Seven years ago today, I began doing the Parkinson’s Recipe for Recovery®. Of course, back then it did not have a name…it was just what I was doing. At the same time, I began keeping a hand-written Parkinson’s Daily Journal. It is time to share my journal with all of you.
Today, I will post my September 28, 2009 Parkinson’s Daily Journal entry. I kept the daily journal until mid-November, when my handwriting became too painful and too difficult to read, and that ended my daily journal. My intention is to type up and post excerpts from my Parkinson’s Daily Journal every day from now through mid-November, which is about seven weeks.
For those of you who subscribe to my blog, this means a daily email notification from me. If you would prefer to not get a daily email from me over the next seven weeks, just send me an email at howard@fightingparkinsonsdrugfree.com and I will suspend your subscription until I stop doing the daily blog posts.
Sally and I discussed this over the past weekend. We feel that it will help you to see what I was going through on a daily basis for the first seven weeks of my recovery, so you will know that if I could it, you can do it. Please know that there is a lot of mention of symptoms. The reason I was talking about symptoms so much is because I was scientifically documenting what I was going through and how I was endeavoring to solve the disease.
Okay, here we go.
“09/28/09. Last Tuesday, I sat down with Sally [my wife] to explain that I have Parkinson’s. I have tried denying this for a little while, but the internal tremors were very strong that day and no telling when they might appear as external tremors.
Sally and I have been through everything, and she is the strong one and I needed a plan.
We talked things through and agreed to explore every option and jointly make a decision.
After much research and much discussion, the plan is to move forward with a Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) approach. There are three main causes of Parkinson’s from a TCM viewpoint:
1. Qi and Blood Deficiency, which is caused by emotional stress, anger, frustration, and resentment.
2. Phlegm-Fire Agitating Wind, which is caused by dietary considerations such as consumption of too much greasy, fried or sweet foods.
3. Kidney and Liver Wind Deficiency, which is caused by overwork and insufficient rest which unbalances the body’s natural rhythm.
The healing approach will change as the disease changes. However, the starting point is to keep a strict diet in place, perform QiGong (Chi Kung) for elevating the Qi and Blood Deficiency, elevating the Kidney and Liver Yin Deficiency, and acupressure for stimulating the brain and spinal column.
Reference Materials:
1. The Yellow Emperor’s Classic of Medicine by Maoshing Ni, Ph.D.
2. Chinese Health Care Secrets by Henry B Lin
3. QiGong Empowerment by Master Shou-Yu Liang
4. Soul Mind Body Medicine by Dr./Master Zhi Gang Sha
5. Integrative Acupressure by Sam McClellan
6. “Degenerative Diseases, Interpretation and Treatment with Chinese Medicine” by Subhuti Dharmananda (http://www.itmonline.org/arts/degenerative.htm)
7. What Your Doctor May NOT Tell You About Parkinson’s Disease by Jill Marjama-Lyons, M.D.
8. Teach Yourself Chi Kung by Robert Parry
What I am experiencing
1. Internal tremors when my body is at rest. When I move, they seem to go away, although it just may be that my attention is elsewhere because I am moving rather than being stationary.
2. Rigidity. My left arm is very tight in the muscles, particularly my forearm. I am in constant pain in my left arm and although it is my stronger arm as I played all sports left-handed, I have no strength. I have a hard time lifting the water pitcher and cannot squeeze the pump at the gas station.
3. Bradykinesia. My movements are slow and my balance is horrible, particularly when I first get out of bed. Example: I cannot hold my shorts and lift one foot to step into them. I have to hold onto something, hold my shorts in one hand at floor level, step into them and finally pull them up. My walking is very slow and if I am not consciously paying careful attention, I walked hunched over while shuffling my feet. I need to use the chair arms or the table to stand from my sitting position. I need to focus before walking up the stairs holding the railing. It is painful, but I can walk up the steps. I must hold on and focus on my balance because I go backwards when I lift either leg. Sometimes I have to go one step at a time where the second leg moves up only to the step where the first leg is located and I progress a step at a time in this manner. When I turn around to go back in the other direction (regular walking, not stairs) I go in a semi-circle almost like walking around a marker.
Treatment
1. Dietary — fruits, vegetables, whole wheat (bread, rice, barley), oatmeal. No preservatives, no alcohol, no fried foods. Focus is to dispel the Phlegm-Fire Agitating Wind. (reference: Chinese Health Care Secrets).
2. QiGong — Medical QiGong focused on elevating the Kidney and Liver Deficiencies. Buddhist QiGong for elevating the Qi and Blood Deficiency. (reference: QiGong Empowerment).
3. Acupressure focused on the Governing Vessel, GV, and Conception Vessel, CV. (reference: Integrative Acupressure).
4. Sound, Vibration, Energy elevation, near hand-far hand healing techniques (reference: Soul Mind Body Medicine).
5. Exercise for Qi circulation in the same channels as #3 above. (reference: Teach Yourself Chi Kung).
6. Smile more, be more patient with my situation, think before moving. Try to be a nicer person. Take each moment as it occurs and deal with it in the best possible manner. No fear allowed. Let my family know every day how much I love them.
I learned today that if I want to try to walk normally, I need to focus on standing up straight, extending my leg and getting my foot off the ground, and, swinging my arms. Apparently, as I have been hunched and shuffling my feet, my arms have stopped swinging. Consciously swinging my arms helps a lot with balance. I learned another very important thing: when I am walking, I need to be really focused. I got the mail and on the way back up the driveway, I started looking through a magazine; the next thing I knew is that I was completely off balance and I fell down. I read an article last week where the author, a Parkinson’s sufferer, said that the days of walking and chewing gum were over. I laughed. Today, I learned it wasn’t funny.”
You are worth it!!!
All my best,
Howard
Howard, thank you for this forthcoming documentation. It will be a valuable insight to understand the process.
Thank you for your journey, victory, and sharing with us so that we, too, can become warriors to defeat the Parkinson’s in our own bodies. You give us hope and inspiration, and a positive path, in a negative world.
And also, thank you to all fellow warriors for your faith, participation, and sharing your experiences and insights, that we might lift each other to our complete healing.
Howard,
Thank you so much for sharing your personal journey with us.
Sometimes I run out of hope – and your emails always renew my ability to hope for healing!
I look forward to hearing from you every day.
Blessings
Barbara
Howard,
thank you for sharing your journey with us this will be very effective In helping all of us Warriors get a full recovery if you can do it we can do it!!!
thank you Howard for sharing your vulnerability with us. What I also read was that you had to begin doing things, like walking, with intent. I find that I have to do everything with intent – especially typing! I lost my voice 2 yrs ago, & it’s only by speaking with intent, and doing daily vocal exercises, that I am able to communicate vocally. So now I do everything with intent, including the Recipe for Recovery
If anyone needs vocal exercises please let me know!
Love and blessings to you, and all my fellow Warriors
hey luke
i d love to know yr vocal exercises
would also like to know if anyone knows some good
hand n finger exercises
lov n tthnx
lindaxx
Howard,
I’m so excited and looking forward to your daily journal. Thank you for sharing yourself with all of us! You have given us HOPE!!!
Love, Trish
What a good idea Howard! Thank you very much for this helpful initiative to publish your valuable documentation. It will be very interesting to follow.
Hi Howard:
Thank you for sharing with all of us this valuable insights to your journey toward PD recovery. God bless you and Sally!
Thank you Howard
I start my journey anew with you to wellness,
blessings to everyone on the same journey.
Howard…I’m so appreciating your willingness to be vulnerable and transparent…this not only supports me but reinforces the sense of trust and care I experienced with you the first time we chatted by phone a little more than 5 years ago. I am so very grateful that you are my coach, my mentor, my friend.
Go Howard, you Rock. Bless you for your share. 🙂 xx
Big Love to all warriors.
Karen xx
Looking forward to the daily email Howard.
Hi Howard and Everyone,
Thank you for sharing you with me. I am grateful. Life is a beautiful gift. Have a wonderful day !
Sending love and blessings to all
Debbie
Thanks Howard for posting it. I can’t wait to see each and every journal.
It’s a brilliant idea. It’s very kind of you!
Tu
What a gift to read about your process from the intimate perspective of your journal. Thank you for all that you so generously share with us Howard! xox!
Thank you for doing this, Howard. Really helpful idea!
Anita
Yes Howard, you are a great soul on this earth whole heatedly helping us, being traveled the same path as of us. Your blog is a great support and I sincerely thank you for uplifting us through your personal experiences.
Regards,
Dawn
Howard thank you for reminding us what it was like for you, at the beginning
of your journey to recovery. I loved no 6. in your ‘treatment’ – Smile more……….
This is very encouraging to all of us to know the details what you’ve gone through. I can relate to that although my symptoms are bit different from yours like extreme weakness, body pains, right hand tremors, dizziness and feeling malaise most of the time. It changes by the hour. But I firmly that the recovery day will come. Looking forward for your daily journal.
Thank you Howard for giving us hope always.
May the Almighty Creator blesses us!