PD is Low-T

Howdy, everyone. I'll get to the bulk of this post right after I update everyone on how things have gone so far. I'll try and keep this part short. No, I'm not going to go over anything here but PD progress.

I recently had a visit with my new Movement Disorder Specialist. His name is Dr. Aaron Haug (I believe I've spelled that last name correctly). He appeared to be an attentive and knowledgeable doctor, and personable as well. I think we'll get along just great. At least as far as first impressions go. We went over my account of my medical history, correcting a few things that someone was wrong in it, like which side it started on. (It had the right side, when it was my left arm that started tremoring, though what might have been confusing is my right side ended up surpassing my left in its degree of tremors.) I like him so far. One of the things I feared is whether he was the trusting kind with my DBS settings. My former neurologist gave me a fair amount of leeway in allowing me to adjust my settings. I was afraid this doctor might be more restrictive than that. But he wasn't, he was fine.

He appeared to understand where I was coming from, and why I no longer took any medications. That's because the few times I've taken some levodopa, one pill, I had a slight return of my dyskenisa. Nothing most people would notice, but I could feel the old familiar pull on my neck. Apparently I'm very sensitive to that aspect, so I'm very thankful that the DBS works so well.

The rest of the update will be in the following article that I will go to now, about low testosterone in men with PD. Note: this does get into a more personal issue. Nothing graphic, but does involve a more personal matter. If that bothers you, don't read it. You have been warned!

One of the issues that many face when they get PD is a declining libido. However, I had not specifically had that problem. Yes, my libido had declined a little since I'd started showing PD symptoms, but I was still able to "function" around 50% to 70% of the time, depending on what else was going on.

Then, once I had my DBS put in, everything down below simply stopped working. At first, after some research, I figured I would need to wait around nine months and see where I was at. For those that haven't read/watched my DBS posts, it takes around three to six months for the swelling in the brain to go down. I found a study on sexual satisfaction after DBS, and it was around half who thought it improved, and half that thought it declined. Uh, I would be in the latter half by nine months out, the earliest the study would take someone. Apparently, they wanted to make sure that the people they took were around a minimum of three months of settling down after their brain swelling should have resided.

At the time, I thought, "Well, I'll just wait until nine months to evaluate this situation again. Meanwhile, I was prescribed generic Viagra to help, which it did, but not enough to "finish the job."

On top of that was my difficulty initially (and still exist, though not to the degree it did in the first six months) coordinating my movements. When nine months were up, I realized my situation had not really improved significantly. Some, but nothing that put things right again. So I figured it was due to that inability to control my movements, which my previous neurologist said made sense. So I continued on, trying to add levodopa back into the mix some, which didn't really improve things much, and like I said, sort of gave me a low form of dyskenisa.

So i had pretty much given up by that point. Figured this was the way things were. And I would gladly give that part of my life up if required to have a better quality of life in other areas.

Then one day recently, something made me wonder about testosterone. So I started to do some research, I typed into the search engine, "Parkinson's testosterone" and came up with some articles that described that PD often resulted in a lower testosterone levels in men than in control groups about the same age.

Then it hit me. "What if I have low testosterone?" So on that hunch, I did another search on "levodopa testosterone," and pulled up some articles that confirmed my suspicions: that levodopa helps raise testosterone in PD patients. Suddenly, it all made sense. I regularly took levodopa up until, I had DBS! Once I lost that extra dopamine flying around in my brain since DBS had taken over, my testosterone had dropped as well. I didn't have that much dopamine up in my brain any longer. Apparently, dopamine is one of the keys in the production of testosterone.

So, I've contacted my neurologist to refer me to a urologist to test that, as well as any other reasons I might be having problems. Of course, if I do have low testosterone, it could mean getting a shot every 2 weeks for the rest of my life. Ug. That is, unless my insurance will pay for the much more expensive gel drug and such. I have yet to go to the urologist, he/she hasn't even called me yet to make an appointment. So I'll try and get on here and report any diagnosis I end up with once I find out what that is.

At any rate, that might help someone who reads this and is having the same problem. Thanks for reading and I'll be back!

Time for an Update!

I know I'm overdue for an update for friends and family. I'm sure people would like to "see me" in a video, as that would tell more how I'm doing than I can describe on a blog post. Unfortunately, being we're staying with my daughter, there isn't a good place for me to create that video. So, this will have to do for now.

So, how am I doing?

Well, pretty good, overall. I know, I know, you were hoping for more info than that.

So I'll dig into the particulars.

DBS

So far, the DBS (Deep Brain Stimulation surgery) is still controlling my symptoms without any help from medications. That is, over a year later, I'm still medication free! I can still type well, though I'm feeling a little more resistance in my left arm due to the dystonia I have there. But not so much that it is affecting my typing a lot.

As a result, I'm still going full bore on writing. I currently have four books finished that I need to finish editing on and get published. The closest one that is ready, will be published any day now, is the fourth and final book in my Virtual Chronicles series, Reality Game. I also have another science-fiction title in the editing process: Rebellion. Additionally, I have two non-fiction titles: Healing Infidelity Through Faith, and Looking Into the Orthodox Church that are in editing. Probably the other three will come out early next year, except for that last one since I'm planning on submitting it to a publisher. They always tend to take more than a year to process anything once they've agreed to publish something.

I'm currently writing another science-fiction book as well: Deep Brain Invasion. I intended to get that done for National Novel Writing Month, which was this past month, but I got sidetracked into other projects and didn't finish it. That said, I seem to be getting more done without a schedule or time limits or other factors that NaNo provides. So, I'm still writing that book and should finish it early next year, probably will be published sometime late next year or early the following year.

So, yeah, my DBS is still operating as expected and I'm still happy that I had it done. I'm so, so glad to be off my medication roller coaster!

Diet

My plant-based diet is still working great. Plenty of energy and such. I do tend to take a nap in the afternoon, but I've been doing that since my DBS, so I attribute that more as a side-effect of the surgery rather than any lack of energy on my diet. The reality is that my diet provides me plenty of energy as long as I keep eating enough calories to keep my weight up. That was a challenge when I was on the keto diet as well. I'm clocking in around 153 lbs. currently. My lowest weight was around August of last year on the keto diet: 147 lbs. So I appear to be doing okay on that front at this time.

So can I tell whether the plant-based diet is helping my symptoms or not? Well, as far as I can tell, I feel pretty "normal" most of the time. I might be progressing a bit, in that I've had to turn up both sides one "notch" on my DBS once this year. But that would be minimal, I think. So it appears my progression is on a slow-track so far. As to whether the diet is helping with that, I can't say for sure (especially without any control groups to compare against--the Doctor would be helpful for that . . . yes, I'm talking about that Doctor, as in Who), but according to all I've read, it should be helpful in at least slowing progression. The gut health has a lot to do with Parkinson's symptoms, and I can report that my stools have been pretty normal and healthy, which would indicate that it is helping my PD symptoms in other areas.

One symptom that has always been a problem and still is, probably because it is one of those non-motor symptoms that DBS isn't supposed to help, is my chronic runny nose I've had ever since the first PD symptoms showed up. I must use around 50 tissues a day. Being indoors seems to make that worse, which I am indoors most of the time. So, I have this chronic runny nose issue still. Even after seeing my doctor about it and having a nasal spray prescribed. Well, if that is the worst thing, I'll survive.

TUCDA

I now have a confession to make. I haven't been taking this medication since I had DBS. I know I said I was going to do so, but it was hard to remember to take it three times a day without the regular medications to remind me, that I kept forgetting. Now that our income has changed with the move to Colorado, we simply wouldn't have the money to keep up with it anyway. As I indicated above, I've not discovered that my PD has progressed that much so far this year. Whether that would have happened no matter what, or whether the plant-based diet has slowed progression, who knows?

Anywho, I am sorry that I wasn't able to keep up the experiment, though it would have been difficult, if not impossible, to tell how much of an effect it would have had. There are simply too many factors to account for in my situation to know what has caused my slow progression to date: DBS? Diet? Exercise? ????

But I am very thankful that my symptoms have slowed down, whatever the cause, from the breakneck pace they were on for the first two to three years.

Exercise

Since getting my DBS done last year, the amount of exercise I was getting went down. Not totally gone, by any means, but the amount I was getting wasn't up to my pre-DBS standard. Not sure exactly why that was. Maybe because I now could write more, I spent more time doing that, and other things I wasn't able to do as often as before? I know the amount of window cleaning jobs I received was eating into my gym time, but that was its own form of exercise as well. You try holding a 30 foot pole in place for several hours and see how in shape you are!

Now, I thought moving to Colorado would get me back into the gym more. Why? Because I was fortunate enough to snag a job at the local YMCA here to do Zumba Gold classes. I went through their process and did all the training, But I wasn't scheduled for any classes. When I checked with the boss, she wanted to make sure I could cue well. That is, she wanted me to be able to point out where I was going next with my moves. No problem, I thought. At most it might require some refining of what I was doing.

To make a long story short, I discovered that she wanted me to cue all my moves four beats before I did them, and she also said that I needed to simplify my moves into three basic steps per song, and do more verbal cuing. I've tended to rely upon visual cuing because my voice isn't very loud and it gets too complicated to do the verbal cuing at the same time. With around 3 to 4 months of practice, perhaps. But not any time soon. So, based on my learning style, she was asking me to rework all my songs, which would take a minimum of three months, into more simpler steps, and to cue four beats ahead of any move, which I didn't know how to even practice that.

Combined for the fact I don't currently have anywhere to work on that, I felt I couldn't do what she felt I needed to do that her students would need and expect in order to do these dances. So I told her as much, apologized, and told her I couldn't do it. I sent that email to her back around mid-November. I've not heard anything from her since. So, I won't be doing any Zumba classes. Also, no job at the YMCA as far as I know right now.

Which also means I won't be going to the gym on a regular basis, and mostly I've been holed up in my daughter's apartment, doing writing and such, Which does exercise the fingers, but that is about it. I'm thinking I need an alternate plan if I'm going to get my cardio in. I'm seriously thinking about using some dumbbells to lift weights in a cardio way on my own. Maybe. We'll see. Because I know how important cardio is for slowing the progression of PD. So in my mind, I shouldn't neglect it for very long.

One avenue is my Parkinson's group that I've attended once since I've been here. They have  some programs going on which they were interested in me doing some Zumba for them. We'll see if that turns up anything. Another option is the Parkinson's program at the Y, but is its own thing separate from the Y, that does cycling, is looking for instructors for that. Maybe. So I have options, just a matter of figuring out what I should do. I'll let you know how all that ends up panning out.

Move to Colorado

We've been here for over three months now in Colorado. Getting colder all the time. It has snowed like around four times since we've been here. Always, ironically, on a Sunday morning. Last Sunday was the first Sunday in a while that we've not had snow. Looks like no snow for the coming Sunday either. That said, of late our lows have been in the lower teens. And winter has yet to officially start, though we are getting closer.

We are still staying with our daughter and her family. We're all getting along fairly well, with minimal problems. But, we do want to get into our own place as soon as possible. We're hoping by January or February we'll be able to do that as long as the pieces fall into place.

Lenita is working at a job she seems to love: being the "Sample lady" at the local supermarket chain. They keep her quite busy and provides the biggest amount of our income at current. Though whether that along with my disability and the amount we're getting for selling the company is going to be enough for us to live on once we get an apartment is questionable. She still wants to get into childcare, her original plan. How that will happen, though, is the question.

All we really need is for my books to hit the big time! Have a movie made based on them, or something.

All in all, we are happy here. The scenery is beautiful and all as well. We've gotten some medical help that we didn't get in Texas. Lenita is on Medicaid as well as Nathan. I've got my Medicare. The only glitch is that Medicare doesn't cover much in the way of dental unless you buy a plan specifically for that purpose. I was on Medicaid for the month of October, because they put you on it when you apply, and then they took me off of it because I received too much money from my disability. While I was on it, though, I was able to get eight infected teeth pulled. She wanted to pull them all and give me dentures, but alas, they only supplied enough dental money for one year to pull those 8 teeth. But at least I got those done before it ended.

So we've settled in. We've both have our Colorado driver's license and plates. So no one knows we're from Texas anymore merely by driving behind us. They would only find that out when I talk to them in my Texas accent.

I should be going back to Texas soon, for a not very good reason, though. I will be flying down to San Antonio to stay with my brother and his wife for a few days because my other brother, number 2, Rob, is dying of cancer. He is currently in a nursing home. Whenever they schedule his memorial service, that's when I plan on going down there for a few days. Hopefully I'll have some time to go visiting.

Forgive any typos in this posting. I'm going to give it a once-over before posting. I've got things to do! See you later.

The Dirty Secret

Today I've finally decided to discuss a dirty little secret, or not so secret as the case may be: constipation. I've been intending to write this article for some time, but it has been slow in coming. (See what I did there?)

A lot of people have this problem, but Parkinson's patients tend to be overly afflicted by it. I used to be and have a few solutions to tell you about how to deal effectively with this problem, whether or not it is due to Parkinson's.

I'm going to first discuss the basic problem, then am going to discuss the following potential solutions: The process, Diet, Supplements, Exercise, Medications, and DBS.

The Problem

One of the more common "non-motor" symptom of Parkinson's disease is constipation. I put "non-motor" in quotes, because the reality is it is a motor system even though people don't think of it in that way. Your large colon is a muscle that pushes your solid waste down and out. But, being an automatic process that we usually don't think about, we don't tend to classify it as a motor symptom. But in reality, there are motor issues at play here that Parkinson's can affect.

But it isn't merely a motor issue either. Many Parkinson's patients are missing key bacteria in their gut that help to digest food. This can result in hardened stools. Getting the gut back in shape is one key component of dealing with PD constipation.

I've also read that PD can affect the smoothness and dryness of the colon wall. This will make it harder to move stools through the colon. I recall feeling that problem as well.

The Process

Most people who have constipation push with all their might to get it out. I've since discovered that this is counterproductive. Sure, it works sometimes, but it can cause worse and worse constipation as well.

Before I knew that bit of info, I would strain to push it out. My all-time record of sitting on the toilet and trying to get it out was a little over three hours. It was grueling. I was literally crying by the time it was over with in one big explosion. That was after cramming suppositories up there and all that. I feared at the time I would end up in the emergency room because I couldn't get it to budge, no matter how hard or how many times I pushed.

The problem with pushing hard is twofold. One, it puts stress on your internal organs. That can cause its own set of problems. Problems you don't want. Two, it can pack the stool into your colon in such  a way as to exacerbate the problem.

The best process I've found is to: First, let your natural colon process take over and expel it on its own schedule. This is by far the best method and can make for the least stress on the body.

Second, if it needs a little help to get going, like when you feel the need to go, but it stops short of coming out, some moderate pushing is in order. What I've found works best is breathing deep with your stomach. That produces a natural shove and nudge of the stool. If you feel it is necessary, you can provide a moderate push at the deepest part of the breath. Nothing that will turn your face red type of pushing, just use as much as it may require.

Third, if it still doesn't come out, don't push with all your might. Sit there continuing to do deep breaths until you either expel the stool, or you are forced to give up and try again later. Whatever you do, don't push excessively in a straining manner as that will make it worse in most cases and you'll run the risk of damaging internal organs.

If after three attempts like this, it still won't come out, consider going to see a doctor.

The Diet

Your diet plays a large part in what kind of gut bacteria you have. The types of bacteria you have in your gut are largely dependent upon what you feed them. So if you eat processed foods, the bacteria you'll tend to end up with are largely those that help breakdown sugar and fats. If you eat fiber rich foods, however, your gut will grow bacteria to process those types of nutrients.

It should go without saying if you eat a lot of fat and sugar heavy types of food, like meat, cheese, eggs, most processed foods, etc., that your constipation will get worse, not better. Take cheese, for instance, It is mostly a concentrated lump of fat. Around 90% saturated fat. I know from experience when I've eaten too much cheese in the past that I've had constipation problems. That was before I had PD. All that fat can gum up the works in your colon, especially if you are already prone to constipation by PD.

The type of diet that works best at reducing constipation is one that is starch and fiber rich. That means lots of bread, vegetables, fruit, and legumes of various types and forms. If you need to eat meat or meat products, and processed foods, serve them in very small portions and only occasionally. But it is best to eliminate them altogether. The more problems you have with constipation, the more strict you need to be with eliminating those foods. A plant-based diet will do more to correct your gut bacteria than most any other method.

Additionally, it is a good idea to stay hydrated. I usually drink plenty of water and other liquids each day. I tend to always have a water bottle full of water close by.

You can gauge how well you are doing based on the frequency of your bowel movements. Healthy individuals will have around one bowel movement a day. If you go two or three days without one, know that you are building up to a constipation episode and take preventative measures as soon as possible.

Supplements

"But Rick, what about fiber supplements?"

Yes, they do help. When I had constipation on a regular basis, they were one part of my routine to help stave off that problem. All by themselves, they didn't do the trick, but they helped. Now I take them more for the B12 they contain than for the fiber. At any rate, if you can get your fiber from whole foods like I've listed above, you are far better off and will not need fiber supplements. That said, even if you are getting plenty of fiber from your diet, it won't hurt to add more from a supplement.

However, the most effective supplement I ever took for this problem was Magnesium. I took around 500 mg a day, which appeared to keep my stools soft enough. The only time I needed more fire power was when I was on Amatadine because that medication had the side effect of more constipation added on top of PD. However, magnesium was my primary supplement to fight against constipation. Also, it had the added benefit of helping my nervous system operate at peak performance.

The times I had the worst constipation was the days I forgot to take my magnesium for the day. There may be other supplements that work for other people, but those are the two that worked best for me.

Exercise

"Aw, do I have ta?"

Yep, if you want to address the cause rather than just the symptoms. The colon, as I mentioned above, is a muscle. PD affects muscles, and it can affect the colon. It can interrupt the smooth movement downward of a stool. As PD progresses, it makes your muscles weaker due to the tremors and any dystonia affecting the muscle. The solution to this is exercising those muscles.

This was dramatically brought home to me back in 2015. In 2014, during our trip to Hattiesburg, MS from our home (at that time) in Marble Falls, TX, I was constantly stopping to use the bathroom. My bladder muscles had grown weak enough by that point that I frequently had a hard time holding it in. I had many close calls on that trip, and at least one or two misses. My need arose without warning and usually left me little time to find a restroom.

In Feb. of 2015, I had started to exercise regularly at the YMCA doing Zumba and Pilates. By the next fall when we left for Hattisburg, I had little problem and could go for quite a while before needing the bathroom. The reason? Mostly due to Pilates, because it works the core muscles. They got stronger, and therefore my bladder had more control. As a matter of fact, several of my muscles grew stronger during that period. I had several of my symptoms reversed because of it.

"But Rick, that's dealing with the bladder, not the colon."

Yes, but they are in the same area. It was harder to gauge the constipation. However, it was in 2014 I sat on the toilet for over three hours. I never had that bad of constipation since I've started exercising regularly, even when I took Amantadine. I know that it has been one of the things that has helped my constipation issues.

Medications

There are over-the-counter and prescription medications that one can use. The problem is that they can have side-effects and complications with other medications you may be taking. Be sure to check contradictions with other medications before taking even over-the-counter medications. By far, the best methods are the above ones, but in some cases that will not be enough and you may need more powerful methods. It is a good idea to check with your doctor before taking any additional medications, even over-the-counter ones. I personally have no experience with those, as I've never had need to use them.

DBS

DBS, or Deep Brain Stimulation, can help with constipation. It generally doesn't help non-motor symptoms, but as I've indicated above, the colon is a muscle that can be affected by PD, so there is some motor issues involved, even though there are also non-motor issues. All I know is currently, over the past year since my DBS surgery, I've had near zero problem with constipation. I am also doing the plant-based diet, so I know I'm getting plenty of fiber, but I no longer take magnesium and my stools and frequency of bowel movements are quite normal.

Now, am I saying get DBS to solve your constipation problems? No, there are other ways to deal with it. However, it could be one consideration in whether to get DBS or not. And I'm not saying for sure that it will solve it for you. It depends on why you are constipated and whether DBS will affect that or not. However, if it does affect it, it is one potential side-benefit of getting DBS.

That has been my experience with constipation to date. I'm sure as this disease progresses, I will deal with it again. But for now, I've conquered it using the above methods. Maybe it will help you too.

Link Between Parkinson's and Tooth Decay

I went to the Dentist today (10/3/18). To put it bluntly, my teeth are falling apart. I was told today, that I have about five teeth that are worth saving, and even those were weak. The conclusion? To extract them all out for full dentures.

That prognosis caused my wife, Lenita, to ask when I started noticing the decay accelerating. I thought back, and it appeared to happen around the time my Parkinson's symptoms started appearing. I did a quick search on "Parkinson's and Tooth Decay" and came up with a series of articles. This scholarly article seems to put a definite correlation between the two. Indeed, another article talked about a study that compared tooth decay among differing types of neurological conditions, and the PD had the worst record of good health and healthy teeth.

So, I'm just saying, if you have or get PD in the future, you may want to pay special attention to your teeth and your dental hygiene. Your doctor is probably not aware of this information as there isn't a lot of studies done on this topic. It may be too late for my teeth, but not for yours.

My problem is finding the money to get this done. Could be a couple of years or more as we struggle to get back on our feet.

Year in Review with DBS

As of last Saturday, Sept. 29, was one year since my Deep Brian Stimulation (DBS). So I figured it was a good time to review the past year in relation to getting DBS.

It was a bit scary getting wheeled into the operating room. Waving bye to my wife, wondering if something went wrong, if it would be the last I'd see her. I know she was thinking the same thing. As they wheeled me down the hallway, I remember thinking, "This is my last chance. I could hop off this gurney and say I've changed my mind." But I didn't. Obviously. But I knew going in that though most of them go without a hitch, there is that small percent of a chance of hitting the wrong spot in my brain could cause a hemorrhage, and possibly death, or I could come out of it with severe brain damage. According to the statistics, around a 5% chance of it.

Thankfully, I wasn't one of those 5%. I even didn't get any infections or rejections. Everything went as smoothly as could have been expected. I thank God for his protection and guiding the surgeon.

And being on the table, knowing and feeling the pressure of him cutting into my head, and drilling through my skull, will be experiences I'll remember forever. While I know some come out of that surgery with PTSD, I was mostly curious and was paying attention to everything that was going on around me. Even when they probably thought I was under and out. lol. I recall saying to them at one point, "Should I be awake now?" As it seemed they were preparing to do some other surgical stuff that I would be out for. I even recall them debating about what route to take with the lead on the left side of my brain. One guy suggested putting a rod on my head to check if their new system was positioning it correctly. The head surgeon rejected that idea, thankfully for me. I wasn't too keen on getting  a rod attached to my skull unnecessarily. 

Of course, the recovery was slow going. It took a full six months as I slowly regained my balance, and abilities. At first, I was pretty wobbly due to having my settings turned up too high. All you have to do is go and look at the video on this blog I took shortly after my first setting and getting turned on. I had a real problem fixing myself lunch in the kitchen. One day, after bouncing off the counters and such, I had to give up. It was exhausting.

But after around four or five sessions with my movement disorder specialist, I finally landed on a setting that seemed to "work" for me. At least, it keeps me at a level I could manage. Except for when I did Zumba. That required a lower setting that barely controls my tremors, but is low enough that I can more adequately dance and play pickleball without my legs going crazy.

But the really cool things, is despite all that I've been able to do a lot more writing than I have in a long time. Since Sept. 29 last year, I've finished two novels I started working on and had partially completed, as well as compiling and writing a non-fiction work that I've tentatively titled, "Looking into the Orthodox Church." A book for inquirers into Orthodoxy. That's all in addition to some short stories I've written.

So I've been busy working on that. Also, I started a window cleaning business which was going well while we were in Marble Falls, but now that we are here in Denver CO, we are starting all over again. I've had one potential contact, but that's it so far. But, while in Marble Falls, I was doing around 5 to 7 jobs a month in addition to other jobs, like pressure washing driveways. And it was growing. Hopefully it will grow here too, once I start getting some clients.

Additionally, as several of you know, I will soon start my job at the YMCA here in Denver as a Zumba instructor. I've been patiently waiting for this to happen. Though it is nearing a full month since coming here. Long process, apparently. Anyway, I look forward to that. Not only for getting going in it, but we need the income!

So, I've been asked over and over again whether I would have done DBS knowing what I know now. And my answer has always been "YES!" Though there has been some difficulties here and there with it, the life it has restored in me is well worth it. Someday, my disease will progress to the point DBS is no longer effective, but my hope is with a good diet (as I talked about last post) and plenty of cardio exercise (which I'll be getting plenty of as a Zumba instructor), I can slow the progression down to the point where that will not happen for a few more years.

Stay tuned to this blog to find out what happens to me in the next few years.

BTW, I'm planning on doing NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) this November. First one I've done since 2010 I believe, 8 years ago. check out my writing blog for more news of that.

Why I'm on a Plant-Based Diet, and Why You Should Be Too.

"All well and good for you, Rick. If it helps you, more power to you. But why do I need to be on a plant-based diet?"

I know I could "talk" or in this case, type till I'm blue in the face, and there will be some people who are simply not willing to give up their meat, dairy and eggs. Even though it will in all probability, lead to heart disease, cancer, or some other chronic disease. I know that some may feel that I'm being radical. However, the science is all there. The clinical trials and all the best evidence points toward that reality.

What? You want links? How about the following:

From Parkinson.org, a general guide to how diet affects PD and what the current evidence shows.

From Dr. McDougall, has some interesting things to say on this subject.

From the Brian Grant Foundation's blog interview with a movement disorder specialist.

That is just a small sampling when I did a search on Parkinson's and plant-based diet on Google.

Plus, there is much more clinical trials and information dating back to the 1950s about how a plant-based diet protects from heart disease and cancer, the top two killers in Western Society. Western Society as everyone who eats like us. Those areas of the world that only rarely eat meat or dairy products have near zero incidents of heart disease and cancer. Pretty much every study done on this topic shows that a plant-based diet will be protective for anyone getting heart disease or cancer. Even better, in both cases, it shows that it can *reverse* those diseases.

Nuerodegenerative diseases like Parkinson's aren't so fortunate on the reversing area. Brain neurons are not as likely to grow back and start producing dopamine again. However, it is hoped that providing the antioxidant and other infection reductions that a plant-based diet has to offer, will slow or even stop the progression of the disease. That has yet to be proven, however, even though there is some laboratory and animal testing that has promising results.

However, the biggest chance it can help people that are either yet to get PD or some other chronic condition like MS, ALS, etc., is to go on a plant-based diet. The downside is that most people think something like that is a radical approach, that the food will not be as good as their steak and potatoes, that they could never give up their cheese, or eggs, or add in whatever you love that you would have to give up. Until . . . you get a chronic disease, or come down with heart disease or cancer. Then suddenly, you realize the value of listening to someone like me.

Consequently, many will not do this diet that has been proven beyond a shadow of a doubt to prevent and heal most diseases we face. The cool thing is that you don't have to do, buy, or take one thing from for one problem, another for a different problem. I'm not selling you any supplements that claim to do that. One for each possible disease you might get. Rather, I'm promoting eating healthy for the reason that I know it is the best thing for anyone to do. This one change, in our diet, could profoundly affect the future of our lives.

Eating healthy is the solution for everyone. And for those that might be able to avoid getting a chronic condition like PD, it means more years of living without tremors, muscle tightness, pain, etc. It is too late for me, to a point. I've had PD symptoms for six years now. The damage is done in my brain, and short of a miracle, there isn't any way I can get that function back. All I can hope for is slowing of the progression down to a hopefully slow crawl. But you still have a chance to live a full and healthy life. Why wait until the damage is done?

Nutrition and exercise are the two biggest factors in Parkinson's Disease. Both in their lack in getting it and in using them to manage it. Can you afford to wait until you get a disease before giving up meat, dairy, and eggs? I wish I had known this back when I was still young. My life might have been much different if I had.

If the above doesn't convince you, but your interested in the topic, I would suggest watching this video that Dr. Gregor gives on how a plant-based diet can cure and/or alleviate the leading 15 causes of death. If he can't convince you, I don't know who could.

We're in Colorado!

Hello, everyone.

Yes, as I've said in the title, we've successfully arrived in Colorado with our lives and stuff intact. I had one big harrowing experience in coming here, though.

We were driving down I25 toward Denver, about a little over 40 minutes from our final destination. Just north of Colorado Springs, I suddenly noticed the trailer swaying back and forth. I was controlling it, but not knowing why it was doing this, I thought maybe it would correct itself or get out of control worse. Then it dawned on me that one of the two tires on each side of the trailer must have blown. I was correct.

My wife, driving the van behind me, was in a panic as she related to me after we safely made it to the side of the road. She started smelling smoke, and started looking for where it was coming from. Then she noticed smoke coming from the trailer. She yelled for our son to call me and tell me to get off the road. About that time, however, is when she saw the tire shred apart and I started fishtailing in the heavy traffic on each side of me. She relates that she was in frantic prayer as well as telling me to get off the road.

About the time I realized what had happened, I looked over in my window to see if I had a way to pull over to the side of the road. Amazingly, I did. Most likely because the tire blew on the right side and and so people were slowing down in fear of me fishtailing into them. So I moved over with success. Upon looking at the damage, since we had one good wheel on that side it could ride on, we decided to slowly make our way down the side of the road until the next exit, about a mile away. We did and parked in front of a 7-11 under construction there. A Starbucks was there to provide a place to recoup as well. Which turned out to be a good thing as we had to wait over 2 hours before roadside assistance came and replaced the tire.

So we arrived a few hours later than expected. Better than spending the night(s) in a hospital. We were truly thankful for all the prayers for our safe travel.

So now we have been here over a week. A lot has happened this past week. I'll just relate the more important things. One, key thing is the YMCA job appears to be a lock at this point. I met with Colleen, the Health and Wellness director at the YMCA, twice last week. The last time was to get some paperwork done. She's submitted the background check to Texas, so we are just waiting for that paperwork to get back before we can proceed, which she said could take as long as six weeks or more. So I wait. Wait for Texas to respond. Once that happens, however, I'll go into HR and fill out their paperwork and then I'm officially hired. According to Colorado state law, I'll be considered a resident once I'm gainfully employed. So that will also become the moment I'll be an official Colorado resident.

Aside from that is doing all the other switch-overers of our address. As well as obtaining new stuff, like I've still got to get my driver's license, register the car, etc. I do have a new bank account, I've changed addresses with Social Security and changed my direct deposit info, since that takes 2 months to switch over.

And money is tight, more than I expected it to be. We have enough to buy some groceries and gas for the truck, but not much more. But we're budgeting closely, working to get enough money through work. Like as of today, I've had one request to get a bid on doing window cleaning. Still waiting to hear where they are located. Hopefully that pans out to be my first CO client. Lenita is still looking for kids to baby sit, and Kalee is still looking for a job so she can eventually pay for our new apartment or other location. It will all come together in God's good time, I'm sure.

At this point, I would like to thank all those who have donated money we would need to move. It was just enough to pay for our trip gas, motel in Amarillo, the trailer, and food along the way. I was hoping we'd be able to save up for our emergency fund from that money, but it was not to be. It will happen as we roll along, however. At any rate, know your money was used well and appreciated very much.

Anyway, if you want to know our new current address and phone number, send me an email at rick@copple.us, or private message me on Facebook if you know me via that route, and I'll give it to you.

As far as my PD is going, great! Still, after all this excitement, no medications are being taken. I even have some functions slowly, ever so slowly, returning. I'm hoping they mostly return back to "normal" whatever that my be. But I'm getting more surefooted and all.

In  a few days, it will have been one year since my DBS surgery. (Sept. 29th). It is like the time before DBS is fading. But that's why I started this blog, to document my disease progression, to determine what has helped and what hasn't, for me. So I can look back and see how far I've come. Hard to believe I am doing so well, even before DBS, than I was toward the end of 2014. Exercise has helped a lot to reverse a lot of symptoms. It also, I believe, prepared me for DBS as well. My balance had improved as well as other issues. Even though since DBS I'm not as sure footed as I used to be, I still have great balance. My last visit with my neurologist she asked me how my balance was doing. I told her overall good, though sometimes I more easily trip over stuff (especially when I'm tired). I then proceeded to show her by lifting one foot off the ground and holding it out in front of me. She told me not many of her clients could do that.

Yes, eventually this disease will overtake me. But at least I feel I have some time left to get things done I want to get done, and to spend some quality time with Lenita and the grandkids. I suppose if Lenita was Bilbo talking to Gandolf, she would say, "Grandkids, Gandolf, grandkids!" (That's a reference to Bilbo responding to Gandolf's query as "Mountains, Gandolf, mountains." in the Lord of the Rings Movie, for those few who didn't watch them.) I feel the same way too. We've come here for the grandchildren, though the mountains are a nice side benefit.

All in all, things are going well. I watched Lenita as she stood on the balcony with the grandchildren earlier today, thinking we've made it possible for her to do what she really wanted to do. She's happy, therefore, I'm happy. God is good.