What actually is PD?

[blazyb]

Many people don't know what PD actually is and often the descriptions are really scientific. Here is my take. Please comment or pass on. fightingparkinsonss.com/202...

[india245]

I’m not convinced it is a loss of dopamine for everyone. I’m sure I remember seeing a video where they cut slices from brains from people who had died with PD and there was no evidence of reduced dopamine 🤷🏻‍♀️

I am still toying with the idea that we have plenty of dopamine, but we down regulate it quickly into adrenaline.

I am curious to know how many of us have lived with ongoing stress for decades, have overworked ourselves, been perfectionists, or have experienced trauma in the past…all of these, in my opinion, would require high doses of adrenaline and cortisol to get through. 🤔

[CuriousMe12 in reply to india245]

Dr Sackner Bernsteins research suggests excess dopamine prnewswire.com/news-release...

[Bracondale in reply to CuriousMe12]

So there is dopamine toxicity leading to receptor burnout / desensitisation🤔

[Bracondale in reply to india245]

And creating high levels of adrenaline and cortisol needs a lot of magnesium as well as disrupting the microbiome and methylation .....which will all lead to a strain on neurotransmitter production (inc dopamine).

[gomelgo in reply to india245]

I have been thinking along these lines before I heard from Sackler-Bernstein. I think the dopamine therapy helps pwp because it creates more dopamine, but that it also hurts in the long run (not just dyskenisia, but anxiety) because much of it is quickly converted to adrenaline. Also, the fact that many of us don't have tremor at night or when we sleep, implicates both adrenaline and serotonin. Also, that tremor gets severely worse when nervous or excited, adds weight to these hypotheses imho.

[PKLC in reply to india245]

Thank you india245, gomelgo, and others for these insights. I also feel the same way. You have described me and my condition to a "T." Calming down the tremors and anxiety is where I put my focus. Although LC med helps, I minimize how much I take so that I don't create a dependency, which leads to more LC and other undesired symptoms. I also take propanolol 2-3 times a day to calm my system down. I tolerate it quite well. and I don't experience any adverse side effects from it. I do several different types of meditation, which help with moments of increased anxiety, relaxing before sleeping at night, etc. I am also undergoing the beginning stages of EMDR therapy for PTSD and chronic stress. I believe that this will also help with my overall well-being and reduction of symptoms. I also do yoga and stretching exercises every morning without fail now. It has made a huge difference in heading off the misery of tight muscles and overall physical discomfort caused from the tremors and generalized anxiety. If we could only reverse this fight/flight response that our bodies seem to have "turned on" permanently, we might be able to find healing and wellness. Now, if we can only encourage scientific research to look into the connection between dopamine, adrenaline, and serotonin connection/function we might make some progress and find light at the end of the tunnel.

[M-o-ggy]

Some time ago I drew up a spreadsheet of symptoms that I experience. This included every achievement, pain, experience that I had. It came to a list of 80. Everyday I entered a tick against anything I experienced. My intention was to try and find if there was any pattern to the symptoms I was experiencing.

It accept that it is a fine line between observation and looking for patterns .

Specialst just said that PD was a movement disorder which was not particularly helpful

I have found so much help and support from this site.

[DogsWoode]

Agreed.....a terrific site. 👍👍👍