• World Parkinson’s Day – 2019

    April is Parkinson’s Awareness Month and this Thursday, April 11th, is World Parkinson’s Day. This year, our cycling group at the YMCA decided to do something to increase awareness of PD. We are moving our usual Thursday Pedaling for Parkinson’s class from from the cycling class room to the lobby of the Y. We have invited all of the local neurologists and Movement Disorder Specialists,along with local Parkinson’s groups and the media to come and see what Pedaling for PD is all about. So if you are in the Sarasota area this week, stop by the Evalyn Sadlier Jones YMCA at 8301 Potter Park Dr at 10am to see Pedaling for Parkinson’s in action.

    Those of you who have been following this blog for very long know that I feel that this program has slowed the progression of my PD. When I miss a class or two I have seen a noticeable change in the time my medication lasts. The medication seems to wear off sooner than usual and take longer to ‘kick in’ after I take a new dose. I know I have pushed exercise over and over in this blog but I can’t emphasize it enough. There are many opportunities to exercise besides cycling or playing tennis – you just need to find one you like (or dislike the least) and stick with it for a month and see if you don’t agree, exercise is the key ingredient to fight PD.

    Speaking of medication, I was doing great on the new regime of two Rytary and 1/2 a tablet of Mirapex 5 times a day until a couple of weeks ago when it suddenly stopped working so well. I would take the 1st dose of the day and it worked perfectly but when I took the second dose it would sometimes have the opposite effect, causing me to walk slowly with limited arm movement as though I was completely unmedicated. This would last up to 2 hours and then I experienced “wearing on” instead of wearing off as the meds finally kicked in.

    So I emailed my Dr and while waiting for his response did what many of us do, researched the internet for other people who have experienced the same effect and then started experimenting with different dosages and the timing of the dose. I am getting pretty good results reducing the Rytary to 1 for doses 2 and 4 but I will keep you posted as this saga continues. In the meantime today my ninety day supply of meds arrived, I need a shelf just for the Rytary 😀

  • Happy New Year!

    Well maybe it should read Happy Chinese New Year! It’s February already and I’m just getting to my first post for the new year! I hope everyone had a great holiday season. We had a great time with family over the Christmas/New Year holiday which included a trip to Disney World to celebrate New Year’s Eve.

    Disney World


    During the busy holiday season, we tried to keep up with our exercise schedule, cycling two days a week, playing as much tennis as possible and attending the Dance for PD class every week. I continue to enjoy playing tennis and even played in a men’s double tournament here in our community finishing in the middle of the pack.

    January included a visit to my Neurologist. While I am doing well I was noticing that my medication wearing OFF anywhere from 30 – 60 minutes before the next dose, particularly when the next dose occurred while I was exercising. We discussed two options, change the timing so I would take more Sinemet or try Rytary, an extended release version of Levodopa/Carbidopa.

    We decided to try the Rytary and I was given a sample to take once a day in the morning for a week. After the initial week I found that ON time was at least 30 – 60 minutes longer and some days I noticed no wearing off at all between doses.

    So I reported my findings back to my Doctor and we decided to go ‘full bore’ and replace my Sinemet tablets with the Rytary on a every 4 hour schedule. So far I am happy with the results with only occasional OFF periods, usually because I didn’t take them on schedule 🙂 I’ll keep you posted as I continue this new regimen.

    On the research front, if you are interested what’s coming up in 2019, I highly recommend you read “The Road Ahead: Parkinson’s Research in 2019” by Simon Stott over at the Science of PD blog. He expects that several clinical trials will have some data to report during the year and several promising projects will start. Click here to read.

    One last note, I have added a link on the website to a document I prepared recently for a friend of a friend who had just been diagnosed with PD. It contains my thoughts about what to do after that initial diagnoses, lots of links to sites I like, and my thoughts / recommendations about exercise, finding a Movement Disorder Specialist, etc. Click on the link in the Now What? box at the top right to view, print or download.

    “It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop.” – Confucius


  • Rallying, Parkinson’s Movement Website, Care Partners Month, and Giving Tuesday!

    Yep, as you can tell by the title, this a catch up post lightly touching on many topics.  For various reasons, it has been tough to find time for writing but I have a chance today so will try to cover all of these topics (and maybe more) in this post. Let’s get started!

    Rallying to the Challenge – 2018

    As you might recall from my last post, we had just attended the Grand Challenges in PD meeting in Grand Rapids MI.  This is a two day meeting that brings together scientists, clinicians and people with Parkinson’s to explore the latest in  Parkinson’s disease research. The meeting is hosted by the Van Andel Research Institute and includes a parallel meeting for PwP’s hosted by Van Andel and The Cure Parkinson’s Trust.   This is one of the few meetings that brings us all together and gives the  Parkinson’s community a chance to provide input impacting ongoing and planned research.  Even better, we got to say hello to many old friends while making many new friends as the meeting progressed.  At the end of the meeting, the Cure Parkinson’s Trust presented the Tom Isaacs Award to two outstanding individuals, Professor Bas Bloem of the  Netherlands who founded ParkinsonNet, an innovative PD care program and Simon Stott, who publishes the Science of PD  Blog about current research in PD which I have mentioned in previous posts. 

    It was a great meeting and you can read more about it here and here.  Next year’s meeting is set for August 21 and 22 in case you would like to attend, click here for more information.

    Parkinson’s Movement Website

    The Cure Parkinson’s Trust sponsors the Parkinson’s Movement website which is maintained by PwP’s for PwP’s.  This website has recently had a total makeover and I highly recommend  you add it to your list of sites to visit on a regular basis.  The site has information about on going research and provides opportunities to get involved in research or share your insights.  They have a section called Hype vs Hope where they ‘fact check’ recent news stories, claims of a cure, etc.  They also have have a large list of  PD advocates listed along with their country of residence, the topics they advocate for and other information.  Check it out here.

    Care Partners Month

    November is National Care Partners Month and I know that you, like me, are thankful for your care partner(s) everyday of the year.  But this is a good time to remind you and your care partner that there are a lot of resources available for care partners including the Caring and Coping guide written for care partners for any stage of PD and available for the Parkinson’s Foundation.  You can download a copy or order a paper copy here

    Giving Tuesday

    Tuesday the 27th is Giving Tuesday.  This is a great opportunity to make a donation to your favorite charity and, in many cases, have it matched.  For example, after successfully raising one million dollars last year,  the Michael J Fox Foundation is shooting to raise two million dollars this year with every donation matched by anonymous donors.  Many other charities have similar opportunities on Tuesday, so scrape the bottom of your pocket book or wallet after Black Friday and Cyber Monday and help us find a cure for PD or the charity of your choice.

    (And Maybe More)

    Ben Stecher who writes the Tomorrow Edition blog has started a 9 part series about the Search for a Cure.  The first part was just published and can be viewed here.  Ben has traveled the world interviewing researchers, medical professionals and others about what they are doing and what the impact might be on the search for a cure, what the cure might look like and when it might happen.  So, another recommendation, sign up to follow Ben’s blog and his search for the cure.

    Dr Ray Dorsey at the University of Rochester in New York is conducting a web based study to see if using a computer with a webcam and microphone will provide sufficient information for patient followup.  The entire study is web based and takes about 10 – 15 minutes.  It requires a computer with webcam and the Chrome browser but it is quick and easy and a chance for you to participate in a clinical trial without leaving your house.  You can get more information and participate in the trial at this website.

    OK  that wraps it up for this post.  I hope everyone has an enjoyable Thanksgiving Holiday!

    “It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop.” – Confucius

IT IS WHAT IT IS!

Partners in Parkinson’s – The Sequel

This week we attended the Partners in Parkinson’s event in Fort Lauderdale, FL sponsored by Michael J Fox Foundation & AbbVie .  We attended this event in Atlanta last year and came away with new information and new friends as reported in a previous post, On the Road Again.  Since we were in Florida, we thought we would attend the Ft Lauderdale event to find out what’s new, make some new friends, and catch up with Claudia Marshall who heads up the Fox Trial Finder (FTF) Ambassador program and get some pointers on our new roles as FTF Ambassadors. 
 
This year’s event followed the same format at last year with the morning panel sessions covering:
 
  • The Many Faces of Parkinson’s Disease – Moderator Dave Iverson and the four panelists explored how their lives have changed since their PD diagnoses. Each of the panelists discussed how they approached telling family, friends and coworkers, and where they turned for more information about PD, among other topics.
  • Seeing a Movement Disorder Specialist: What to Know, Ask and Expect – This panel included Bob Harmon and his wife Cecily.  Bob is also a FTF Ambassador whom I met at the Sarasota meeting a few weeks ago. They were interviewed by Dr Stuart Isaacson, a local Movement Disorder Specialist.  It was a great session with Dr Isaacson asking Bob a series of questions about his symptoms just as if it was a real appointment. When Bob indicated that mornings are difficult as he takes his last dose of medications at 9pm,  Dr Isaacson recommended a change to the timing of his medications to help alleviate the problem.  They also discussed acting out of dreams, bladder urgency and other non motor symptoms.  After each question Dr Isaacson offered suggestions for new medication or timing of medication or other solutions Bob could take to reduce the impact of the symptom. He even conducted the usual tests like tapping feet and fingers and watching him walk across the stage. And like the speakers at the Sarasota meeting, Dr Isaacson also reinforced the need for regular exercise.  Once again, this was great example of why you should see a Movement Disorder Specialist if at all possible.
  • Parkinson’s Research: The Road Ahead – Moderator Dave Iverson and the panel discussed the new drugs recently  released (Rytary, the extended release levodopa and Duopa, the intestinal gel levodopa), plus what’s coming up such as an inhaler to provide dopamine quickly, new advancements in DBS, and genetic research among other topics. They also pointed out that recent research has shown that regular exercise is beneficial and slows down the progression of PD.
The afternoon sessions included the breakout sessions:
  • Living Well with Parkinson’s – conducted by The Davis Phinney Foundation which provides a holistic approach based on exercise and diet that provides lifelong benefits.
  • Building Connections with Family, Friends and Community –  moderated by Dave Iverson, the panelists in this session discussed personal relationships, how they deal with PD and what they have done to promote awareness about PD. 
  • I’m Still Wondering About – an opportunity to ask the experts questions that weren’t covered during the morning sessions.
Once again, this was an extremely informative event that presented timely information to an audience hungry to learn more about PD. 
The resource fair provided opportunities for participants to meet with local south Florida representatives of the NPF, PAN, and PDF along with MJF and to meet with local providers of PD related medical care such as BIG and LOUD.  And we met with Claudia and had an opportunity to further discuss the FTF Ambassador program and watch the FTF Ambassadors  in action as many attendee’s stopped by their table for information about FTF.
 
As happened at the last event, we added several new members to our ‘world wide’ support group. One of our table mates grew up in Colorado so in addition to comparing notes about our PD, we discussed all things Colorado. Another table mate had just moved to Florida to help care for his father who has PD and he was very interested in all of the information we received during each session. 
 
We also ran into a couple we had met at Kripalu in October, 2013, Marcia and Erwin Guberman.  They have been visiting in Florida for several weeks and will be in the Sarasota area this weekend so we hope to hold a mini-reunion with them and Melissa Wenig and Joel Gordon our Sarasota friends who we also met at Kripalu.  And what would a meeting be without seeing Bill Wilkerson from our Atlanta panel, it seems he follows us everywhere :).  We congratulated him on being recently named this year’s recipient of the Alan Bonander Humanitarian Award which he will receive at the National Parkinson’s Unity Walk in April in New York City. 
 
It was a great event (again) and we highly recommend (again) attending a Partner’s in Parkinson’s event if one is held near you. You can check the 2015 locations and register on the PIP Site.  
 
Next week we will attend another Parkinson’s Cafe event at the Sarasota Ballet and we have guests coming from Colorado for some beach time.  Until next time, if you haven’t signed up for Fox Trial Finder you can do it here and if you have signed up take time to check your trial matches or update your profile at the same link. 
 
“It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop.” – Confucius

Other Posts

IT IS WHAT IT IS!

Partners in Parkinson’s – The Sequel

This week we attended the Partners in Parkinson’s event in Fort Lauderdale, FL sponsored by Michael J Fox Foundation & AbbVie .  We attended this event in Atlanta last year and came away with new information and new friends as reported in a previous post, On the Road Again.  Since we were in Florida, we thought we would attend the Ft Lauderdale event to find out what’s new, make some new friends, and catch up with Claudia Marshall who heads up the Fox Trial Finder (FTF) Ambassador program and get some pointers on our new roles as FTF Ambassadors. 
 
This year’s event followed the same format at last year with the morning panel sessions covering:
 
  • The Many Faces of Parkinson’s Disease – Moderator Dave Iverson and the four panelists explored how their lives have changed since their PD diagnoses. Each of the panelists discussed how they approached telling family, friends and coworkers, and where they turned for more information about PD, among other topics.
  • Seeing a Movement Disorder Specialist: What to Know, Ask and Expect – This panel included Bob Harmon and his wife Cecily.  Bob is also a FTF Ambassador whom I met at the Sarasota meeting a few weeks ago. They were interviewed by Dr Stuart Isaacson, a local Movement Disorder Specialist.  It was a great session with Dr Isaacson asking Bob a series of questions about his symptoms just as if it was a real appointment. When Bob indicated that mornings are difficult as he takes his last dose of medications at 9pm,  Dr Isaacson recommended a change to the timing of his medications to help alleviate the problem.  They also discussed acting out of dreams, bladder urgency and other non motor symptoms.  After each question Dr Isaacson offered suggestions for new medication or timing of medication or other solutions Bob could take to reduce the impact of the symptom. He even conducted the usual tests like tapping feet and fingers and watching him walk across the stage. And like the speakers at the Sarasota meeting, Dr Isaacson also reinforced the need for regular exercise.  Once again, this was great example of why you should see a Movement Disorder Specialist if at all possible.
  • Parkinson’s Research: The Road Ahead – Moderator Dave Iverson and the panel discussed the new drugs recently  released (Rytary, the extended release levodopa and Duopa, the intestinal gel levodopa), plus what’s coming up such as an inhaler to provide dopamine quickly, new advancements in DBS, and genetic research among other topics. They also pointed out that recent research has shown that regular exercise is beneficial and slows down the progression of PD.
The afternoon sessions included the breakout sessions:
  • Living Well with Parkinson’s – conducted by The Davis Phinney Foundation which provides a holistic approach based on exercise and diet that provides lifelong benefits.
  • Building Connections with Family, Friends and Community –  moderated by Dave Iverson, the panelists in this session discussed personal relationships, how they deal with PD and what they have done to promote awareness about PD. 
  • I’m Still Wondering About – an opportunity to ask the experts questions that weren’t covered during the morning sessions.
Once again, this was an extremely informative event that presented timely information to an audience hungry to learn more about PD. 
The resource fair provided opportunities for participants to meet with local south Florida representatives of the NPF, PAN, and PDF along with MJF and to meet with local providers of PD related medical care such as BIG and LOUD.  And we met with Claudia and had an opportunity to further discuss the FTF Ambassador program and watch the FTF Ambassadors  in action as many attendee’s stopped by their table for information about FTF.
 
As happened at the last event, we added several new members to our ‘world wide’ support group. One of our table mates grew up in Colorado so in addition to comparing notes about our PD, we discussed all things Colorado. Another table mate had just moved to Florida to help care for his father who has PD and he was very interested in all of the information we received during each session. 
 
We also ran into a couple we had met at Kripalu in October, 2013, Marcia and Erwin Guberman.  They have been visiting in Florida for several weeks and will be in the Sarasota area this weekend so we hope to hold a mini-reunion with them and Melissa Wenig and Joel Gordon our Sarasota friends who we also met at Kripalu.  And what would a meeting be without seeing Bill Wilkerson from our Atlanta panel, it seems he follows us everywhere :).  We congratulated him on being recently named this year’s recipient of the Alan Bonander Humanitarian Award which he will receive at the National Parkinson’s Unity Walk in April in New York City. 
 
It was a great event (again) and we highly recommend (again) attending a Partner’s in Parkinson’s event if one is held near you. You can check the 2015 locations and register on the PIP Site.  
 
Next week we will attend another Parkinson’s Cafe event at the Sarasota Ballet and we have guests coming from Colorado for some beach time.  Until next time, if you haven’t signed up for Fox Trial Finder you can do it here and if you have signed up take time to check your trial matches or update your profile at the same link. 
 
“It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop.” – Confucius

Other Posts

Partners in Parkinson’s – The Sequel

Written by

Tom Eckhardt

in

This week we attended the Partners in Parkinson’s event in Fort Lauderdale, FL sponsored by Michael J Fox Foundation & AbbVie .  We attended this event in Atlanta last year and came away with new information and new friends as reported in a previous post, On the Road Again.  Since we were in Florida, we thought we would attend the Ft Lauderdale event to find out what’s new, make some new friends, and catch up with Claudia Marshall who heads up the Fox Trial Finder (FTF) Ambassador program and get some pointers on our new roles as FTF Ambassadors. 
 
This year’s event followed the same format at last year with the morning panel sessions covering:
 
  • The Many Faces of Parkinson’s Disease – Moderator Dave Iverson and the four panelists explored how their lives have changed since their PD diagnoses. Each of the panelists discussed how they approached telling family, friends and coworkers, and where they turned for more information about PD, among other topics.
  • Seeing a Movement Disorder Specialist: What to Know, Ask and Expect – This panel included Bob Harmon and his wife Cecily.  Bob is also a FTF Ambassador whom I met at the Sarasota meeting a few weeks ago. They were interviewed by Dr Stuart Isaacson, a local Movement Disorder Specialist.  It was a great session with Dr Isaacson asking Bob a series of questions about his symptoms just as if it was a real appointment. When Bob indicated that mornings are difficult as he takes his last dose of medications at 9pm,  Dr Isaacson recommended a change to the timing of his medications to help alleviate the problem.  They also discussed acting out of dreams, bladder urgency and other non motor symptoms.  After each question Dr Isaacson offered suggestions for new medication or timing of medication or other solutions Bob could take to reduce the impact of the symptom. He even conducted the usual tests like tapping feet and fingers and watching him walk across the stage. And like the speakers at the Sarasota meeting, Dr Isaacson also reinforced the need for regular exercise.  Once again, this was great example of why you should see a Movement Disorder Specialist if at all possible.
  • Parkinson’s Research: The Road Ahead – Moderator Dave Iverson and the panel discussed the new drugs recently  released (Rytary, the extended release levodopa and Duopa, the intestinal gel levodopa), plus what’s coming up such as an inhaler to provide dopamine quickly, new advancements in DBS, and genetic research among other topics. They also pointed out that recent research has shown that regular exercise is beneficial and slows down the progression of PD.
The afternoon sessions included the breakout sessions:
  • Living Well with Parkinson’s – conducted by The Davis Phinney Foundation which provides a holistic approach based on exercise and diet that provides lifelong benefits.
  • Building Connections with Family, Friends and Community –  moderated by Dave Iverson, the panelists in this session discussed personal relationships, how they deal with PD and what they have done to promote awareness about PD. 
  • I’m Still Wondering About – an opportunity to ask the experts questions that weren’t covered during the morning sessions.
Once again, this was an extremely informative event that presented timely information to an audience hungry to learn more about PD. 
The resource fair provided opportunities for participants to meet with local south Florida representatives of the NPF, PAN, and PDF along with MJF and to meet with local providers of PD related medical care such as BIG and LOUD.  And we met with Claudia and had an opportunity to further discuss the FTF Ambassador program and watch the FTF Ambassadors  in action as many attendee’s stopped by their table for information about FTF.
 
As happened at the last event, we added several new members to our ‘world wide’ support group. One of our table mates grew up in Colorado so in addition to comparing notes about our PD, we discussed all things Colorado. Another table mate had just moved to Florida to help care for his father who has PD and he was very interested in all of the information we received during each session. 
 
We also ran into a couple we had met at Kripalu in October, 2013, Marcia and Erwin Guberman.  They have been visiting in Florida for several weeks and will be in the Sarasota area this weekend so we hope to hold a mini-reunion with them and Melissa Wenig and Joel Gordon our Sarasota friends who we also met at Kripalu.  And what would a meeting be without seeing Bill Wilkerson from our Atlanta panel, it seems he follows us everywhere :).  We congratulated him on being recently named this year’s recipient of the Alan Bonander Humanitarian Award which he will receive at the National Parkinson’s Unity Walk in April in New York City. 
 
It was a great event (again) and we highly recommend (again) attending a Partner’s in Parkinson’s event if one is held near you. You can check the 2015 locations and register on the PIP Site.  
 
Next week we will attend another Parkinson’s Cafe event at the Sarasota Ballet and we have guests coming from Colorado for some beach time.  Until next time, if you haven’t signed up for Fox Trial Finder you can do it here and if you have signed up take time to check your trial matches or update your profile at the same link. 
 
“It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop.” – Confucius

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