Category: diagnosis

Reflexology for Parkinsons

November 14, 2024 / manabunnow4zph / 7 Comments

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

Is My Dopamine System Becoming More Stable?

March 21, 2024 / manabunnow4zph / 1 Comment

I was just diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease and would like to know the following: Is my dopamine system becoming more stable? I am taking L Dopa (natural). It is made from the dopa bean.

My motivation level is so low and the fatigue keeps me from being positive – but I am on the the road to recovery with my best cheer leader (God).

Thanks for all your wisdom

Margie

I am sure you are eagerly awaiting an answer to your very specific question. The technical answer is that even if your dopamine levels are “stable” you may still feel lousy. “Stable” may convert to a level that is so depleted that your body engine is running on very little oil.

The analogy I would like to suggest is to equate dopamine with oil in a car and your energy with gas in a car. I admit this is a crude analogy, but it helps me make the point I want to make here. You report that you have very low motivation and high fatigue. It was probably even a challenge to write in this question today.

The translation I would like to make is that you are running low on gas. Your tank is almost empty. Now as we all know, once the gas tank in a car is empty the car stops. The same outcome holds true for the body.

Our cells need fuel to function. I would speculate that you are probably not giving your body the fuel it needs to rejuvenate and revitalize itself.

in response to your question: Is My Dopamine System Becoming More Stable, I recommend that you begin thinking about your current health challenge in a different way. Dopamine is only one of 40 different hormones in the body. If is a formidable challenge to maintain the delicate balance that is needed across all 40 hormones. Only the body knows how to manage this incredibly complicated task.

Adjustments are made by the body every second. The never ending challenge for the body is to maintain a balance.

I assure you that your body is not focusing its attention exclusively on dopamine. It has three or so other dozen hormones to monitor. Why not just step back and realize that your body needs a little extra support in the form of nutrients, exercise and lifestyle changes to do the work it well knows how to do?

The one hormone that inflames symptoms is cortisol. When stressed our bodies pump out cortisol which activates our sympathetic nervous system. What helps is to keep stress at a minimum. When the body is supported by the parasympathetic nervous system, symptoms are less problematic.

Your body really does know how to heal itself. All you need to do is to trust that your body is qualified to do the job that is needed as long as it has the fuel (the gas) that is required to fire up your energy and jump start your journey on the road to recovery.

Robert Rodgers, Ph.D.
Founder 2004
Parkinsons Recovery
Pioneers of Recovery

Recovery from Parkinson’s Disease

May 22, 2010 / manabunnow4zph / 0 Comments

Hi Robert: I have been continuing to follow your work and today I just felt compelled to write and convey my deep appreciation for you for my recovery from Parkinson’s disease. Your work is invaluable and the information you provide is the most probative for anyone interested in recovery from Parkinson’s and other forms of chronic illness. I know that I have already indicated my appreciation in times past but I felt the need to do so again.

Robert, before I was diagnosed I was a mess, my hands, legs, head and entire body would shake. I have never been fond of doctors and always felt it would somehow subside, I finally went to see my general physician who said I had some sort of advanced PD, he recommended me to a neurologist who told me the same. Not wanting to accept this PD business I just continued to ignore it, then one day I was with my children at the mall and fell down a long flight of steps and unable to get up.

Still resistant I did agree to talk with Abraham Lieberman and he and I wrote back and forth for a long time, he agreed to treat me at no cost but I would of course have to get to Miami, instead he procured an appointment with Dr. Jankovic at Baylor University. They examined me for 4 hours and the diagnoses was the same. I started the medications that improved my condition substantially.

The long and short of it is I no longer have any symptoms of PD nor do I take any meds.I celebrate a full recovery from Parkinson’s disease. This was the result of about three years of research and slowly making changes in all aspects of my life. I do have a good understanding of why and how I recovered however articulated this might not be so easy, it was not simply changing modalities but the capacity to perceive life and my existence in a way that is contrary to all I have been taught and conditioned, changing my perspective was not an easy feat but when that occurred I realized that healing and restoration was possible.

Bobby

Robert Rodgers PhD
Founder 2004
Parkinsons Recovery
Five Steps to Recovery

Low Blood Pressure and Parkinsons

October 29, 2009 / manabunnow4zph / 1 Comment

The following questions were sent by Nancy whose Dad has low blood pressure and Parkinsons.

Question:

Saw your interesting article on the internet last night. My Dad was diagnosed with Parkinson’s about 10 years ago. He has been on the required medication, such as Levadopa and Requip, maybe some others. My most concern is the Requip.

He has been the hospital all week because of his low blood pressure. For some reason they don’t know what to do about it. I have been told that the requip causes low blood pressure. Can he safely get off of the stuff? And how?

Response:

Once a person starts taking medication, it is very tricky to stop. The body goes into a type of withdrawal. It is important to work closely with the doctors if the intent is to stop taking any Parkinson’s meditations (or reduce the dosage). It is not a smart idea to go cold turkey on the medications.

Question:

How can you tell if someone has been misdiagnosed with Parkinson’s?

Response:

Parkinson’s is a garbage can type diagnosis which means it covers a wide range of symptoms. Research estimates show that about one third of the people who have been diagnosed with Parkinson’s were misdiagnosed. This happens because there is no definitive test for it. Most doctors eliminate other possibilities – and if nothing is left – it is diagnosed as “Parkinson’s”.

Question:

Has all this medication put him in the condition he is in?

Response:

You can partially answer your own question by asking your pharmacist for the list of side effects from the medications he takes. If the symptoms he is experiencing are on the list, there is certainly a good possibility interactions of the medications might be the culprit.

There is also another problem that emerges when more than one medication is taken: drug interactions and depletions. Additional problems are caused sometimes when certain medications are combined. I refer people to Randy Mentzer who is a nutritional counselor and compounding pharmacist.

Randy does a full analysis of everything a person puts into their body, consults with the patients and writes up a detailed report of recommendations. He can sometimes make a natural medications that can substitute for the medication the person may be taking that is causing the problem.

Most medical doctors are not trained to do such an analysis. I might add it takes someone like Randy years and years to learn what these medications do and how they interact. It is a specialty in itself.

Question:

I see Parkinson’s patients and say to myself,

“My Dad does not act like that.”

How interesting, I always encourage people to trust their own intuition. It may be that it is time to entertain other possibilities.

Question:

Can a person safely get off of the medication to see if he really needs it at all?

Response:

As I mentioned above, weaning off of medications is a tricky business. You have to work very closely with your doctors and reduce the dosages very slowly and cautiously.

Question:

Just would like your opinion be and what can I do for him?

Response:

I am not a medical doctor, so I can only offer my “opinion” if this were my Dad. To be clear, I am not suggesting you do these things! This is only what I would do if this were my Dad who has low blood pressure and Parkinsons.

First, I would do everything in my power to get my Dad out of the hospital with the doctors’ blessings. There are many bacteria floating around hospitals these days, so people can get sicker sometimes because of exposure to new infections.

Second, I would get a consultation with a Nutritional Counselor or Compounding Pharmacist.

Third, I would order a bioenergetic assessment from Dr. Ivy Faber (which would likely point to possible causes of the symptoms).

Fourth, I would get a consultation with a naturopathic doctor.

Fifth, I would do everything possible to make sure my Dad was eating live foods.

Sixth, I would do something for my self as his son, so I could have some distance from the urgency of the problem at hand. If I am in fear as his son, it will do him no good whatsoever.

All of the above steps make it possible to approach the crisis in different ways, to step outside the box so to say. I am confident your current doctors are doing everything possible to help your Dad out, but specialists look at problems from the perspective of their own specialty. That is what they are trained to do!

If I were in your shoes,

I would begin thinking about the problem from different perspectives.
I would involve other health care practitioners in addition to the neurologists.
I would remind myself that the body always knows how to heal itself.

Give the body what it needs to come back into balance and your Dad’s body will take care of the rest.

Robert Rodgers, Ph.D.
Founder 2004
Parkinsons Recovery