Oct 01 2010
About Me
My mother was diagnosed with the symptoms of Parkinsons after experiencing mobility challenges. She elected to take a number of prescription medications, but none seemed to provide her with the relief she was seeking. Over time, she added more and more medications to her daily routine for her Parkinson’s and a variety of other conditions. She died from a stroke which I believe was caused by the complications and interactions of over ten different medications.
From the day of her death in 1998, I set on a path to search for natural therapies that are safe and cause no harmful side effects. I hold the belief that the body knows how to heal itself. It just needs a little help remembering how.
Robert Rodgers, Ph.D.
Parkinsons Recovery
Road to Recovery from Parkinsons Disease
http://www.parkinsonsdisease.me


Hmm.
Like many progressive, incurable things, PD is a bitch.
Searching for a cure is, frankly, fruitless – until we can persuade the brain to regenerate itself.
Yes, there is much to learn about how we might prevent it – or at least hold it off that little bit longer – and how we might control the symptoms once they appear. We may even be able to arrest the disease’s development.
But without wishing to sound too cynical, while the body can, indeed, heal itself of many things, there are also many things it has no hope of controlling. Whether PD is one of them is unknown, but I suspect it is.
Pete, PhD. PD.
Dear Pete:
I note that you let all of us know that you are a researcher as am I. I have dedicated my life to documenting cases of recovery. Speaking from the viewpoint of a researcher myself, I have very happy news to report. Many people are finding ways to get sustained relief from their symptoms. It is not merely a question of “ärresting” the progression. It turns out to be a question of healing the underlying conditions that are creating the symptoms in the first place. I document this evidence in the form of case study research (as revealed by guests on my radio show) in my book Road to Recovery from Parkinsons Disease.
Because the causes are multi-faceted, there are a multitude of therapies that provide people with incredible relief from the symptoms of Parkinson’s. What works for a particular person depends on the cause.
I note in your comment that you currently hold the belief that the condition is “progressive” – meaning that it will continue to get worse. I am happy to report this is not true. But if you continue to treasure this false belief, you will continue to manifest illness. We become what we think.
Robert Rodgers, Ph.D.
Parkinsons Recovery
My father was diagnosed with early parkinson’s disease a couple years ago. He is a very successful physician and father of five. I am his office manager and run his medical practice. Yesterday at the office he has another episode and had loss of speech, could barely walk, was bumping in to walls and for the first time I saw his arm do the pill rolling movement that he has done a great job of masking for the past few years. He keeps his hand very busy so we don’t notice it, but my mom noticed it.
They are still running a bunch of tests on him and I hope he will recover quickly. His grandmother had a Parkinson’s and his dad has dimentia and is in a memory unit in Dallas.
Basically I am scared that my father will decline rapidly and we won’t be able to help him. Looking at his charts from yesterday when his episode happened his handwriting is scribbled and can’t be read. His movements were in slow motion and his speach not slurred but sentences coming out very slowly.
So my question is this….are these merely attacks or will this behavior increase and become his lifestyle? I know it is hard to tell but he snapped out of it and now is back to normal. Is that typical of Parkinson’s? are there some rough times and some where things seem to be perfectly fine?
Thank you,
Dana
Hi Dana:
What a scary event! Every day is a new experience, but it is especially unnerving when a medical challenge pops up so quickly and vanishes just as quickly.
From the many hundreds of people I have interviewed or had as guests on my radio show – I have never actually heard a case like you describe. Some people can take advantage of a therapy of one type or another and be symptom free for hours, days or a few weeks, but symptoms often return. If they are taking positive action with natural therapies, symptoms can flop all over the place as they heal.
I invite others to share their experiences here with your own comments. The truth is that everyone’s situation is unique. We will likely see a wide variety of stories.
One possible avenue of investigation might be to consider the possibilty that symptoms are caused by a temporary blood flow restriction to the brain. I suggest you might listen to several radio shows I have aired that discuss lock jaw and TMJ disorder as factors that cause the Parkinson’s like symptoms you describe above.
I note that you are chasing after the answer and not your father. I suspect he has taken care of other people his entire life. The fact he is a doctor suggests this to be the case. If he wants to heal, he will have to take responsibility for his own healing which will be a huge shift for him. Speaking from personal experience, it is a lot easier to take care of other people than myself.
As a doctor, he might want to listen to my radio show with Sharry Edwards two weeks ago. A medical doctor discusses the merits of voice profiling as a diagnostic tool which might be helpful in this case. It is a new diagnostic approach and so it is untested. But, it is noninvasive so it can certainly do not harm.
Know that the body knows how to heal. We just have to give it a little help sometimes. Sometimes, it means we have to make some large changes in how we live our lives. It is possible the biggest change your father needs to make is to begin taking more care of himself and less care of other people.
Robert Rodgers, Ph.D.
Road to Recovery from Parkinsons Disease
http://www.parkinsonsdisease.me
My beloved father suffers from PD for the last 20 years. Now he is in a very bad condition and lately he also refuces to take his drugs. I could do everything if there was some hope for him.
If there is anything you could suggest, I will appreciate very much.
thank you
What a worrisome challenge for you. I suggest that the first question for you to explore with your father is why he is not taking his medications. I suspect if you just ask, he will tell you!
Is it because of the side effects? For some people, the side effects are worse that the positive effects of the treatment. If this is the reason, it is high time to explore alternative medications and or other treatments that do not create side effects. Some people have very sensitive bodies and cannot tolerate medications of any type. Compounding pharmacists are wonderful resources who can offer alternatives to the medications he is taking.
Is it because the medications are not helping him feel better? If so, it is time to look elsewhere for therapies that will can can help. him. If this is the reason, suggest to him that he might consider listening to some of my past radio shows. There are some incredible resources from the shows that I have aired over the past several years. http://www.blogtalkradio.com/parkinsons-recovery. Many guests have told their stories about why they found incredible relief from their own symptoms.
Is it because he has decided his time on this earth needs to end? It may be that he has done what he wants to do here on the earth and is ready to depart. This is the most difficult case for a child who will do anything out of love to help a father. If this is the answer, the most important thing you can do for him is to honor is choice. We sometimes have to let go of the people we love most in the world.
In summary – assess how much responsibility he is willing to assume to get well. The people who are recovering are taking responsibility – not their children or spouses. If he is stepping up to the plate, then you can certainly be a very important support person. If not, the most loving and difficult decision you can make for yourself is to honor his choice.
Thanks for writing in to express a most difficult time in your life.
All the best to you and your Dad.
Robert Rodgers, Ph.D.
Road to Recovery from Parkinsons Disease
http://www.parkinsonsdisease.me
Dear Dr. Rodger,
Hello! I am happy to see your similar concern ,care, and desire to do something to help those who suffer from PD, esp. a loved one! I know it is a difficult disease to diagnose because there are similar symptoms for other diseases that are not PD & as a result sometimes ther is a misdiagnosis, no? since everyone is different& gets a few, more, or all ofthe symptoms, can you plz help us to know which of the many alternative treatments you talk about should one try first? are there any tests or symptoms that will help to find the cause of one’s PD symptoms and, therefore, help one to better choose the therapy/ies to try first or not even try? I am investigating for my father(who has been diagnosed w/PD for about 20 yrs) 3 different treatments, which is how I came across your website. They are placental stem cell transplants(preferably using acupuncture), a lo-carb diet with unprocessed organic coconut oil& other similar med.-chain triglyceride oils 3x/day, & Dr. Hinz’s amino acid therapy. Plz get back to us asap with the doctors whom you said you will be interviewing regarding the amino acid treatment! Oh, plz tell me what are your degrees in, esp. your Ph.D. Thanx soo much! Big Hug to you! Patricia
Hi Patricia:
You ask a very interesting question: what to try first? As you are now well aware – there are so many good choices out there – choices of therapies that are natural, safe and effective. It would be oh so sweet if there were one sure fire place to start that would lead you to a quick resolution,. Unfortunately, neurological symptoms are the most complex of all conditions. There are a multitude of factors that could potentially cause the symptoms. There are a multitude of causal chains that must be operational for the neurological system to be fully functional. When one link in any of the chains is broken or weak for any reason, the problem can not be addressed until you know where the link lies. Start listening to my radio shows and you will begin to realize the complications that are involved here. It is seldom the case that one therapy fixes the symptoms for anyone.
Yes – about a third of persons who have been diagnosed with Parkinson’s have been misdiagnosed. This sounds like a miserable probability, but it is actually not that bad considering there is no definitive test. Neurologists do the best given the limited diagnostic indicators that are available to them.
I do have two recommendations for you. First, it sounds like your father has chased after therapies that will resolve the issues. I suggest that he step back and ask the question – what is causing his symptoms? He has had it for a long time. Were I him, I would shift into a diagnostic mode. And yes, there are many diagnostic assessments that are possible to pursue, given what you Dad thinks might be a possible cause. The work must be driven by his own intuition about what might happening inside his body. His body can heal itself. He just needs to figure out how he can support his own body’s healing.
My second suggestion is to explore with your Dad whether he has a true intent to recover. Is he really serious about recovery? The truth is that recovery has to emerge from a place deep inside all of us. You are the one who is investigating all of the options. Why is he not doing the research here? Clearly, he can ask for your help, but what is he doing to recover? If the will to recover is not coming from him (but you), nothing you do for him will make that big of a difference.
For some people with Parkinson’s, symptoms actually solve certain problems. A person often decides unconsciously they are better off living with the symptoms than reversing them. When he gets well – what is he going to do with himself? As the sons and daughters of our parents, our job is to honor whatever choices our parents make for themselves.
My Ph.D. was from Michigan State University . I graduated from the MSU Labor and Industrial Relations School which involved broad multidisciplinary training which has served me well over the years. My research while a professor at the University of Texas and the University of Kentucky focused on cumulating and analyzing the results of research studies using a method known as meta-analysis. My masters degree (MPA) is from Cornell University and my undergraduate degree (BA) is from Vanderbilt University. My passion now is to help people with Parkinson’s symptoms recover.
Robert Rodgers, Ph.D.
Road to Recovery from Parkinsons Disease
http://www.parkinsonsdisease.me
Hi Pete -
I share your view that the body knows how to heal but we need to open the door for it.
My 88 year old young dad has Parkinson’s symptoms which vary..
hand tremor, head forward stooping posture, slow walk unless prompted and cued, swallowing of thin liquids sometimes a problem. (He has developed some other conditions in the past 1 year also for which he’s taking medications: pulmonary fibrosis, CHF and arrythymia. (Coumadin, bumex diuretic, etc)
Synemet seems to take his taste buds away and decrease his appetite and it’s been hard to assess whether or to what degree
it’s helping. I stopped it bc I feel that a strong appetite is more important for the moment. Medication is a necessary evil but there’s no free lunch with them so I am seeking
alternative type complementary solutions which may address the underlying cause.
1) I thought I ‘d ask his dr if it’s worth testing his COQ10 level
to see if it’s deficient as I’ve read that this can be helpful in both
heart and parkinson condtions; although it needs to be monitored as well.
2) I had a “manual body work” practitioner do a session with my father
that was wonderful:
she used a rubber ball on the bottom of his feet and applied pressure to hydrate the fascia.”
She then had him lie down face up on top of a soft foam roller.
She did a series of gentle slow arm movements, leg movements
and breathing exercise.
He got up and said he felt much more “rooted.” He was walking much more fluidly — as if someone had released the shackles from around his ankles. Usually when he walks holding onto
my arm he practically pulls me down. After this session he was
just barely touching my arm – he felt light as a feather. It lasted for a few days. My instructor is trained in nuero=myo fascial techniques and is wonderful (in addition to her prior training in pilates, yoga.) The techniques she uses and training she has done is with Sue Hitzman – originator of MELT method. (go to you tube for more info.) Sue is based in NY but is training people all over the U.S. If you ever find yourself in NY pls let me
know and I am happy to introduce you to her or if you want to interview her by skype for your radio show. She can do a far better job at explaining how the auto-nomic nervous system and neuro-fascia that run from the bottom of our feet throughout our entire bodies get de=hydrated and stuck and
disrupt so many of the neurological-body signals and movements. Fascinating stuff and I take a class with her colleague weekly and feel so good from it as do others in the class including a friend who has MS. From what I understand
Harvard has the 4th annual conference on myo-fascial tissue this year. These types of non-invasive techniques are the things I want to pursue and would love to see popularized.
I look forward to listening to your show.
Wendy