Natural Options to Reverse Parkinsons Symptoms

Month: December 2009

Dopamine

My husband and I receive your newsletter and listen to many of your interviews. I am encouraged by your message of working toward recovery. I do have one question, and it deals with the physiology of dopamine.

Conventional medicine explains the symptoms by stating that the dopamine producing cells in the substantia nigra are dying, and this is irreversible. Do you think the cells are dying but this state is reversible? Or do you question the whole idea of the cells dying? If PD is simply a collection of symptoms, what causes the symptoms?

We are working hard toward recovery, although the path is discouraging right now.

Regards,

Don and Dianne

You ask if I question the idea that cells are dying. I have no doubt but that cells are dying throughout the body every second of our life. It is the sweet nature of life as it is sustained by the awakening of new cells and the death of cells whose time has come.

Do cells in the Substantia Nigra die? Of course they do, just as the cells in my right big toe. I say,

Out with the old and in with the new.

The process of old cells dying and new cells emerging gives life juice and power. It we hang onto the old, our life force withers away.

You ask if the state of illness is reversible? My answer unequivocally is yes. There are beliefs that typically drag us down into the sewer of depression and illness. Once those beliefs are transformed, recovery becomes possible as long as the physical body is given the support it needs to heal.

You ask what causes the symptoms? I write quite a bit about this subject in my new book I just released this week, Road to Recovery from Parkinsons Disease. There are a number of interrelated factors that contribute to the symptoms including trauma, stress, toxins, poor nutrition, lack of exercise and a digestive system that has shut down.

Here is what I think. There is no single therapy or approach that can offer the promise of  full recovery. Parkinson’s is one of the most complex conditions that can exist in the body. It takes a multifaceted approach to heal.

A deficiency of dopamine plays a minor role in what is happening within the various systems of the body. I can assure you it is not the central character in this drama. I suggest you step back and begin thinking in a much larger and broader context.

It sounds like you have launched a path on the road to recovery. Take action on whatever therapies or approaches that call to you. A little experimentation will go a long way in helping you figure out what you need to do for yourself to recover.

It is very easy to get discouraged, since the road to recovery tends to have quite a few curves and unexpected twists. When you get discouraged, as is the case today, just acknowledge the thought and whisk it away for it is not serving your best and highest good.

I have a concluding thought for you. You mention you are working “hard” toward recovery.  It certainly does take an unwavering commitment, but if the work is “hard” it may actually be stressful, provoking symptoms. Perhaps the thought form could be transformed by the mantra:

‘We are having fun as we travel down the road to recovery. Every day reveals exciting new discoveries that feed our souls, our bodies and our minds.

Robert Rodgers, Ph.D.
Founder 2004
Parkinsons Recovery

 

Sinemet for Parkinsons

My question, I guess, is in finding a balance with Sinemet for Parkinsons.  I was  dx with PD in 1998 and in 2000 had a horrible bout with head/neck cancer after which the PD drugs nearly killed me. But I recovered and sought PD Recovery as well. But back in 2005 when I found the Parkinson’s Recovery program I was warned, do not attempt to recover from PD if you have EVER taken Sinemet, which I now have for 11 years.

I am still doing whatever alternative Rx I can, and now am in the position of being under consideration for Deep Brain Stimulation. I also have 6 more years of long term disability insurance which I have to justify with an annual exam and report. So my question is, where do I start? Where do I find guidance that doesn’t cost too much? My husband is retired and I am living on disability.

Diane

Response

I have interviewed many members of my audience who elected to take medications while focusing on bringing their body back into balance. They identify the cause of their symptoms and treating it with natural therapies and methods. When it comes to Sinemet and Parkinsons, the medications can be a life safer for some people.  You have to be able to feel reasonably well to take the actions needed to recover.

The one factor that will spin us all into a state of imbalance is negative thought forms. Your question actually centers on thought forms. To rephrase your your question:

How can I maintain positive thoughts about my recovery?

That of course is the challenge for everybody in a body. We all carry negative thoughts in our heads moment to moment. To illustrate what we all do to ourselves, you write in your question:

“I was warned do not attempt to recover from PD…”

Hum … you have encoded that warning into the cellular structure of your brain. Permit me to add a few additional “warnings” to illustrate how harmful this thinking is to your body:

“I was warned do not attempt to recover from depression.”

“I was warned do not attempt to recover from the flu.”

“I was warned do not attempt to recover from grief.”

Recovery is possible only when we know it in our heads and our hearts. Negative thoughts obstruct the process. My book Five Steps to Recovery helps transform negative thoughts that are not in you best and highest good which are impeding any and all attempts at recovery.

You ask, where do I find guidance? The answer is quite simple: listen to your own guidance. Your body knows the answers. We all get guidance – intuitive hits – about what we need to do for ourselves. Act on what you know from your heart that you need to do for yourself. Guidance is free.

I have identified more than 100 options and therapies give people with Parkinsons significant relief from their symptoms. In summary, you do not have to spend a cent to begin recovering today. Do that by challenging your negative thinking moment to moment.

Many blessings,

Robert Rodgers, Ph.D.
Founder 2004
Parkinsons Recovery