Natural Options to Reverse Parkinsons Symptoms

Month: August 2011

Heavy Metal Chelation

I heard the interview with Dr. Hickey. Very impressive. Some of the health care practitioners I have worked with specifically to rid my system of heavy metals all shy away from heavy metal chelation. I have used various highly touted products. The process is very slow and I am not sure that they are strong enough to pull the metals out of the deep tissue including the bones. In your opinion from all of your interviews and readings is intravenous chelation the most effective, the quickest way to get rid of metals in all body tissues including the central nervous system? My patience is at a low point.

Thank you for all you do. 

Kevin

Response:

I have the same problem with impatience Kevin. Can’t this release of heavy metals happen now? Will heavy metal chelation do the trick? Unfortunately, the true answer is that it is likely to take time and patience.

Chelation simply means to claw out the heavy metals from the tissues and bones of your body. You put in your body something that has a positive charge. This attaches to the heavy metal which has a negative charge. The heavy metal toxin is eliminated through your liver, kidneys and bowels.

I have heard from a number of people on their experience with heavy metal chelation therapy. Some report positive results. Others report that the treatment was horrendous. It triggered a worsening of symptoms. I understand that most doctors (whether MDs or naturopaths) are very cautious in the chelations they prescribe for people who currently experience the symptoms of Parkinsons for this reason. This explains your own doctor’s hesitancy to use IV chelations.

I understand it is helpful to assess precisely what heavy metals are at issue in your body. Different chelating agents are needed depending on the metals that are at issue. I would suggest that you work with your doctors to assess which heavy metals in particular are problematic for you. As you now know from listening to my radio show with Dr. Hickey, there are serious issues with the current medical tests used to assess the presence of heavy metals.

I personally think the diagnostic tests that are most revealing are bioenergetic testing, hair analysis and voice profiling. I have interviewed experts who discuss the benefits and outcomes of all three diagnostic approaches.

Naturopath doctor Ivy Faber from Canton, Georgia has been a guest on my radio show who uses bioenergetic testing. She has done those tests on myself. They are really quite amazing. Compounding Pharmacist Randy Mentzer from Olympia, Washington discussed hair analysis for heavy metal testing during my radio show with him. Sharry Edwards has been a guest on my show several times. She diagnoses heavy metal toxicity using voice profiling.

In summary, if this were me, I would step back and go through a series of diagnostics using several assessments that are different than the tests that you have already had done as a reliability check. Once you know what you are dealing with, a chelation approach can be designed that will be effective. It may still take time and patience!

In summary – it is a process which can be slow, tedious and frustrating. In my personal opinion, everyone in a body should be chelating the toxins using one approach or another.

Hang in there. There are many approaches to detox. Some actually makes things worse. When you land on the chelation approach that works for your body, I predict you will be very pleased with the outcome.

Robert Rodgers, Ph.D.
founder 2004
Parkinsons Recovery
Road to Recovery from Parkisnsons Disease
www.parkisonsdisease.me

Hidden Gift of Tremors

Many people who happen to currently experience the symptoms of Parkinson’s think of tremors as a problem and a nuisance. Recovery from Parkinson’s disease means that you have successfully eradicated the tremor or, at a minimum, numbed your neurological system so that the tremor does not exist. My report below documents two fascinating approaches that illustrate the hidden gift of tremors.

There is an alternative mindset that some people have adopted to their great advantage. Professional photographer Alan Babbitt finds his tremor is a huge advantage. Instead of trying to still his hand when he takes pictures, Allan allow his camera to jiggle in whatever position his hands move. He has produced a remarkable series of pictures that he aptly describes as “”tremor enhanced” work that are incredible in every respect. I was so taken by his images that I contracted with Alan to use one of his images as the featured cover of my book Road to Recovery from Parkinsons Disease.

A second person with Parkinson’s who has used his tremor to great advantage is Whit Deschner. Whit is the founder of the Salt Lick contest in Baker City, Oregon which raises money for Parkinsons research every year.  Whit was my featured guest on my radio show this week. How does author and humorist Whit Deschner manifest the hidden gift of tremors?

I have no doubt there are many answers to this question, given Whit’s off the chart creativity and innovativeness. Like Alan Babbitt, Whit has found his tremor to be of immense advantage in his own photography. Whit has always loved to take pictures, especially pictures of children as they are jumping. After experiencing the symptoms of Parkinson’s beginning 10 years ago, Whit found that when he began taking a picture of a child jumping his finger continued to snap the shot. Instead of one shot, he would invariably wind up with a long series of single shots taken with his still camera.

The 16th Annual Great Salt Lick Contest & Auction was Saturday, September 21, 2024.
As every cowboy and cowgirl knows, critters can be pretty darn creative when deriving minerals from a block of salt. By auctioning off the works of art, the Great Salt Lick contest has used that animal creativity to raise over $175,000 for Parkinson’s Research at OHSU!

Created by local artist, photographer and creative entertainer Whit Deschner, the Great Salt Lick Contest & Auction became a claim to fame for the ranching community of Baker City, Oregon. The community sits in the heart of cattle country, surrounded by mountains and grasslands. Deschner led the event through 15 years and has handed over the reins to the Baker City Lions Club. He’ll still be on hand to inspire the auction, as will the longtime auctioneer, Mib Bailey.

 

What do you do with a long series of single shots of the same scene? Choose the “best”?  Or, use them all in a sequence of slide show like images. When you string together all of  the pictures in sequence, it looks much like a movie of the scene such as a child jumping. ‘Talk about being creative!

There is a Youtube link below to a 9 minute video that tells the history of horses on Whit’s ranch. It is well worth taking 9 minutes of time in your busy day to watch this video. When you watch, pay particular attention to the many segments where you see evidence of Whit using all of the images from a still camera. Instead of seeing a still picture, you see a horse gracefully moving through a pasture or smiling back at you with a sweet grin on his face.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MB2HlLhRZjU

There is no mention of how Whit Deschner has used to advantage his tremor in this video, but I wanted you to know because I just learned how he did it today.

Some people think of tremors of a liability. Other people – like Whit and Alan – think of tremors as an asset which has led to remarkable discoveries and innovations. It is a choice for everyone.

Who else out there has a story that actualizes the hidden gift of tremors?

Robert Rodgers, Ph.D.
Founder 2004
Parkinsons Recovery
Road to Recovery from Parkinsons Disease
http://www.parkinsonsdisease.me

Balance Problems

I am doing better with the Parkinson’s. I wish I didn’t have balance problems when I walk. I am walking with my mother in the morning 2 miles. My equilibrium is off, but it is better now that I am walking.

Do you have any ideas how I can help myself. The tremors are so much better since I do not have stress in my life.

Isn’t it so sweet to honor and acknowledge the profound impact stress has on symptoms and – better yet – to see what happens when you succeed in reducing stress. That is certainly cause for celebration. Congratulations.

Your general question regarding balance is one many people can relate to. Obviously I have no idea what is causing your specific balance challenge and even if I did, I am not qualified to suggest a remedy since I am a researcher (Ph.D.) not a medical doctor.

If I were personally experiencing balance issues, I would pursue the checklist below:

First, am I taking any medications whose side effects cause difficulties with balance. If so, I need to consult with a compounding pharmacist who might suggest to my doctor an alternative medication that does not have balance issues as a side effect.

Second, I have personally experienced ear problems throughout my lifetime – infections, difficulty hearing from one ear, etc. I might suspect that the balance problems are centered in problems I have with my ear. I have recently regained significant hearing in my bad ear by eliminating  fungi and bacteria that were hanging out in my inner ear.

Third, I would explore the deeper meaning of my balance problems:

  • What is off balance in my personal life?
  • What is off balance in my work life?
  • Am I being jostled from one assignment to the next, or one task to the next without being able to complete any task satisfactorily?
  • Do I always feel suspended in a state of rushing from one unfinished task to another?
  • Am I doing what gives my heart and soul pleasure?
  • Am I always doing what I am told to do rather than what I want to do?
  • Is there someone in my life who is continuously knocking me off balance?

Depending on the answers, I would make some changes to correct the imbalances in my life.

Fourth, I would strengthen my grounding – which is my connection to mother earth. Right now you are not grounded. With electrical outlets there is always a grounding line which connects the electricity to the ground. That is also what humans must do to maintain balance and energy.

We are out of balance because most of our energy field floats primarily around our head, not our feet. You will want to even out the distribution of your energy field so that there is a solid foundation around your feet. Right now your field probably looks like an upside down triangle (with the point of the triangle at the bottom). You will want to shift that triangle 180 degrees so that the flat side of the triangle is at the bottom (at your feet). Pay more attention to your feet!

Consider also enrolling in my online Rock Solid Walking course which covered a variety of methods that address balance. Visit this link for more information and to register: Rock Solid Walking

May you feet land solidly on the ground and may you find balance harmony throughout each passing day.

Robert Rodgers, Ph.D.
Founder 2004
Parkinsons Recovery
Road to Recovery from Parkinsons Disease