Herbs and Vitamins for PD?

[ladyhowell79]

I've read a lot about alternatives to or natural treatments for Parkinson's. Is there anyone who can share their experience with a more natural method of treating our symptoms?

[Jeni]

Hey, we seem to always run into each other...

I just read a post on here from someone looking for Mucuna Prurien....huh, i may think about trying that, look it up.

jeni

[ladyhowell79 in reply to Jeni]

Hi Jeni. Good to see you!

After I posted about herbs to you I decided to ask if anyone on here had experience with them. I seen the Mucuna Prurien post, very cool that we're all on the same page!

I'm going to find somewhere to order this, it can't hurt to try.

I hope you had a great day!

[Jeni]

Funny, i went to the store after work and got some vitamins. one for my stomach, as i read that if it is functioning right it should help and some Alpha Lipoic Acid. I have stomach problems for the past 7 yrs or so, dont know if it has to do with my pd or not but worth trying.

Let me know what you find on the Mucuna Prurien, i couldnt find it in the store, they were very helpful, she thought i might be only able to get it on line.

my day was great, hope yours was too.

talk more tomorrow.

[hilarypeta in reply to Jeni]

I posted mucuna pruriens. I found it in book' top tiips for parkinsons' by lucille leader. Neuro said to try it and told ne to order from amazon...thought it would be safest. Also company tibetanherbs.com have formula for pd.

I think diet ..brain food is v important and exercise..stretching and yoga.waterrobics is good.

Also google john coleman...sounds iteresting. Detox mercury and heavy metals from body...

My way to try at the mo!

[ladyhowell79 in reply to hilarypeta]

Thank you for posting this. I'm going to look up the book and the herbs. I've read lots of stuff about diet and different vitamins and herbs. I bought some books about naturally curing your body by using food.

The detox is an interesting subject, I'll have to look at that also.

[Jeni in reply to hilarypeta]

I tried to google John Coleman but got to many and none made sense, which one???

[hilarypeta in reply to Jeni]

Hes an Australian medic fron Queensland Australia. He had stage 4 pd and is now symptom free...after a long struggle! Sounds genuine..

[maryalice in reply to Jeni]

Try the parkinsonsrecovery.com web site to find information about John Coleman. I'm taking his class right now. Hope this helps. Blessings.

[ladyhowell79 in reply to Jeni]

I've heard about ala before, it's in one of my books. After I read this, I looked more closely at my literature. It's interesting because some herbalist and naturopaths believe that digestion has everything to do with disease in the body. This has been an issue for me, small scale compared to other things. But it makes me wonder if I need to look at this more closely.

I found Mucuna Prurien on amazon and someone posted about a more effective brand called Dopa-Bean sold by Solaray that only requires 1-2 tabs per day rather than 3 and with this particular brand there's no issue with food intake. I'm going to send this person an email today. I'll keep you posted. I googled the herb and there are tons of places online to order it. I was surprised at how inexpensive it is.

I'm glad to hear you had a great day, mine was somewhere in the middle, but I truly can't complain. Life is good!!

[Court]

I recently posted about foods that help to produce dopamine. Hilary replied about mucuna puriens. I received an answer from Moderator 1 which I think it would be useful to read.

[ladyhowell79 in reply to Court]

Thanks Court! Your post is very helpful and I'm definitely going to use the information.

[DeParkiePoet]

Hello Everybody:

i've tried just about every vitamin available. Coq 10, alpha lipoic acid, l carniitine, mucuna, aka Dopabean, Gluthathione, suppositories (?) omega 3, vitamin c cucuramin, L Tyrosine, b12. Algae etc

I believe they all help, but they one i'll never stop taking is Wobenzyme in heroic doses, @ 26 to 30 a day. It functions as a systemic cleaner, breaking down cell fragments, mal-formed proteins etc, which might lead to Lewy bodys.

I also tried detoxing for mercury 3 times, each time I regressed into mental dullness and aawkwardness. I took that as a sign that the mercury wasbeing released into my system again. I was diagnosed 7 years ago at age 55. Some days are great, some terrible. I take sinemet and requip also with which I have trouble also..

the point? It all helps!

[DeParkiePoet]

Oh one of the most helpful things has been meditating, I come back from it, 45 mins, more refreshed than after my night of 4-6 hours of "SLeep". I've posted a guided meditation on youtube, yesterday, it's rough but try it out...

youtu.be/5CtN4dTFUCY(Not working as expected?), and send me comments at [e-mail].

also exercise,pilates tai chi yoga, biking etc helps my attitude

[ladyhowell79 in reply to DeParkiePoet]

Thanks for posting. You said that you've tried those, with Wobenzume being the one you'll never stop taking, are there any others that worked so well that you maintained a regimen with?

I've tried different herbs and vitamins but they make me sick, strange that natural meds tear me up but I can take PD meds all day long. I eat lots of fresh foods and include avocado everyday because its a super food, and I love it. I take Azilect, Sinemet, Comtan, Neurontin, and pain medicine for night pain.

Meditation is wonderful, I use this when I'm robbed of sleep. Maybe I should be doing this more often. I jog, walk, use resist exercise and balance exercises, which all help a great deal. Swimming is the best though. I find that when I'm in water, I have freedom and my body seems to cooperate with me.

[DeParkiePoet in reply to ladyhowell79]

Yes swimming and biking are both excellent, I could send you my lists of vitamins if you like. too many to list here and then I could answer ?s about them, if you like...

[ladyhowell79 in reply to DeParkiePoet]

Thank you so much! I would really appreciate that. I'm sure I'll have questions, it's awesome that you're being so helpful. [e-mail]

Melanie

[honeycombe3]

Please don’t leave starting prescription meds until you are seriously incapacitated. Even with the excellent support of my neuro, physio, GP etc in using alternative/complementary approaches I deteriorated over 2 yrs until I was virtually immobile. We are each unique & respond differently to therapies, treatments & drugs. Our preference for ‘natural/homeopathic/complementary/alternatives’ can lead us astray if we’re not careful. Having tried both I feel that a combination of approaches can work well. It does for me.

[ladyhowell79 in reply to honeycombe3]

I'm with you on this. I don't believe I'm at a place where abandoning my medications is an option. I would love to be able to cut the amount though and add more natural alternatives to my regimen.

I think for those who have been able to postpone medications, an alternative, more natural approach is an excellent option. Then for PWP who are taking the PD drugs, natural add ons and finding a way to reduce pharmaceuticals is a good option also. I guess it depends on tolerance, symptoms, and responses to meds. It's just hard to know which ones will be effective because we're all so different.

Thanks for sharing your experience. All sides should definitely be considered.

[DeParkiePoet in reply to ladyhowell79]

I agree totally, I have to live today, not in the future. The meds and the vitamins work for me, but my symptoms are not the same as yours, probably. We are all unique we need specific programs for each of us...

[everpositive in reply to honeycombe3]

I, too have waited for two years without medication. I am terrified of it's effect, but my movement continues to slow down even though I am super conscious of my diet. Thank you for sharing this.

[reverett123]

Twenty years since first symptoms at age 39. I have some very strong opinions and will share them, but do keep in mind that opinions are all that anyone has. So much about PD is a big question mark that Science should be ashamed!

First, here is a link to my blog. Hasn't been used in awhile but it saves retyping:

amatterofbalance.wordpress....

There may be more there than you want, so I will try to summarize here, although a lot will be lost.

PD is a "junk" diagnosis arrived at by eliminating everything else. There is no real test so there is a lot of guessing. This means that several different disorders with different origins but similar symptoms get all mashed together and called PD. Since the symptoms are similar, a common plan of treatment to relieve them unites us all.

Without knowing either cause or cure, our efforts focus on symptom relief and slowing deterioration. We play for time by attempting to short circuit the negative forces at work in our nervous systems - primarily inflammation, oxidation, and mitochondrial failure. This, in turn, gives us something to go by when we choose to add a particular supplement to our menu.

The ideal choices help with more than one part of the problem. This usually means botanicals - plants like green tea extract, turmeric, ginger, blueberries, and similar complex multifunctionals.

With these as a base, it makes sense to add in a few heavy hitters more focused on the main problems - fish oil, alpha lipoic acid, acetyl-L-carnitine.

Run each of these through Google and ignore the sites trying to sell you things. The earlier you start the greater the benefit. I wish that I had known this 20 years ago.

[DeParkiePoet in reply to reverett123]

Excellent advice! I agree with all of what you say. So to paraphrase you:

use herbs- like curcumin and fish oil for inflammation, deep colored fruits for anti oxidants, ALA for gluthathione. But what do you specifically mean by "complex multifunctionals" examples ...

[ladyhowell79 in reply to reverett123]

This is so well put and straight to the point! Thank you for sharing your "opinion", I agree completely.

My question is, how are you doing 20 years later and how have these herbs helped you?

I eat all the green stuff, lots of berries, especially blueberries and cook with ginger. I plan to add turmeric, alc, and mucuna prurien. There has been a ton of excellent advice on here.

[par004]

Currently I'm in a Clinical Trial to determine the effect VITAMIN D has on PD. This is being conducted by the VA and I don't know at this time if I'm getting a placebo or not.

[ladyhowell79 in reply to par004]

That's interesting. Keep us all posted!

[Moderator_1]

A link which may be of interest following on from Reveretts comments about cause. It is a report on the blood brain barrier and its significance in PD.

parkinsonsmovement.com/...

[maryalice]

I prefer to use more natural and alternative treatments, but sometimes you have to use medications to get through until you can find a better way. I think that nutrition is a big part of healing. If you google parkinsonsrecover.com

then go to page 2, and scroll down to Parkinson's Recovery On Line Radio/blog

Then click on Wed. April 18 -Recovery Through Nutrition... there is an amazing story about a doctor who used nutrition to recover. John Coleman also has some alternative therapies. You can find him on the same web site.

Hope this helps. Blessings