I was diagnosed with Stage 4 Parkinson’s (UPDRS 127) and Early-Stage Multisystem Atrophy in 1995 at 52 years of age.
I pursued many avenues for healing - conservative, radical and outright adventurous.
By mid-1998, I was free from symptoms and remain so to this day, nearing my 80th birthday.
Am I “cured”? No, there is no “cure” and never will be – but that is a discussion for another time.
I am free from symptoms (recovered) while I choose to live a life of health and interest. If I revert to old, unhealthy habits, I tend to develop a tremor as a warning.
This is not a restrictive or boring life - far from it – it is interesting with plenty of great activity, tasty food and even treats.
My journey from collapse to wellness was long, hard and fraught with pitfalls. Many people from all walks of life helped and supported me but, in the end, it was my choice and my responsibility to become well; to recover.
Here are a few of the lessons I learnt along the way.
1. Neurologists are clever people who are trained to treat disease, but have little knowledge of or interest in wellness.
2. I was told that we don’t know what causes Parkinson’s but, once I found out what really does cause Parkinson’s, I was able to find MY causes and get well.
3. The causes of my Parkinson’s symptoms were a combination of things done to me and things I had done to myself.
4. I was told that there were medicines to “keep (me) comfortable as long as possible”, but the effective time seemed to be limited to 5 years or so, and adverse effects declared by manufacturers were not something I welcomed.
5. There is no “cure” and never will be. But we CAN get well.
6. When an “expert” tells me I can never be well, that really means that they have never seen anyone get well and they don’t know how to help them get well. That doesn’t mean it can’t be done.
7. I realised that no one could do it for me. If I was to get well, I had to do it myself. Certainty with advice and support from skilled and caring practitioners, but I had to do the work.
8. Just because there was no record of recovery from Parkinson’s in conservative literature, it did not mean it had never happened or could not happen again.
9. I thought my neurologists would be eager to learn about my remarkable recovery, but they did not want to see me nor receive any correspondence from me.
10. Recovery is harder than “accepting the inevitable” but the rewards are enormous.
11. My health improved when I avoided the “naysayers” (those who insisted that I should listen to and obey western medical doctors only) and mixed with those who supported my right to make decisions about my health.
12. I thought most doctors would push me to take meds and “accept my fate”, but I worked with several (in hospital operating theatres) who encouraged me to pursue my adventures because, in their words, “the medication won’t do you any good”.
13. I needed my journal. When my quest for wellness seemed hopeless and I wanted to give up, the notes in my journal always gave me clues about my progress, so I was encouraged to keep on getting well.
14. If I love myself enough, I can achieve objectives considered impossible, like recovering from Parkinson’s.
These are just fourteen of the things I have learnt on my journey from Parkinson’s to wellness. There are many others in “Shaky Past” and “Rethinking Parkinson’s Disease” available on Amazon.
Written by
crewmanwhite
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Hi. To find out the whole story do I need to read both the books or can I just read the last one? I believe I have that book but I haven’t read it yet. Keep fighting! 🥊
John. Is this you? If so I have always believed that you did achieve this, and I bought both of your books when I was first diagnosed. However I sort of thought that I was going to get a progressive, staged approach to tackle this disease. What I found instead was an interesting read on what you tried and r were what you didn’t and what worked. But I thought the advice was hard to actually tie down into concrete processes and habits. You seemed to have the cash to try a broad range of modalities which I couldn’t ever really afford. So I got a vibe from you that every person needed to try lots of things out and sort of ‘see what worked.’ This left me a little lost if I’m being honest. Sort of I didn’t interpret your advice as you probably intended. I have to say that I was surprised that you identified The Aquas as being the modality that contributed most to your healing. I know a few people who bought this and had no improvement and find the concept hard to accept as viable if I’m being honest. But it’s nice to know that you’re still out there and doing well. I tilt my hat at you John
The Aquas Hydration Formulas (Aquas) are homeopathic formulas that assist in balancing the HPA Axis with many beneficial consequences. hydration.net.au/
Hello jeeves19. I am afraid you have misinterpreted my story and my advice. Perhaps I expressed myself badly.
Yes, I tried lots of things, but had not found any stories of people who had reversed PD so was in the dark a bit.
You say that it sounds as if I had enough money to try these things but, in fact, I was broke. I was divorced and paying for that, had lost my job and had to take whatever I could get which paid 1/3 of my previous income, paid child support, worked full time nights and studied in the day, and ate only twice per day. I just happened to think that my health was important.
80% of the recovery process comes from within the patient. Each person has to find their own resilience and determination.
However, I found that the Aquas helped enhance absorption of nutrients, supplements and medication, assisted in calming the HPA Axis, assisted in detox and other functions. The important words here are helped, assisted, enhanced. The Aquas did not DO it, but help. Yes, they are valuable, even if effects are not noted. Often this is because the are taken incorrectly of users don't know what to look for.
"There are many ways to skin a rabbit", the important thing is to get the skin off.
Beautiful post CrewmanWhite! Great advice warmly written. I loved how you put this: "pursue my adventures".
Find your path, tweak your path, and try to stay on your path.
I've been feeling better lately, thanks (I think) to my path. Feeling so good that last night at the grocery store I was staring down a cold 6 pack of my favorite beer (Obsidian Black Stout) that is definitely not part of my current path (but a huge part of my previous path). Anyway, the beer stayed on the shelf and I stayed on the path of "pursuing my adventures"
The only error is what I used to do with Obsidian Stout: Mix in chocolate syrup and about 6 ounces of Pepsi. There is nothing better tasting in this world.
thank you for your words, a reminder to me that our mindset as we all go through our PD journey plays a huge roll in all this. Something that the medical profession fails or refuses to acknowledge
Hi Big Texan.I find it hard to answer your question because I keep asking myself the same thing.
I can tell you that I wrote to Fox four times, sent 2 copies of my first book and asked for a conversation. My reply was silence.
I have also written to many other prominent people with PD and major PD associations. The only reply I had was from Parkinson's UK who politely asked me to not contact them again.
I presented my story at an international PD conference many years ago - just told my story without trying to sell anything. Many doctors walked out while I was speaking (rude) and the person who had invited me to speak was fired the following day.
interestingly, over the years of practice, I have treated 3 neurologists, 4 surgeons and 4 general practitioners who all recognised that only their individual efforts could reverse their illness symptoms.
At training workshops I have presented over the years, medical doctors attending have asked that their names should be withheld as they would be "disciplined" for attending.
Motives? Hard to say but money does speak all languages. In some cases, fame and power hold sway. I will have to leave those who refuse to get well to explain their reasons to whatever god they believe in.
Concussions will certainly have an effect and you may need to see a functional neurologist specialising in concussion to help those aspects.
Environmental toxins will have a profound effect and Great Plains Laboratory offer a very good test for those - although there are delays right now it is worth contacting them.
The concussions may also have created a stress response in your nervous system that will be damaging.
So there are three likely causes for you.
I would love to do a Ted Talk but so far have had no success at getting on.
I have done a number of podcasts so you might find them online somewhere.
Those who truly follow my direction and are persistent reverse their symptoms and many become symptoms free. However, most people fall by the wayside because they want a quick fix.
We did an open retrospective study some years ago of 59 people with PD (diagnosed by neurologists) who more-or-less followed my directions. 56 reversed symptoms by an average of 1.5 stages, 2 remained at the same severity and 1 became more anxious and sought medical help. We offered the study to various journals but they would not publish.
I am off to Adelaide (the next state) in July to present to a PD group and have an appointment for another pod cast in a couple of weeks, so the news is still getting out there.
Yes, that was my first published book (I wrote another book many years before that but it is not published yet).
"Stop Parkin'" was published in 2005 after about six years of writing.
Following that, I continued to research and practice until I realised that I needed to update the information on offer.
"Rethinking" took 2 years to write and another year to edit, and was released in 2020, so is much more up to date, and has much more information than "Stop Parkin'". It is also thoroughly referenced and indexed.
I would like to write another one now with even later information but that will have t wait for a couple of years (or more).
Thank you for answering my question. I did order your newer book and am anxious to read it and I’m also ready to make the lifestyle changes for myself and my HwP. I’ll be checking out your YouTube videos today.
I read you latest book John, and was super inspired. It was one reason I stayed and will continue to stay away from pharmaceuticals. The money they make from them is the reason voices like yours are systematically silenced. Thank you for all you do and have done!
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I have more than tripled my exercise since November 2020. 
Hence forth, things I shall ignore.
I have a problem walking.
Claimed improvement in symptoms following dental treatment.
