Fighting Parkinson’s, and inspiration for my 30-day challenge 2013

On November 1, 2013, I issued my 30-day November to Remember, No Excuses November, Challenge 2013! Many of you have expressed to me that you will be undertaking the challenge and making a commitment to yourself to do he scaled-down version of the Parkinson’s Recipe for Recovery^&#0174 for the 30 days of November. Congratulations on giving yourself the gift of working on your Parkinson’s recovery. Today, I have some added inspiration to assist you in this journey.

I my previous two posts, I invited people who have been doing the Recipe for a while to post comments about how they are doing as way to encourage and inspire those of you who are new to the website or who have been following for a while but are uncertain about getting started. The response was overwhelming. I was encouraged and inspired by what was posted, and I am grateful for those of you who posted comments to inspire the others on this journey. Thank you.

So, the best way I can share what they had to say to encourage and inspire you is to re-post all of their amazing comments:

Penny Wassman says:
October 29, 2013 at 11:48 am

Hey Howard….this morning was wonderful!…. a cool crisp and beautifully sunny Autumn morning in British Columbia (first morning with below freezing temperatures) …and the first morning in several months in which my body decided to celebrate the day…. walking so much easier…even my usually reluctant left arm was swinging!…how delightful!…. and synchronistic with your request to share celebrations! Happy to be alive and working towards recovery….. thanks so much for these additional helpful exercises…such amazing support!

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Melanie says:
October 29, 2013 at 4:34 pm

Hi Howard,
It was a year ago that I took your challenge to do the 30 day challenge in November and I’ve been doing the recipe pretty regularly since the first of the year. I’ve had my ups and downs during the past year but as a whole I noticed that I definitely feel stronger after doing the recipe. I’ve had some discomfort in the area of my gallbladder meridian as I spoke to you about. You told me that it was indicative of energy flowing in that area currently and that my body was healing on the inside. My symptoms seem to come and go as far as severity and I know that I am healing, which gives me motivation to keep doing the recipe regularly. So grateful for your support and the additional information given in this post.

With much gratitude and love, Melanie

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judy says:
October 29, 2013 at 5:31 pm

thanx, Howard…..so helpful, as always….and, informative…..I think the more we understand about our bodies and this disorder, the less fearful we will be….”knowledge is power”…isn’t that what they say?….

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MARILYN MURRAY says:
October 29, 2013 at 5:52 pm

Hi Howard, What a beautiful time of year to be starting your recipe. I have been following it now for over 6 mos and what an improvement. I am also less anxious, impatient and fearful. It does not matter now if it takes me another 6 mos or 2 years to heal , I am on the path and it is so good to have all of you following yours too. Keep driving that train Howard, we need you at the helm and thank you for your dedication and love. Marilyn

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Helen says:
October 29, 2013 at 6:41 pm

Yea thank you Howard. I will start today the gall bladder standing etc. all is being healed a day at a time. What a journey on so many levels of myself thank you. love to all. Helen

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linda says:
October 30, 2013 at 2:02 am

hi howard
im also up for the challenge
after a difficult few weeks of fluctuating emotions n symptoms i welcome the chance to recommit to the recipe in its most essential form
thnx again for your vital and encouraging work
lindaxx

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Sally says:
November 1, 2013 at 8:52 am

Thank you Howard, for your consistent support and love.
I’m IN!

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nancy thomas says:
November 1, 2013 at 9:07 am

The first thing on my gratitude list is the recipe and the chance to fully recommit to it. I just celebrated my second year of being Sinemet free and looking forward to being PD free as well. Hope that anyone who has not yet joined on this journey will do so

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Pam in Savannah says:
November 1, 2013 at 10:15 am

My fellow Pilgrims,

I do feel we are pilgrims on the road to recovery from Parkinson’s.

Last Thursday I went to Mayo clinic/Jacksonville to have a conference with my neurosurgeon. He is my PD doctor and needs to know what I am doing. I wanted documentation of what is going on with my body. I knew I was improving because I have increased the span of Sinemet from 4 hrs. to 4 hrs. 45 min. And eliminated my last pill before going to bed. Recently in the Mayo newsletters there have been references to Qigong (though I don’t think they fully understand it, but neither do I). So I took those with me; as well as an 8 page supplement on “Mindfulness”.

I am 70 yrs. old and have been taking Sinemet for 8 years with increases along the way. I started the Recipe seriously in August. I have committed to every day; but don’t always finish the whole list. Notice the word “try” is not in the above sentence. My feeling is when you just try you don’t make it; purely personal.

Well, my friends, my neurosurgeon verified (after going through the usual drills) something positive is going on. He definitely saw an improvement and was ecstatic. He looked like someone had plugged him in and turned him into a Christmas tree. He kept shaking my hand and finally we gave that up and just hugged.

The plan is to keep doing what I am doing and let him know when I have increases. My last increase was 3-five minute increases over 15 days. That is what my body was comfortable with.

He did tell me there have been cases of Dopamine turning back on; but no one knows why.

This statement seems so calm compared to the message I left for Howard when I came out of the office. Still a little leery it will be a super realistic dream and I will wake up.

Thank heavens, Howard, has warned us there will still be rough days. I am going to give it my best shot to ignore them. The little book “not always so”, on Howard’s list has been an outstanding aid.

Be well, keep smiling and don’t ever give up,

Pam in Savannah

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Jane Lindsay says:
November 1, 2013 at 6:09 pm

Thank you so much, Pam, for sharing this. Feel deeply moved, impressed and inspired. May that dopamine turn right back on! Oo! Feel like dancing! Jane

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Melanie says:
November 1, 2013 at 11:05 am

Hi Howard,

I committed to your 30 day November challenge last November a year ago and have been doing it pretty regularly since the first of the year. I am committed to keep going to matter how long it takes. I know I will one day achieve full recovery. While reducing my meds I have had a few setbacks with anxiety so I’ve had to back up a little bit and
go a little slower. I continue to reduce my meds slowly and I’m taking a very small dose of Mirapex
One fourth of a pill every other day. So at this point I’m almost off my meds. completely. I know the recipe is helping me to be stronger every day although my symptoms coming go as far as the severity I know I’m on the mend.

I am totally committed to being cured from this disease and I will continue with the recipe for as long as it takes. There is no Plan B for me and I have quit searching the Internet for another way.

Much gratitude and love for all your support Howard I don’t know what I would do without this plan and the firm knowledge that this is the cure.

Melanie

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Lynn McIvor says:
November 1, 2013 at 11:48 am

Howard extends his heart and hand to newcomers. They both hold jewels of information, opportunities and love. From the moment I first saw, and heard, Howard in Cincinnati in June of 2012 I knew this man was the ‘genuine article’. I have always believed Parkinson’s was curable and here was living proof.
I commenced a very abbreviated version of The Recipe shortly thereafter and went to the full version in July, 2012. Within 3 weeks my sense of smell and taste returned! They had been gone for 2 years. I was on Mirapex and Sinemet CR and Sinemet IR. I had been playing around with Azilect and decided immediately to no longer take it. Mirapex was the next to go, then Sinemet CR. I now take only 300 mg daily of the generic Sinemet IR, which is a decrease from the 200 mg IR plus 700 mg CR daily. Of course, med reduction has been slow, and often challenging, but it has been so rewarding. My neurologist’s comment, after being informed of the med reduction was “Whatever you’re doing, just keep on doing it”. He was very pleased with my health. Recently I had an acquaintance, I see infrequently, say, “Each time I see you, you’re looking better and better.”
Howard has such a commitment in helping others. Why not start with your own commitment – 30 days of doing the abbreviated version? Like test driving a car before you purchase it. You have absolutely nothing to lose.
Howard offers you a door. You have a choice to walk in or not. If you walk in, do stay for the 30 days, the room you enter is full of wonderful people in various stages of the journey. There’s always room for more.
Lynn

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Laura says:
November 1, 2013 at 2:24 pm

Hello pioneers,

My husband is 47 years old (he does not write directly because we are Italian and he does not speak English and I apologize for my mistakes in advance… ).
In June he began the Recipe small step by small step . Since July he performs all Qigong exercises , meditation, breathing.
Soon after the diagnosis in May he had been prescribed with Azilect and Requip but he decided not to take it after a strong thinking and documentation and talking with neurologist about benefits and side-effects of meds, so he’s drug-free. He has now full force tremors in the left hand, started with a slight tremor in the fingers of the left hand in January 2013. The hand is also rigid and fails to make some fine movements. He’s lucky now compared to others, we know.

What is important is the overall situation which is very good. Fine tune will come!
He says he has never been so well (if it wasn’t from the park 🙂 . He was very anxious and had a lot of anger and frustration he is now learning to control and understand making small steps forward every day.
Now sleeps very well thanks to acupressure before going to sleep, while before he had severe sleep disorders (wake-up screaming in the middle of the night or fighting with the air sometimes….) and insomnia very frequently. No more constipation in 5 months, sense of smell returned and he is in a good mood , there’s no trace of depression.
The left arm started swinging again in August.

He knows that his body is healing inside despite of tremors. In the last month I see that he has less fear, fear is going away , even when the hand trembles a lot, he’s not afraid as before. He had some half-day in which the tremor ceased completely and is confident that he will recover, no matter how long it will take. Sometime bad days occur, but they go away and then better days come.

Thank you so much Howard, for your support, to have opened a road .
You all have to try it, all deserve to heal !

Howard is giving so much to us with this blog, I hope I can help someone to decide starting the Recipe. There’s no side effects this is so important.
Just try, is worth it!!!

Laura

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jeanne says:
November 1, 2013 at 2:55 pm

I was on PD meds for 10 years Sinemet 25/100 and Requip 2mg (3x/day). I’m med free since October 19, 2013, started reducing on August 19, 2013. Howard has been a great inspiration and a life saver as well for me. I could not have done this without his help.
After 10 years on meds, my neurologist was eager to increase my dosage. My choice were to go along or took action in rid of those meds by myself. So I started by reducing Sinemet by one tablet in the afternoon since afternoon time gave me the hardest time. But end up with Requip that reacting with the withdrawal of Sinemet. So i decided to take both out. then panic set in – i’m on my own.
Lucky for me that I came accross Howard’s web site and then follow by attending his workshop in LA. Because of my original mistakes in reducing the meds too fast, my journey had been rough, it took me 2 months to rid of those meds but pay a big prize now with low energy since there was no time to recouperate. The withdrawal had be severe.
Without Howard’s encouragement I could not have gone through this recovery journey alone. Howard is committed to our well being and he is always there to guide you and inspire you. I’m on my last path of the journey, I know I’ll fill in the last piece of the puzzle in the near future.
My advice is take the challege, don’t do it on your own and follow Howard’s advise. He has proof that PD is curable.
And thanks a million Howard. You are the MAN that can help us rid of this disease.

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Helen says:
November 1, 2013 at 6:10 pm

Good morning fellow travellers I am so grateful to Howard’s continued support it has kept me going inspired and improving. I have been able to stay off the meds my speech and thinking have got faster and stronger. My walk is a little better I don’t use a stick all the time now and generally I feel I am living life and recovering. The inspiration exercises and guidance are healing me spiritually, physically , emotionally. I am becoming freeer. Thanks to Howard his recipie and my commitment which when I stick with it results are there for me to feel and see. Cheers to the 30 day commitment. I am committed to this recovery till I am pk free x

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Jane says:
November 1, 2013 at 6:51 pm

Dear All,

What can I say? This Recipe of Howard’s is deep magic. It’s rooted in the profound wisdom that is the source of all love and brilliance. It connects us to the root of all the healing of the universe, turning our minds to the light and bathing our souls in luminosity so that we can see, understand and work through all the hidden stuff (anger, fear, etc.) and develop empathy and compassion, acceptance and the ability, above all, to let go of control and instead surrender so that we can at last start to relax and rest, breathe, and trust that the universe is indeed unfolding exactly as it should!

My writing and fine motor skills (doing up buttons, making bows) have returned 70-90%, am standing taller than I have done for years, the right leg shuffle is 80-98% better, the arm swing is intermittent and the tremors less and less–sometimes disappeared. Also, energy and mood are better than they have been for donkeys years: as though I were emerging towards becoming fully alive properly for the first time in my 62 years! Of course, it’s hard, rocky work facing the dark and confronting, and dealing with, erroneous unquestioned assumptions–and in my case sheer laziness too! But nevertheless a very good journey. So rewarding and life giving.

I feel so very blessed that you are this wonderful light Howard, so generously showing the way again and again. Thank you!

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Waseema says:
November 1, 2013 at 8:43 pm

I would just like to say a big thank you to Howard and everyone else who is sharing their experiences. It’s so inspiring to hear everyone’s triumphs and joys. I feel as I am part of a big family that are doing wonderful things together. I have been doing the shortened recipe for a few weeks now and am beginning to smell again. Whopee!! I really missed my sense of smell. I am determined to get better with the support and help of everyone here as well as the most generous and caring Howard.

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Glyn says:
November 2, 2013 at 1:43 pm

Howard’s encouragement always increases my resolve. I accept his challenge for November. It’s a beautiful Autumn day Here in the UK – a good day to start. Howard you are wonderful as is the community of optimists you have built. Glyn

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Marianne Stall says:
November 3, 2013 at 2:08 pm

Howard thank you for this great challenge. What a wonderful way to start the “Season” feeling even better than ever about ourselves. Thank you for your loving support and for lighting my way on my path to Recovery. I gladly accept your 30 day challenge. Marianne

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N.M.L. for Michal Tavel says:
November 3, 2013 at 2:32 pm
Yes, Michal & I can add our bit that Michal is feeling quite a lot better as far as the pains go. From waking up nights with terrific pains she now sleeps through most nights, and her appetite is better. One evening last week she returned from an afternoon session at swimming coaching, sure that she would just call it a day after expending so much energy, and then suddenly she felt she could do more, and until midnight she was involved with preparations for a family gathering and her energy supplies did not let her down. This was after a week or two of severe weakness. We are doing coaching with Howard (I translate for her) and she is eternally grateful to Howard for his sympathy, empathy and attention to every detail. Our rating? – *****

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Are all of you inspired? I know I am!

As you can see from the majority of these comments, you are not your Parkinson’s symptoms…you are something more than symptoms…you are the loving, beautiful, caring, grateful essence of who you are. The symptoms may go up and down, but you remain strong, solid, and ready to cure yourself from Parkinson’s. The people who posted these comments are just a bit ahead of you on this path toward recovery. They are committed to curing themselves from Parkinson’s!

Now it is your turn. Jump in with both feet! Accept the challenge…make the commitment to yourself…grab onto the scaled-down version of the Parkinson’s Recipe for Recovery^&#0174…make this your November to Remember for your Parkinson’s recovery.

“I have the power to heal myself.” And I did.
“You have the power to heal yourself.” Marie did. Pratima did. Betty did. And you are.
“Together we have the power to heal the world.” Every time another person starts down this path to recovery, together we are growing in numbers and we do have the power to heal the world.

Make the commitment to yourself for recovery!

Okay, everybody, put big smiles on your faces and chant together so the whole world can hear:

“Parkinson’s is curable.
I am my own Parkinson’s cure.
I am halting, slowing, and reversing the progression of my Parkinson’s.
I am extraordinary.
I am recovery.
I am doing great!”

AND, I AM WORTH IT!!!

All my best,

Howard