Fighting Parkinson’s, and feeling better…not!…revisited

Sometimes people begin doing the Recipe for Recovery with the expectation that they will receive immediate symptom relief. As I have discussed many times, this is not the case. Recently somebody said to me, “I have been doing everything exactly like you did it, and it has been a few weeks, and I am not having the experience of symptom relief you had.” I explained that after three weeks, I did not have any symptom relief either, and I pointed him toward a post I wrote on October 19, 2010, a few months after my full recovery. Since October 19, 2012 was approaching, today is a good day to have this discussion again.

Excerpted from “Fighting Parkinson’s, and feeling better…not!” originally posted on October 19, 2010, two years ago today:

“A couple of people have emailed me recently and stated that they have read my blog, are doing what I did, and that they are not experiencing the same results. Upon further inquiry, I learned that one had been “doing what I did” for three weeks and the other for five weeks. As it turned out, both also were taking herbal supplemental formulas, something I did not do. I am not passing judgment, but this is an important point for what I want to say today.

Here is my Parkinson’s daily journal entry from one year ago today (approximately four weeks into “doing what I did”):
“10/19/09. 4:00 Monday, oh, boy! It is cold today, 48 degrees. Yesterday evening, my kidneys and lower back began to hurt. I think it was the lentils doing a cleansing. As I was reading about lentils and kidneys, many articles referred to lentils as being used to relieve constipation. Of course, I am having the pleasure of constipation today…go figure. This is very discouraging…Even though each day I feel worse, I refuse to accept that I cannot get better. Maintaining where I am today is not the future I envision…we will see.”

So, if you have been “doing what I did” for three to five weeks and you are feeling worse, you are experiencing that same results as me. Please do not get discouraged.

Doing what I did does not include taking herbal supplements or formulas or Ayurvedic formulas designed to relieve Parkinson’s symptoms. As I said earlier, I am not passing judgment on your decision if you are taking these. I will, though, explain why I did not.

I decided to listen to my body to learn what I needed to do to get better. I had ignored my body’s earlier warning signs, and Parkinson’s was an unpleasant wake up call that I needed to change my life. Since Parkinson’s was designated as incurable, I decided that I would not try what had been tried in the past because it did not cure the disease and I wanted to be cured.

I felt that the Parkinson’s medications masked the symptoms and had terrible side effects. By masking the symptoms, I would not have been able to understand how the disease impacted my body from head to toe. Also, if I masked the symptoms, maybe I would have had the ability to do something that my body clearly did not want me to do, such as going up the stairs without holding on; maybe I would have fallen and created an even bigger problem for myself by ignoring my body’s warning signs.

Parkinson’s was a big enough problem for me, so I decided to address the problem, explore the symptoms instead of hiding or ignoring them, and try to figure out a way that they made sense so I could get rid of them. After extensive research of the supplements, herbal formulas and Ayurvedic formulas, including dopamine replacement formulas, I found that most of what was being presented as a “safe” way to ease Parkinson’s symptoms actually had the same or very similar side effects to the Parkinson’s medications. Plus, I was not 100% certain that my body would know how to assimilate these formulas into my body.

My goal here is not to stand on a soapbox and pound my chest. My goal is simple — I am saddened if you have Parkinson’s because I had it and it is a terrible way to have to live. I just want to let you know that my battle was a daily battle that lasted nine months and rarely had a “feeling better” moment. This causes us to grasp for anything that might help, and I would like to caution you to carefully research what you are grasping for as you may be surprised at what you find.

Here’s a thought. Instead of grasping for something outside yourself, what if you grasp for something inside yourself and repeat, “I have the power to heal myself.” Reach deep inside, do a gut check, and repeat, “I have the power to heal myself.” You may surprise yourself that you actually do have the power to heal yourself. That realization is very uplifting. You deserve to treat yourself to it. Oh, yeah — do not give up faith. Do not give up on yourself.”

So, here we are, two years after that post and I feel the same way. I will share with you that most people who begin doing the Recipe for Recovery report to me the experiences of one or more of these: increased energy, better bowel functions, and return of their previously lost sense of smell. Each one of these is representative that your healing on the inside has begun.

When you have the realization that you actually are healing yourself on the inside, and you hit a bump in the road, instead of looking outside yourself and reaching for something, why not turn your attention inward. Look inside your heart…feel the power of faith and hope and joy and compassion and happiness and forgiveness and contentment. Trust in yourself, trust in the Recipe for Recovery, trust in your Higher Power. Look deep inside yourself, and say, “I have the power to heal myself, and I am worth it.”

You can do this!

You are worth it!!!

All my best,

Howard