Category Archives: depression help

Reflexology for Parkinsons

depression help, diagnosis, Exercise and Parkinson's, surgery

An email about reflexology for Parkinsons and other issues Neita gave me permission to post here:

Robert Rodgers PhD
Founder 2004
Parkinsons Recovery

Just started reading all your positive newsletters. Been diagnosed nearly a year, having tremors for 4 or 5 years in my hands. Had been exercising in a gym on treadmill and weight machines for 15 years and taking lots of more than minimum daily requirement vitamins.

I am 72, female, a good bit overweight but found myself slowing down. In November I had a big operation, went home and had to go back to hospital with infection coming from all my stitches in 3 days. Hospital and doctors had given me the big infection in my innards. Had a really hard time for 4 months.

Then, my psychiatrist, who had me on an antiphyscotic meds and was backing me off them because we thought it was causing the tremors, decided it wasn’t the meds so sent me to a neurologist when I had not exercised for 4 months and was still weak and just barely starting exercise again. So, the Parkinsons showed itself. Dr. said I do not blink my eyes as much as a NORMAL person, or have as much facial expression as a NORMAL person. Oh My God, I am not normal anymore, how can I live??Joke,joke! Started taking Azilect right away. Really don’t have any idea how well that is helping as of a month or 2 later.

I heard of a reflexologist in my neighborhood, who had learned it well to help his MS wife 15 years ago. His first treatment was 2 hours. With my reflexology for Parkinsons treatment, he gave me my life back. My joints opened up like someone unscrewed them. I could really move my legs again on the treadmill. Also, I got my personality back and could laugh and some things were funny now. I could think faster and to make matters not so good, my mouth started running again non-stop and I was awake when I got up in the morning first thing. I had come alive again.

Reflexology for Parkinsons does a lympth drain and works on all the endrocrine glands. I did not know what all that meant until I had a lot of people coming to my home last month and I snapped that I had no DREAD about all I had to do so I snapped that reflexology, in giving me my life back, had dumped DEPRESSION, which I had not realized I had, probably because of all my exercise and it was lowgrade.

I have also found 3 really good hypnosis cd’s that make me feel great after the wonderful deep relaxation for the mind and muscles, and spine and nerves and having the juices flow in the proper amounts from all the right glands. My chiropractor has a new machine called the Pro Adjuster which does great work, not like him just bending your body all around, which never worked for my back for years. I go there twice a month, all Medicare will allow, but maybe can get one more since the Parkinsons diagnosis.

I go to the reflexologist every 3 weeks, because I found out that if I wait 4 weeks, the tremors start a little bit again. Reflexology for Parkinsons clearly helps. Of course, I know that they will act up anyway if I get upset or excited! I have already bought a few books about the first year, and optimal wellness, which with all the vitamin info and saying what exercise will do for PD, I realized why it did not show itself sooner for me. Years ago, before lots of meds and info, my little Grandmother had Pd really bad. My dr says with me starting it so late in years, I won’t ever be as bad as she was.

Dr. also warned me about all those places on the internet who want you to buy stuff. Well, I may not buy all your stuff unless you have a good hypnosis cd to fight PD, but I love positive information to help. I do not want info about herbs because it will not be good for a chemical imbalance in the brain and I could have more bad episodes now that I am off the drugs. Hopefully , that part of my brain has healed itself as I am doing great in that area. Thank God, now that I have something else big to deal with. Also, thank God, that I am a Pollyana and look for the good. Not in denial, but don’t want to borrow trouble before it comes either.

Thanks for reading this. I am still 72 going on 55, as most people never guess anywhere close to my age. My spine is still straight with wonderful posture and I have almost no wrinkles for an old lady (another joke, as I don’t feel it). And I am married to a young thing. He is all of 69, so that has been my joke for 22 years. Thanks again.

Neita

Remedy for Depression and Fatigue

depression help, fatigue

Is there a remedy for depression and fatigue?
I have it all the time.What can I do about it?

More and more scientists and looking at inflammation
as a contributing factor to many chronic conditions. In the
case of Parkinson’s, it makes logical sense to speculate
that neural networks function poorly when the tissues
connected with the neurons are swollen.

Think about how you feel when you eat too much.
I personally feel bloated, sluggish, blocked and immobile.
All I can do until some of the food is digested is to sit up
straight and pray I do not have to move for a while.
Meditation is a choice, but I usually fall asleep.

This is precisely how neurons feel when they become
swollen. Give your neurons a break. They have feelings
themselves you know. There is not enough room for
the neural networks to function when the tissues are
swollen. Electrical pathways become obstructed.

The distribution of hormones to your muscles
and tissues also becomes difficult when inflammation
is present. The tissues throughout your your body
are busy handling another emergency.
They have little space to receive the sweetness
of any uninvited hormonal visitations. A natural remedy for
depression and fatigue is not what you would expect: Get
inflammation under control.

It is like seeing two friends having a huge fight. They are both
furious at one another. As their friend who is witness to the fight,
you try to squeeze in a word or two, but your friends ignore you.
They are too preoccupied with their own fight. In a similar fashion,
hormones have difficult squeezing themselves into tissues that
are inflamed.

When all of the healthy cells function at their peak levels,
you will feel better and find relief from the symptoms of
Parkinson’s. Conversely, you will certainly feel worse
when the tissues in your body are inflamed. Depression
creeps in. Fatigue becomes a way of life. What then is a
natural remedy for depression and fatigue if inflammation
is the issue?

OK. Inflammation causes problems. What can I do
about it? When I exercise for a long time the tissues
in my body become inflamed. I often take one ibuprofen.
It reduces the inflammation in several hours, but
taking ibuprofen imposes a potentially life threatening
challenge to the kidneys. So ibuprofen is not a long
term solution.

Consider another possibility. Perhaps the
tissues in your body have always been inflamed.
Since you do not know any other way to feel,
you have become used to feeling lousy.
It is the only way you have ever known.

Why then are the tissues in your body always
inflamed? You may be allergic to a certain food
(or foods) that you love to eat. A hidden source
of inflammation for most people is allergic
reactions to something they put into their bodies.

How do you know if you are allergic to any foods.
And, if you are allergic, how do your figure out which
foods they might be?

It is very easy to know. Stop eating the foods you
suspect that may be causing the inflammation
for two weeks. See if you feel better. This sounds
easy, but it is anything but easy. Let me explain why.

Let us consider one food by way of example: ice cream.
I love eating ice cream myself. Here is my conversation
with myself (and I am not making this up).

“Maybe the inflammation is being cause by eating
ice cream. Oh, I think not. After all, when I eat
ice cream I do not get sick. I do not have rashes.
I do not have stomach aches. I do not sweat or
puke or turn purple. It it must not be ice cream.”

Being the logical person that I am, I continue eating
ice cream. I stop eating turnips instead to see if turnips
might be the problem. They are not. All is well. I still get
to eat the ice cream.

There is a double twist to my logic. My body has
become acclimated to processing and digesting
ice cream. If you also love to eat ice cream, you
have probably liked eating ice cream since you
were a child. As an incredibly cleaver living entity,
the body quickly learns how to turn on systems
that reduce the allergic reactions to ice cream.
In other words, the true symptoms are masked when
we eat ice cream regularly.

You thus conclude “I do not feel that bad when
I eat ice cream.”

In one sense this is true. In another sense you
would be feeling so much better if you stopped
eating ice cream and started eating healthy
substitutes.

Because you have always eaten ice cream
your entire life, the truth is that you have
actually always felt lousy. You just did not
know it. It is the only way you have ever
felt – lousy.

When crying out for a natural remedy for depression and
fatigue have you ever heard yourself say,

“I seem to be so depressed all the time.”

“I drag every day of the week.”

There it is.

Because you become acclimated to feeling tired
and depressed, you forget what it is like to feel
good. The only way to know if a food is causing
fatigue, inducing depression and entangling neural
networks is to stop eating that particular food for
at least two weeks. In my example, the test is to
stop eating ice cream for two weeks.

Acknowledge the source of Inflammation to get the 
Natural Remedy for Depression and Fatigue 

Then, eat a lot of ice cream one day.
Indulge yourself. Reward yourself for doing
the test. Eat a quart or two of your
favorite ice cream. Make it three. Then see
how you feel. If  you notice a flare up of
fatigue and depression after eating the ice
cream you can almost certainly conclude
that ice cream is causing inflammation
in your body.

I report this truth with such detachment
as if it has never happened to me. But it
has and it did. My naturopath muscle tested
me for various food items and suspected
that I had allergies to dairy. I love eating
cheese. I love chocolate milkshakes.

“I am OK when I eat these foods.
I love them. That can not be the problem.”

Did I stop eating milkshakes for two weeks?
Of course not. I convinced myself that I was
actually very healthy and that I deserved
a little pleasure in my life. My naturopath
got the wrong result.

After fighting this battle for years, I finally
did the gold standard test for allergies.
I did not drink milk shakes for two weeks straight.
The anticipation of being able to have a milk shake
became more and more intense with each passing
day until day 15 arrived when I ate two milk shakes,
one chocolate and one vanilla. They were
thoroughly yummy as always.

I paid a dear price for those few minutes of bliss.
I became seriously depressed for several days. The fatigue
was overwhelming. I really just wanted to sleep and
forget about working or playing. I was miserable.

The truth is that I did not realize how tired and depressed
the ice cream was making me until I gave my body a chance
to detox itself from dairy. After 14 days of not eating ice cream
the inflammation that was literally always present
in my tissues had subsided.

My experiment was a success. When I added back into
my body the dairy, my body told me in no uncertain
terms that it could not tolerate dairy. I now know this is
why I had constant ear aches as a child.

Of course I did not like the outcome, but excellent
substitutes for dairy do exist.

If you have Parkinson’s you need energy to feel better.
It is hard to do the things that will make you feel better
if you are depressed or if you are tired all the time.
It is thus highly probably that a big reason why you feel
bad is because of food that you are eating.

My problem is dairy. Your problem may be wheat or
corn or soy or whatever. Give the experiment a try
and see what you can discover for yourself. Most people
are allergic to something. They just do not know it.

The test is free. It requires only determination and
discipline. The end result can have a huge impact on
how you feel.

So, explore this natural remedy for depression and figure.
Say goodbye to depression and fatigue.
Say hello to life.

Robert Rodgers, Ph.D.
Founder 2004
Parkinsons Recovery

© Parkinsons Recovery

Anxiety and Depression Relief through Natural Interventions

anxiety attacks, depression help, diet, naturopaths, Nutrition

Click on the link below to claim Dr. Kristen Allott’s handout for how to achieve depression relief by optimizing your brain health. The handout provides excellent guidelines that make it possible to achieve depression relief and reduce anxiety by eating small amounts of protein throughout the day.

Dr. Allott will be a guest on the Parkinsons Recovery Radio Show Halloween. Call into the show and ask her your questions! I have copied below Dr. Allott’s overview of how the right nutrition can reduce anxiety and offer relef from depression.

Robert Rodgers, Ph.D.
Parkinsons Recovery
http://www.parkinsonsrecovery.com

 

Optimize Your Brain

Copyright © 2012 Kristen Allott, ND, L.Ac.

www.dynamicpaths.com

Please consult with your doctor before changing your diet.

Healthy Protein Sources

Legumes Nuts

Firm Tofu 1/2 c 20 g Nuts 1/4 c 8 g

Tofu 1/2 c 10 g Seeds 2 T 3 g

Tempeh 1/2 c 16 g Nut butter 2 T 8 g

Lentils 1/2 c 9 g Seed butter 2 T 5 g

Refried beans 1/2 c 8 g Milk Products

Whole beans 1/2 c 7 g Cottage cheese (LF) 1/2 c 12 g

Gardenburger 1 patty 11 g High Protein Yogurt 1/2 c 8-9 g

Seed Grains Not Milk or cheese

Quinea 1/2 c 11 g Eggs

Barley 1/2 c 10 g Egg, whole 1 7 g

Dark rye flour 1/2 c 9 g

Millet 1/2 c 4 g

Oats 1/2 c 3 g Note: Egg yolks contain nutrients that

are excellent for mental health.

Brown rice 1/2 c 3 g

White rice 1/2 c 3 g

Dairy Substitutes Protein powder 1 T 9-15 g

Soy milk 1 c 6 g Yogurt (LF) 1 c 8-14 g

Soy cheese 1 oz 4-7 g Wild fish 3 oz 21 g

Soy yogurt 1 c 6 g Chicken, Turkey,

Beef, Pork

3 oz 21 g

Other

 

Protein for Mental Health

Small frequent meals with protein help the brain synthesize dopamine and serotonin and stabilize blood glucose to help you feel better. Be sure to also eat vegetables, fruits, and whole grains.

How much protein should I eat?

The quick calculation for your target protein intake is 8 grams of protein for every 20 lbs of body weight, or one-third of your caloric intake is protein. Most people feel  better when they eat at least 20 grams in the morning, 20 grams in the afternoon and 20 grams in the evening. The maximum  amount of protein per day is 120 grams.

Your Weight

(lbs)

Target

(g protein)

Acceptable Range

(g protein)

100 40 36-45

120 48 43-54

140 56 50-63

160 64 57-72

180 72 64-81

200 80 71-90

 

Portion control

Here are some visual clues to help you keep servings to the proper size:

 3 oz of any meat= a deck of playing cards

 ½ c cooked grain = a small fist

 1 oz cheese = a thumb

 1 oz nuts = a golf ball

 1 T nut butter or nuts = a silver dollar or a walnut

 

Benefits of eating enough protein

 Less fatigue, particularly in the afternoons

 Better sleep

 More energy

 Hungry less often

 Better and more stable moods

 Higher metabolism from having more muscle mass

 

Lizard Brain Treat

 1/4 cup of fruit juice or a ‘tot box’ of

juice

 1/4 cup of nuts (almonds, cashews,

hazelnuts)

Use the Lizard Brain Treat when you are:

 anxious, irritated, or agitated.

 anticipating something that makes you anxious, irritated and/

or agitated.

 not hungry after waking in the morning. Try having nuts and

juice on your bed stand and consume the treat prior to getting

out of bed.

 hungry, having gone too long (more than 4 hours) without

eating.

 having 3 AM “committee meetings”: waking at 3 AM and being

sure that sleep won’t come for 2 hours.

 

Optimize Your Brain

Copyright © 2012 Kristen Allott, ND, L.Ac.

www.dynamicpaths.com

Please consult with your doctor before

changing your diet.

 

Three Day of Ridiculous Amounts of Protein: Protein Every Three Hours

7 AM Breakfast: (14 grams of protein) within an hour of waking

Two eggs, 1 piece of toast, one apple or pear

10AM Snack: (6-7 grams of protein)

1/4 cup of nuts: almonds, peanuts, cashews, and hazelnuts

Or 1/4 cup cottage cheese

Or 2 TBS of nut butter-peanut, almond, and/or cashew

12 to 1PM Lunch: (21 grams of protein) meat the size of a deck of cards

This can be a sandwich, wrap, salad, or soup.

Plus 1 cup of veggies or 1 cup of whole real grain-brown rice, quinoa, and bulgur

Be sure that there is a little veggie fat– avocado, nut oil and/or olive oil.

3 pm Snack: (6-7 grams of protein)

1/4 cup of nuts-almonds, peanuts, cashews, and hazelnuts

Or 1/4 cup cottage cheese

Or 2 TBS of nut butter-peanut, almond, and/or cashew

6 PM Dinner: (21 grams of protein) meat the size of a deck of cards

This can be a sandwich, wrap, salad, or soup.

Plus 1 cup of veggies or 1 cup of whole real grain-brown rice, quinoa, and/or bulgur

Be sure that there is a little veggie fat– avocado, nut oil and/or olive oil.

Before Bed: 1-2 slices of turkey or meat

Insomnia and Depression

depression help, insomnia

I am in Australia but I am asking you our question on behalf of my mother who lives in Victoria BC Canada and who has been diagnosed with PD about 5 or so years ago. In the last few years she has had her medication changed a few times and each time it has not agreed with her. She suffers from both insomnia and depression. 

Presently she is on Sinemet 25/100 mg 2 tabs 4x per day. She feels terrible most of  the time and phones me often saying she doesn’t know what is happening to her. She can’t sleep at night and dreads going to bed. She feels depressed and is reluctant to take additional depression meds the doctors suggest.

The doctors she deals with seem to be very ambivalent and basically either change her dose or refer her to a shrink. The deterioration is now very bad and it seems these  meds are making her worse not better. 

She has always been convinced she doesn’t have PD and certainly besides slight tremoring in the hands it seems she may have a point. She does gets restless legs syndrome. We have NO confidence in the doctors where she lives and it is so difficult to get referrals to see someone else in the bureaucratic Canada health system. 

She lives on her own (insists on it), still drives, is 84 years old, tries to take her dog for a short walk everyday and besides reduced mobility is completely sane and lucid. Some days she is good, usually after she has managed to have a fair nights sleep but generally because of the lack of sleep feels awful. 

Is there someone or some organization in Canada or the USA you can suggest can possibly help her. She would like to get off the Sinemet as she doesn’t believe it is helping at all. I tend to agree although am reluctant to push her into doing that. Your assistance and advice would be much appreciated. 

Kind Regards, 

Peter

It sounds like your Mom has given prescription medications serious consideration for insomnia and depression but regardless of what is taken or how much, the medications are not helping her feel better. Thus far she has pursued one option.

The good news is that there are over 100 natural options she can consider that have been affording people with Parkinsons profound relief from their symptoms. Of course the challenge turns on deciding which options to pursue. I have transcribed interviews with ten individuals who discovered therapies that reversed their symptoms in my book Pioneers of Recovery.

She can also listen to replays of the interviews on the Parkinsons Recovery Blog here.  
Many of the pioneers discuss how their conquered their own insomnia and depression.

Robert Rodgers, Ph.D.
Founder 2004
Parkinsons Recovery

Depression Help

depression help

Question:

I am desperately depressed. What can I do about it?

Response:

This is a truly challenging place to find yourself.
It is as if nothing can pull you out of the depths of
despair. There is a drag on all motivation to do anything
of any substance. Nothing you do makes a difference.
Clearly, hormonal imbalances are taking their toll.

The depression can be so deep and penetrating that
it is nearly impossible to take any action to reverse it.
Even making an appointment with a health care provider
takes up too much energy. The negative thought form
that emerges is:

It won’t make any difference anyway, so why bother?

It is a place of despair where all you can think about
is going to sleep so you are not haunted by the black
void of nothingness and immobility.

Have I described the feel adequately? I had never
personally experienced depression until a few years
ago when it struck out of the blue. I was sucked in
by the negative drain of energy which feels impossible
to deflect. 

I have pondered what might be a constructive answer
for several weeks. Three simple possibilities are offered.

First, buy a seasonal affective disorder light. Use
it every day. Drag yourself to the computer and order
one online today.

Second, purchase a vitamin supplement of vitamin D3.
Please note – this is D3, not a cpmposite vitamin D
supplement (which can include other forms of vitamin D).

Third, if there is sunlight, bask in it. You do not need
to take D3 if you are able to get sufficient exposure to
sunshine.

These are my simple suggestions. You can pull these things
off even in a state of deep depression. They will help
pull you out of the darkness.

Do it and you will see a gradual reawakening to the sweetness
of life.
 
Robert Rodgers, Ph.D.
Parkinsons Recovery    

© 2009 Parkinsons Recovery

Depression Help for Parkinson’s

depression help

Do you have issues with depression? 
I recently interviewed Dr. John
Coleman, a naturopath doctor
who once had Parkinson’s himself
and helps others today in his
Parkinsons Recovery Program
find relief from their symptoms.

John offered the following
recommendations for this problem.
If depression is an issue for you,
I am hoping you will see a
recommendation of his that will
help resolve this problem for you.

 “Most depression is misdiagnosed
in my opinion. I feel that most
people with Parkinson’s disease
are not truly depressed but are
anxious about their health and
all the negative rubbish they
have been told by the doctors
and their relatives and their
well-meaning friends.”

“I have found that this state
of anxiety responds well to
activity, that is regular
exercise, yoga, Pilates, Tai
Chi, gardening – just getting
out there. Other helpful remedies
are flower essences and meditation,
especially meditating with
affirmations and visualizations.”

“It’s also really important to
repair our gastrointestinal tract.
A lot of depressive feelings
and so-called diagnosed depression
result from very poor digestion.”

“If we have poor nutrition, we can’t
produce the amino acids and the
neurotransmitters we need to feel
good. Repairing our tract and
eating a really good diet will
certainly alleviate depression.”

Robert Rodgers, Ph.D.
Parkinsons Recovery
© 2008 Parkinsons Recovery