I was diagnosed with PD about 15 months ago. My symptoms are mild and I am only taking nicotine gum (12mg a day) and my symptoms have not progressed. Before my diagnosis, I started feeling unexplained anxiety. I learned that it is a symptom of the disease and I feel it is not related to the diagnosis. I am seeing a therapist and trying to learn some relaxation techniques. It chiefly bothers me when thinking about work (I am a health care worker) and it can be crippling.
I know medications are available for anxiety but I am worried about side effects. and would like to try other methods (at least for now). Can anyone share what has worked for them?
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lovelabretrievers
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That would be pretty cool if that Nicotine Gum kept the PD at bay. Very cool.
Maybe you would like to join the Zoom calls MBAnderson is so nice to host. I bet they would help your anxiety. I find it calming to know I have people to talk to twice a week. You will be welcomed!
Nicotine, maybe, smoking, definitely not. Nicotine is among the most very addicting substances on the planet, microgram per microgram may be THE worst as far as addiction. Research already well known and in the files of the big tobacco companies for the last 70 years... That they keep them tightly hidden even now should tell you plenty.
Marion, if you research it thoroughly I believe you will find that pure nicotine has been shown to be non-addictive. Mixed with all the other stuff tobacco is blended with including sugar and you have a different story.
I wasn't aware that pure nicotine, unadulterated and unaccompanied, is available OTC. Also, based on a single chemical factor alone, I have my doubts about the accuracy of the statement, it seems a tiny bit naive or maybe glib. I may indeed have to do some research, but since I don't plan on consuming it, perhaps the question is more pertinent to somebody who is.
Oh yes certainly many of them, don't know it personally but have read that second and third hand and hurt it second and third hand and I certainly find it believable because addiction is the major business goal of those corporations and they certainly know what they're doing. But you can buy nicotine lozenges and patches and gum and you can suck on chewing tobacco for that matter or simply just put it up in your gum and let it sit there cuz it will absorb through your gum tissue, especially if the cut of the tobacco which is sometimes designed to make micro cuts in your gum tissue to aid absorption and the speed of absorption. And I'm sure nicotine is in vaping products of course. So it still matters about nicotine itself.
Personally I'm not aware of what is available over the counter.
Why, pray tell, are Brighteon's videos banned from major video websites such as Youtube and Facebook, and material from their website only available by direct download from them and by their own proprietary newsletter? That's all a new one on me. Any idea?
Also, what should one make of this review of the website's owner, appearing at
I second Bolts comment, even though I am not able to participate as much as I would like, it is a very open platform to discuss anything going on with our PD and our lives! A lot of valuable information within the group also!
Speaking that I checked in on when my next tetanus shot is eligible, 4 years from now. I have a question in the pharmacist whether I can get one sooner anyway.
I think that you worry too much. I know people who just have that as part of their personality. I suggest that you get out more and get involved in something interesting and confidence building that you enjoy . Stay home less in your safe environment. Happiness is a state of mind and you can be happy if you have a mind to.
After diagnoses, people will often go through the 5 stages of grief : denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance . (note these are often talked about as if they all must happen and happen in order, moving from one stage to the other but they do not).
There are many people who are trained to help you and you must reach out to them , but it is more a matter of pulling yourself up by your own bootstraps. You can do it. You will notice "depression" is one of the stages and this must be avoided. Note that Parkinson's is made worse by stress and Parkinson's creates stress. Finally you do not complain about any other PD symptom so get a second opinion on the PD diagnoses from a neurologist because general practitioner MD's get it wrong when it comes to PD, a lot.
clonazapam at a very low dose helped my husband and reducing levodopa med to minimum. Clonazapam is addictive so needs to be at the minimum needed to make a difference and carefully regulated as at higher doses it can cause side effects.
Hi. PD is certainly a difficult problem as everyone is different. My approach has been to: 1. take mannitol (as it kills the alpha synuclein before it gets to the brain). 2. Take L-Serine, as it crosses the blood/brain barrier and unfolds misfolded neurons in the brain. 3. Take coffee fruit concentrate as it increases BDNF in the brain by 143%. 4. Fast walk for an hour 3x weekly. And 5. Use a red light helmet with frequencies of 810 and 610 nm 1/2 hour daily.
I can only say this has improved my physical situation but my memory deficits are still woeful.
All of these suggestions have been posted on line.
"1. take mannitol (as it kills the alpha synuclein before it gets to the brain). 2. Take L-Serine, as it crosses the blood/brain barrier and unfolds misfolded neurons in the brain.3. Take coffee fruit concentrate as it increases BDNF in the brain by 143%."
Mannitol about 3 or f years. L-Serine about 2 years, and only came across the Coffee cherry just over a year ago. I try and get in powder form and when I do I put a heaped teaspoon in my smoothie otherwise I just take a couple of capsules.
I also take other supplements such as B1, B12, Vinpocetine, Serapeptase, Turkey Tail Mushroom, and Lithium orotate.
"Vinpocetine is a man-made chemical similar to a substance found in the periwinkle plant (Vinca minor). In Europe, it's sold as a drug called Cavinton. Vinpocetine might increase blood flow to the brain and protect brain cells (neurons) against injury."
How long have you been on the lithium? I took that a long time ago way before I was diagnosed or had any symptoms I recognized as possible PD. Took it for depression. Is that your reason too?
Speaking of my own experiences so far, as I'm still trying to find the combination to the changing puzzle, 2.5 years in since diagnosis.
Work is definitely a trigger for me, especially when I've had extended periods off for leave or sickness. I was managing it quite well, but after having a month off, I noticed my anxiety grow. I know it's bad when I have an urge to get home. I work in a role where I'm supposed to be the calm, supportive one, and this adds pressure for me to be 'normal'!
I can't attest to what is triggering your anxiety but a certain amount of anxiety is normal for any life changing diagnosis, and although it's a bit of a platitude; it's a normal reaction to abnormal circumstances. There is a lot of uncertainty about the future introduced into our lives, and to a certain extent, I think it would be strange not to feel anxious at times.
A therapist is a great place to start on figuring out if there are some specific beliefs or fears that are underlying the anxiety and working through them. I won't go into my own unhelpful, personal cognitions, but integrating PD into our self image and future plans is difficult. Although there are definitely commonalities, each person may have very different beliefs about it, and there are factors such as life stage, career and family to consider.
I'm sure your therapist has gone through grounding, breathing and mindfulness which can all be helpful. Just being aware of tension in your shoulders and taking a few, full and slow breaths can be a great reset.
I find personally more extreme measures help. If you can manage it, I find cold water, sea and plunge pool exposure helpful and I dabble with Hof breathing. Sauna and forcing myself to relax on occasion too as I'm not very good at not staying busy. I keep meaning to try HIIT, but I put it off, but doing things you don't want to do is good for the brain!
Anxiety grows when we don't face what we are afraid of, so if it's safe to do so, we should head towards what we are afraid of, boldly. Easy to say, harder to manage....
Very good book, a little obscure these days, it is Direct Decision Therapy by Greenwald. Amazon sells them for reasonable. Another really good topic for you to research is the concept in general known as "positive addictions." Finally, also very valuable for you to look into, is the philosophy of Stoicism, there are some very good modern treatments of the school. Ever hear of the phrase you can bring a horse to water but you can't make it drink? In this case, Stoicism is bringing you (the horse) to the water.
Have an epiphany: try these three ideas out. And look into the auto hypnosis/self hypnosis accounts discussed, but also, very important, MODELED, by paraplegic psychiatrist Milton Erickson. Okay, I guess that's four. I always say there are three kinds of people in the world: those who can count, and those who can't.
By the way, Gymsack is right about worrying too much. But if you want to avoid chemicals, here's another one that I personally find works pretty well: I love on my cats and especially my Samoyed doggy. If you really have a lab, you can certainly do that.
If you should do eventually use chemicals as adjuncts, Xanax is most immediately effective, it will relax striated skeletal muscles and that is an anxiety mechanism for sure. Clonazepam after that. Take your pick after talking about carryover effects from half life, there are trade-offs to each: Xanax, the stronger, has a shorter half-life, which can lead into you a little too much on the frequency... Clonazepam has less effect but it is helpful, but it has a longer half-life so you can have some carryover effects. With both, if you keep the doses small, and/or use only as an adjunct and when you feel like you really do need to have some, then you will be okay with the occasional uses in the lower doses... Your natural fear of them will keep you from getting into trouble. On the other hand,, worrying about habituation will get you hooked, so you have to look about the other things I mentioned above so that you can interrupt your incessant tape playing... Just sometimes Let It Go (something to practice, like a mantra), if you are obsessively playing tapes, that's actually a compulsive behavior and the meds will help interrupt that, especially if you reflect during those times when you were calm, about trying to hold yourself from simply obsessing, since obsession in the milder forms is really a decision, you just don't realize that you are the one making it, and you can change it by just simply having a thought (If you think that is not possible, have a sexual fantasy right now, and you will thereby prove that it is as true, you can change a thought anytime you wish) and you can certainly control it by making decisions, in fact making a series of decisions (Harold greenwald DDT), which you may have to make multiple times but then that's not such a bad thing, you just do it because it's something you control (stoicism).
Also, it is important to realize something, often when you are anxious, you forget to breathe, and forgetting to breathe builds up lactic acid, which chemically drives anxiety, it's like injecting something to make you anxious. Also, that reminds me of the song that guy from San Francisco Bobby McFerrin used to sing: "Don't Worry, Be Happy." And there was another song I think you need to look into trying to find: it's a very good clever piece by a guitar whiz from my original neck of the woods, it's called "don't you think too much". If you find it tell me who the author was, and I'll confirm it for you.
Now, if you do everything I just said, you are going to be hard-pressed to find time to be anxious. Which reminds me of another technique: consciously try to become anxious, and if you don't become anxious, keep at it until you do. Yes there is a name for that but we don't need to be concerned here, names are often blarney anyway (malarkey if you're from Ulster).
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Anyway, keep at it, trying to increase your worrying, until you succeed. Then report back here. Also beware, don't spend too much time around psychologists unless you are paying them, because they can get on your nerves.
Every morning I listen to a song called “3 Little Birds “. Two different artists sing it and they are both relaxing. Bob Marley and a gal named Kacey Musgraves . Try it ! 🥊
I'm taking benzodiazepines every morning before going to job, unfortunatly it's the only way to handle with anxiety. If you a strong personality and you don't care what you look like to the others, probably there 's a better ways to cope. When I wake up in the morning with hands tremor, my anxiety grows more and more, with benzodiazepines I' m almost "normal". II practice this more than year and for now its working for me.
Yeah that's a motor thing and people shouldn't poo poo it, and when you need that med then for sure you do. And folks who have PD, it can also be something that is added to by a medication or supplement we use. So if you need the anx. medication, then you need it.
Mickel therapy (a mind/body talking therapy) has helped my anxiety immensely. Cranial osteopathy has helped to calm my stress related migraines. Walking in the countryside, horse riding and building with Lego works for me too.....anything that raises your remaining dopamine, and gives you some joy! 🐬 🐋 I like the multi prong approach .
decaf black tea or decafe green tea calm me down. have been told that calming effect is due to l-theanine chemical in tea
L-theanine is an amino acid found naturally in green and black tea leaves that may have a range of health benefits. Research suggests it can improve mental focus and sleep quality, and may also help with stress, anxiety, depression, and emotional and cognitive function:
Stress and anxiety: L-theanine may have a calming effect and help reduce stress and anxiety.
Sleep: L-theanine may help maintain normal sleep.
Mental focus: L-theanine may support thinking and improve mental focus.
The reaon for this is that L-Theanine has anti oxidative properties and oxidation causes inflammation. This would suggest that reducing oxidative foods (e.g. refined cooking oils and sugars) from your diet will help the situation.
ok. This really works for me. It’s both a breathing and mental exercise to do when dealing with pain or other stressor. Breathe in through the nose for a count of 4, hold for a count of 4, breathe out as if whistling for a count of 4. Do this several times. Then picture yourself sitting with the one true God who is your best and most loving friend. Breathe in and focus on the pain or stressors and silently say “I feel you and I accept you” and then hold breath and silently say “I offer you for the good of all people” and then breathe out and say”for I can do this with my Lord God who strengthens me.” ( note is the name god doesn’t work for you try Jesus, Allah, or Highest Power, etc. if you can do this you have just used your pain to do good and are a prayer warrior who can help defeat evil.
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