on Carbidopa/Levadopa for over a decade. I never liked how my father was addicted to Parkinson's medication, so I never went to a doctor for that. Instead I stopped sitting down as much as possible. I started using my laptop on top of a pillow that was top of my chest, all while lying down flat on my back. It's not the base of the laptop that rests on the pillow, but the edge of the base of the laptop. So I have to use my left hand to hold the laptop in place, while I type with my right hand. After several months, my twitching went away and I could hold a glass of water steady again. Using a laptop while lying down flat on my back has been my preferred way ever since.
I recently found this article about neurological problems and insufficient brain waste draining:
"The brain drains when you lie down. The brain drains less when you are standing"
"The drainage of the brain through the venous system goes from 614-740 ml/min in the supine position to 280-304 ml/min while upright.(4,5) In the supine position, 75-92% of the venous flow goes through the internal jugular veins but goes down to 25-42% as the venous flow shifts more to the epidural, vertebral, and deep cervical veins while upright."
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sleepmaster4
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I still get the occasional wrist twitch when sleep-deprived. But when that happens I snuff the threat out so much more quickly by lying down a lot AND also forcing myself into a laugh reflex as much as 500 times in a day in order to get plenty of natural dopamine.
youtube.com/watch?v=nwjs1p6xY2s
I started out laughing like in that video, before changing to a more villainy laugh where I smile and use the back of my throat more, enabling more laughing without getting tired.
I regularly see my osteopath every 4-6 weeks. She tunes into my waste flow from my brain and spends about 15-20 minutes stimulating it. I had to miss the last appt and I definitely feel worse.Strangely, here in the uk, osteopaths are not allowed to offer this service as there’s no ‘western’ medical evidence that it helps. It was only because my family had used her for years that she felt able to tell me about it.
I believe if you ask for this treatment an osteopath can do it but they can’t offer / advertise it
Never heard of this...is this issue a theoretical cause for pd, independent of pd or therapy can benefit us pwpd And...one more question, when you mean lying flat on your back, is there no pillow under your head?
I place a pillow underneath both my head and shoulder blades.
No longer using a computer in the sitting position may be the main reason for still being able to avoid the levadopa/carbidopa that my father has been on for over 10 years. I've tried to get my father to cut down on how much he sits down, but his hand tremors are too great for him to hold a laptop in place above his chest when lying down. It's a project of mine to see if my father's parkinson's can be reversed.
Haven't seen that lying down idea mentioned anywhere so decided to share it.
Another idea to try is foot sole tickling to get natural dopamine.
I already read in that position. Yes, a pillow under mu head,lying down. I read on my kindle mainly. I have less tremor than 3 years ago when my symptoms started, though my hand and leg do tremble a bit...my main symptoms are pain and fatigue. Lots has changed for me in the last few years. I have Pd. I know cause i was DAT scan diagnosed...but my pains and symptoms change... Wonder if an osteopath i know will be willing to "flush" my brain pipes a little. Ill ask him . He is quite open minded...ill report.
Great article, thank you. Good to see that it mentions POTS and dysautonomia and the vagus nerve. I've been doing a set of vagus exercises and lymph massage for the last few years (no PD, other neuro/autoimmune) and have read that lying on the left side drains more effectively than the right, so try to sleep predominantly on that side. The exercises seem to help me. I also do the forced smiling and laughing, although not so often as dopamine is slow to clear (in me). Brilliant that you have found ways to help yourself. Best wishes
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