I am still quite new here on the forum and have a question regarding my mother:
She was diagnosed with PD a few years ago. The neurologist had a strong suspicion that its PD.
My question now is regarding one specific symptom.
She has muscle weakness, she can still walk, but climbing stairs and getting up when sitting or lying down are difficult tasks. Even sitting is a difficult task. In particular, the strength in her legs has greatly diminished.
She has delayed taking prescription medication. Soon she will try another treatment and perhaps Mucuna Pruriens which she just took occasionally.
We are currently trying vitamin B1, 500mg for almost 4 weeks. Soon she will up the dose and take 1000mg (two capsules).
Does anyone have any tips on how to improve the weakness?
Thanks in advance!
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Godourtruehealer
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She needs to exercise. It would be very beneficial. Take a look at this website and see if you think it would be helpful. I've been going to Rock Steady for almost 16 years.rocksteadyboxing.org
Best exercises are weight and resistance training. Which might be as simple as using the weight of your own arms and lifting them up to the side and above your head. Practicing get out of a chair, doing partial squats etc. Carrying on doing housework chores like gardening and vacuuming can help but jobs that are too hard tend to be outsourced when we are older . Maybe this is a mistake and a false kindness.
Thank you for your tips! I will convey this to my mom. I read in some posts that you can simply do yoga or walk but in other posts I read that you actually have to fast walk and do activities that get the heart pumping. But not everyone is able to fast walk or to do activities that get the heart pumping because of age or because of fatigue and restricted movement due to the illness.
yes, I think you need aerobic exercise, but also strength exercise for the problems you mention, and flexibility exercise. You need all 3.
How old is your mother? Can you find an activity she enjoys rather than it being a chore because it is much more likely she will do it. Apathy is a big PD problem and less mental energy and dopamine is expended to do something fun than to do a job or an exercise program.
Eg does she like dancing, playing bowls, croquet, golf, walking, gardening? The social aspect of being part of a group might give her the energy if she is looking forward to it.
"...dopamine is expended to do something fun than to do a job or an exercise program."
Very interesting and true.
Yes she likes croquet, golf and gardening which she always did (occasionally now).
"The social aspect of being part of a group might give her the energy if she is looking forward to it."
Today i called a physiotherapist specialized in treating people with PD. He said he can look at her individual Parkinson's problems. He can also suggest what physical activity she can and should be doing. He is helping 18 others. Not sure if they are doing this with a group.
Well if she used to do those things she might be able to be able to be coaxed back into some of them again . Her lack of strength might be due to giving them up . I would talk to her about the importance of doing hard things to hold back the weakness. It’s like putting a peg in the ground. If you move the peg to an easier position then the ability to reach the harder position falls away too.
The worst thing I think to do is to take it a little easier on yourself because you are getting older.
ps. I think rhodiola rosea can be helpful to increase energy and motivation but check interactions with medicines first
Exercise is something that is likely to be beneficial for most people. The problem for many PwP is that they are not able to do more demanding types of exercise, but in that line of thinking, I previously wrote about a guy that had put together a collection of PD specific exercises that are significantly easier than many exercises that even more PwP should be able to do. Here is a link to that information, but keep in mind that I am only promoting the exercises that he illustrates in the links. I am not promoting anything else presented by him. Many of his exercises should be useful for helping your mom to regain strength and be more mobile.
Everyone is telling you to get your mother exercising but no one is saying she needs Levadopa to be able to exercise!! You say she was diagnosed a few years ago so you are witnessing what happens to untreated Parkinsons. We need Levadopa to make our muscles work and she will feel strong again if she can get regular medication. Then she will be able to exercise.
Having been on medication some 14 years now I’m wondering what better remedies there are because I haven’t found them yet. What detrimental side effects are you worried about?
Yes, medications can have side effects, but in the case of PD, the benefits are generally much better than any potential side effects for the majority of users. Supplements, at present, have only been shown to be additive in terms of improving quality of life, but are not a replacement for Carbidopa/Levodopa (C/L). Given your description of your mother's condition, C/L certainly seems worth trying. All of the other alternatives you might be considering could be additive to C/L in which case you may be able to significantly improve your mother's quality of life(QOL) now, not somewhere down the road. Since there is currently no cure for PD, Improving QOL seems like a worthwhile pursuit.
Dr. Costantini felt that the best benefits of B1 could be obtained when combined with C/L and that was his experience with his many, many patients. You also have to consider that not every PwP who uses C/L experiences side effects and if your mother does have a problem with C/L, she can always stop, but what if she has a very good experience with C/L, like many PD patients have had?
I wonder if you have found the better remedies than prescribed medication. I think not. I have known 2 women who refused c/l and were in wheelchairs. Both were able to walk once they started c/l.
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