• PD School – 2020

    Some of you may be familiar with Dr. Laurie K Mischley from Bastyr University in Seattle. She has a medical degree in Naturopathic Medicine and specializes in the nutritional requirements for neuro degenerative disorders. She has spent over 10 years working with PD patients and has a clinical trial going on regarding Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) in PD where participants (I have been one since 8/2014) complete a series of surveys every 6 months to report the status and progression of their PD and we also compete a 24 hour food diary. She has presented programs at the World Parkinson’s Congress and other research meetings and she is considered an expert in the nutritional needs of PD patients.

    In addition to seeing patients and conducting research, Laurie also hosts a week long Parkinson’s Summer School at Baystr and she is now offering PD School 2020, an on line course.   She describes the course as follows:

    “Parkinson’s School was created to be a resource for patients and their family members. Clinic visits are too few and far between and patients have questions that are going unanswered. Over the past 10 years I’ve treated over 3000 patients with Parkinson’s and these courses represent the themes I find myself repeating.

    Throughout 2020, a new course will be released on the 14th and 28th of every month. Comments and course discussion will be open for the two weeks after each course to allow time for questions. After comments close, you will continue to have unlimited access to the videos and may watch them as often as you’d like.

    As far as I know, online education programs to teach patients to better navigate their disease do not exist. I’m hoping this program will stimulate conversation, collaboration, and a sense of empowerment throughout the community.“

    You can register for the course here. The cost of the course is $10 per lesson or $150 for all 24 lessons.  Use coupon code NWPF-HOPE for a 20% discount bringing the price down to $120 for all 24 lessons. Below are the topics that will be covered during the year so you can pick and choose if you don’t want to sign up for the entire course. 

    You can watch the welcome for no charge where she discusses her background and credentials and the outline of the course so you have a better idea of what will be offered before you commit to taking the courses. I have signed up for the full course and I have included my thoughts about the first course below.

    Lesson One – Orientation

    I think this is the video we wish we could have viewed when we were first diagnosed.  It covers what PD is and how it is more than the motor symptoms that affect us and what we can do to delay or reverse it.  If you are on the fence about taking the course I highly recommend  you purchase the first lesson for $10 just for the knowledge you will gain about Parkinson’s, how it progresses and what she has been doing to reverse or slow progression. 

    She and her research team have created a PD scoring system that is easy to complete and correlates well with the UPDRS and other tests we often take at the Doctor’s office for both diagnosis and current status.  Her goal is to reduce your score by the end of the year.  The PRO PD test is available to anyone at propd.org.  There is no cost and it takes about 5 minutes to complete and get a score.  I took it and ended up with a score of 744.  I have asked for my previous scores from my participation in the CAM trial and will be interested to see if there is a change and which way, since my exercise level now is about double what  it was in 2014/15.

    All of her ideas are supported by slides that contain relevant research reports along with supporting data from the CAM study. This class is interesting and provides a wealth of information for PwP’s. I will keep you posted as I progress through the remaining classes.

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

    PS: I just received an email from National Parkinson’s Foundation, Dr. Mischley is the featured expert on their next Expert Briefing webinar on March 17, 2020 from 1pm – 2pm ET. More information is available here If you are reading this post after 3/17/2020, all of the webinars are recorded and made available on their website.

  • Happy New Year!

    OK maybe a belated wish but a sincere one none the less, for indeed it is a New Year and for most (if not all) of us, the only double digit (2020) year we will see. So I hope your holidays were joyous and that your new year has started out right!

    Here’s what’s happened in our world since my last post:

    We finished the holiday season attending various events with friends including riding the Sarasota trolley to view Christmas lights, catching a Christmas concert by the ‘living’ Christmas tree at a local church, attending a Mo-Town Christmas celebration, catching a play at the Florida Studio Theater, and hosting brunch for a few friends on Christmas day. And then, we bought a new car and finished the year by watching the last sunset over the gulf for 2019 on New Years Eve. Whew!!

    I started the new year out with a visit to my neurologist where I was awarded a gold star for the best patient of the day! Well at least as of 10am that morning anyway. He was happy with my lack of progression, my continued efforts to exercise daily and he was OK with my efforts to finally get my Parkinson’s drugs working with minimal off time. He even suggested cancelling my next appointment and going to once every 6 months. So, for us PwPs it was a great visit, he didn’t change or add medications, was happy with my finger tapping, getting out of the chair and walking and I got a pat on the back and a “keep doing what you are doing” . Perfect!!

    We have continued to keep up with tennis most everyday and I am cycling 3 days a week now that our cycling coach is also conducting two classes a week at a second location. According to my FitBit I am averaging about 6-7 hours of exercise per week with 3 hours high intensity (cycling) and 3 – 4 hours of doubles tennis at a medium level.

    Speaking of cycling, I have been working on a website about the Pedaling for Parkinson’s classes in the Sarasota area and the benefits of exercise for PwP’s. Click here to view the site SRQ Pedals to Fight PD. We will also use the website for class members and cycling coaches who want to download recorded audio of some of our rides to listen to when they are unable to attend class, traveling, etc.

    If you haven’t read Simon Stott’s year end review of 2019 on his Science of Parkinson’s Blog, I highly recommend you take a look at it. Sometimes we feel like nothing new is happening in PD research but you will find that a lot of exciting research is going on. You can read it here and you can read his post on what’s on the horizon for 2020 here.

    I recently signed up for PD School 2020 by Dr Laurie Mischley and had planned to write about it in this post, but this post is long enough and I think it deserves a post of it’s own. Yes that means I might have two posts in one week!! Stay tuned and see if it happens.

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

  • Happy Thanksgiving

    Wow, it is already Thanksgiving Day and that means this year is almost over! Seems like it was just New Years Day last month. We are in Knoxville for the weekend but I wanted to wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving and best wishes for the Holiday season.

    A quick reminder that following Black Friday tomorrow and Cyber Monday is Giving Tuesday, a great time to make a donation to your favorite charity, no matter what the cause.  Several of the PD Foundations will be matching your donation on Tuesday and I’m sure that is also true for other charities.   It is a great opportunity to make a difference.

    You might recall from my last post that the YMCA where I take my Pedaling with Parkinson’s class was scheduled to close September 13, 2019. This announcement caused a massive outburst from members and the community of Sarasota resulting in a new entity being formed to take over the two fitness centers. But it went right down to the wire (in fact they actually closed as scheduled and then reopened 3 days later) before we knew if we would have class the week of September 16th. So our coach had branched out and we had a plan in place to move our class to HealthFit, the gym where I first started cycling for PD. (You can read my post about that experience here. )

    When we were able to save the YMCA, she continued to coach a class at HealthFit and I have started going to that class when possible to up my cycling days to the recommended 3 times per week. I still feel this is the best exercise I have found for slowing the progression of my PD. Studies continue to show that high intensity interval training improves dopamine production while providing cardio benefits and slowing progression. If you are on the fence about trying cycling take a look at this recent study reported on the Science of Parkinson’s blog.

    We are excited for the ‘winter’ weather here in Florida, it has made our almost daily tennis games much more pleasant and enjoyable. We are playing most days and occasionally we even play twice a day! I don’t know why we aren’t on the senior tennis circuit, surely all this training should turn us into another Roger Federer or Ashleigh Barty!! I guess we will just have to keep it up until it happens 🙂

    Coming up – Parkinson’s Revolution – an indoor cycling experience taking place February 8 sponsored by the Parkinson’s Foundation. This event combines passion, determination and community to generate awareness and advance our mission toward a cure. You can find more information here and I will post more information on the blog as our plans firm up.

    Have a great holiday season!

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

IT IS WHAT IT IS!

Parkinson’s Awareness Month Is….Almost Over

Yep, here it is almost the end of April and the end of my third year going through Parkinson’s Awareness Month (April 1 – 30), and Parkinson’s Awareness Week (April 18 – 24th) and World Parkinson’s Day (April 11th (also Dr Parkinson’s birthday).  And today I’m wondering shouldn’t every month, week, or day be Parkinson Awareness month, week or day?  I don’t know about you but I’m aware of my Parkinson’s every day, and I don’t think I can get away with ignoring my PD from May to March waiting for the next Parkinson’s Awareness Month.  Changing my social media icons doesn’t stop my Parkinson’s and, if we can’t keep the need for a cure in front of everyone all year, how do we expect to secure funding for necessary research, clinical trials etc. Does Congress only meet one month a year?  OK maybe so, but they did proclaim April National Parkinson’s’ Disease Month this year. Do I only need to write one blog post a year (or 30 posts during the month of April, or 7 posts during Awareness Week?  I don’t think setting aside a month, week or day is the answer!

OK, I’ll take my tongue out of my cheek (or is it put my tongue in?) but I have to say I feel better getting that off my chest.  We can’t pretend that PD doesn’t exist the other 11 months of the year, just like we can’t pretend the same for Autism (also April) or Alzheimer’s (November) or Breast Cancer (October) just to name a few.  We have made tremendous strides in the past 5 years in PD research because we work to gather the support of family, friends and strangers, not just in April but year around.  So, if you didn’t get a chance to change your social icon, or participate in a fundraiser or attend a special PD event this month, you can still do something to help next month, or the month after, or……  Let’s not let up because Parkinson’s Awareness Month is over.

Our East Tennessee Support Group held it’s annual walk on April 16th, it was a beautiful day, we had a great turn out and so far we have raised over $12,500, 100% of which goes to fund research at the seven major Parkinson’s organizations through the National Parkinson’s Unity Walk held April 22, 2016.  The National total so far is over $1.2 million.  I want again to thank all of my supporters this year, together we will find a cure!

Speaking of the seven major organizations, if you haven’t heard, there is some welcome consolidation going on among the these groups.  PAN (Parkinson’s Action Network), primarily our voice on the hill, has become the Policy unit of the Michael J Fox Foundation.  In addition, NPF (National Parkinson’s Foundation) and PDF (Parkinson’s Disease Foundation) have signed an agreement to merge during this year.  I feel like this is a good thing, all of the organizations have similar goals – Find A Cure- and they don’t need to be in competition.

So we are back from Florida and have been attending the Silver Sneakers Program and using the weight equipment at the local gym.  We are shooting to maintain at least one hour per day/5 days per week and we have hit it most weeks so far.

We have rented a town home in Sarasota for a year to give us a chance to experience the area in all seasons, not just when it is cold in TN and warm there.  So we will go down and come back up through out the summer/fall seasons plus spend most of the winter there. No plans at the moment to sell the Lake Cottage, but we keep hearing that too many people wait too long to make a decision about moving and end up somewhere they don’t enjoy.  We know at some point we need a single story residence and we like the PD community in Sarasota and this opportunity popped up the last week of our stay so we jumped on it.  Watch this space for more information about how it all works out.

Couple of last minute items:
1) Partners In Parkinson’s will offer a live video feed on Saturday May 14th.  Click here for more information and to sign up.  A great opportunity if you haven’t been able to attend a local event.

This year the Fourth Triennial World Parkinson’s Congress will be held in Portland OR, September 20 – 23.  Early registration ends July 5th.  Mara and I are attending and serving as volunteers.  Check out the event schedule and register here.

Finally, I saw this great info graphic on  Parkinson’s Journey, a blog I follow by Sherri Woodbridge. This is part of a larger info grapic from the American Parkinson Disease Association.  I think it hits the exercise nail right on the head!

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

Other Posts

IT IS WHAT IT IS!

Parkinson’s Awareness Month Is….Almost Over

Yep, here it is almost the end of April and the end of my third year going through Parkinson’s Awareness Month (April 1 – 30), and Parkinson’s Awareness Week (April 18 – 24th) and World Parkinson’s Day (April 11th (also Dr Parkinson’s birthday).  And today I’m wondering shouldn’t every month, week, or day be Parkinson Awareness month, week or day?  I don’t know about you but I’m aware of my Parkinson’s every day, and I don’t think I can get away with ignoring my PD from May to March waiting for the next Parkinson’s Awareness Month.  Changing my social media icons doesn’t stop my Parkinson’s and, if we can’t keep the need for a cure in front of everyone all year, how do we expect to secure funding for necessary research, clinical trials etc. Does Congress only meet one month a year?  OK maybe so, but they did proclaim April National Parkinson’s’ Disease Month this year. Do I only need to write one blog post a year (or 30 posts during the month of April, or 7 posts during Awareness Week?  I don’t think setting aside a month, week or day is the answer!

OK, I’ll take my tongue out of my cheek (or is it put my tongue in?) but I have to say I feel better getting that off my chest.  We can’t pretend that PD doesn’t exist the other 11 months of the year, just like we can’t pretend the same for Autism (also April) or Alzheimer’s (November) or Breast Cancer (October) just to name a few.  We have made tremendous strides in the past 5 years in PD research because we work to gather the support of family, friends and strangers, not just in April but year around.  So, if you didn’t get a chance to change your social icon, or participate in a fundraiser or attend a special PD event this month, you can still do something to help next month, or the month after, or……  Let’s not let up because Parkinson’s Awareness Month is over.

Our East Tennessee Support Group held it’s annual walk on April 16th, it was a beautiful day, we had a great turn out and so far we have raised over $12,500, 100% of which goes to fund research at the seven major Parkinson’s organizations through the National Parkinson’s Unity Walk held April 22, 2016.  The National total so far is over $1.2 million.  I want again to thank all of my supporters this year, together we will find a cure!

Speaking of the seven major organizations, if you haven’t heard, there is some welcome consolidation going on among the these groups.  PAN (Parkinson’s Action Network), primarily our voice on the hill, has become the Policy unit of the Michael J Fox Foundation.  In addition, NPF (National Parkinson’s Foundation) and PDF (Parkinson’s Disease Foundation) have signed an agreement to merge during this year.  I feel like this is a good thing, all of the organizations have similar goals – Find A Cure- and they don’t need to be in competition.

So we are back from Florida and have been attending the Silver Sneakers Program and using the weight equipment at the local gym.  We are shooting to maintain at least one hour per day/5 days per week and we have hit it most weeks so far.

We have rented a town home in Sarasota for a year to give us a chance to experience the area in all seasons, not just when it is cold in TN and warm there.  So we will go down and come back up through out the summer/fall seasons plus spend most of the winter there. No plans at the moment to sell the Lake Cottage, but we keep hearing that too many people wait too long to make a decision about moving and end up somewhere they don’t enjoy.  We know at some point we need a single story residence and we like the PD community in Sarasota and this opportunity popped up the last week of our stay so we jumped on it.  Watch this space for more information about how it all works out.

Couple of last minute items:
1) Partners In Parkinson’s will offer a live video feed on Saturday May 14th.  Click here for more information and to sign up.  A great opportunity if you haven’t been able to attend a local event.

This year the Fourth Triennial World Parkinson’s Congress will be held in Portland OR, September 20 – 23.  Early registration ends July 5th.  Mara and I are attending and serving as volunteers.  Check out the event schedule and register here.

Finally, I saw this great info graphic on  Parkinson’s Journey, a blog I follow by Sherri Woodbridge. This is part of a larger info grapic from the American Parkinson Disease Association.  I think it hits the exercise nail right on the head!

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

Other Posts

Tag: Partner’s in Parkinson’s

  • Parkinson’s Awareness Month Is….Almost Over

    Parkinson’s Awareness Month Is….Almost Over

    Yep, here it is almost the end of April and the end of my third year going through Parkinson’s Awareness Month (April 1 – 30), and Parkinson’s Awareness Week (April 18 – 24th) and World Parkinson’s Day (April 11th (also Dr Parkinson’s birthday).  And today I’m wondering shouldn’t every month, week, or day be Parkinson Awareness month, week or day?  I don’t know about you but I’m aware of my Parkinson’s every day, and I don’t think I can get away with ignoring my PD from May to March waiting for the next Parkinson’s Awareness Month.  Changing my social media icons doesn’t stop my Parkinson’s and, if we can’t keep the need for a cure in front of everyone all year, how do we expect to secure funding for necessary research, clinical trials etc. Does Congress only meet one month a year?  OK maybe so, but they did proclaim April National Parkinson’s’ Disease Month this year. Do I only need to write one blog post a year (or 30 posts during the month of April, or 7 posts during Awareness Week?  I don’t think setting aside a month, week or day is the answer!

    OK, I’ll take my tongue out of my cheek (or is it put my tongue in?) but I have to say I feel better getting that off my chest.  We can’t pretend that PD doesn’t exist the other 11 months of the year, just like we can’t pretend the same for Autism (also April) or Alzheimer’s (November) or Breast Cancer (October) just to name a few.  We have made tremendous strides in the past 5 years in PD research because we work to gather the support of family, friends and strangers, not just in April but year around.  So, if you didn’t get a chance to change your social icon, or participate in a fundraiser or attend a special PD event this month, you can still do something to help next month, or the month after, or……  Let’s not let up because Parkinson’s Awareness Month is over.

    Our East Tennessee Support Group held it’s annual walk on April 16th, it was a beautiful day, we had a great turn out and so far we have raised over $12,500, 100% of which goes to fund research at the seven major Parkinson’s organizations through the National Parkinson’s Unity Walk held April 22, 2016.  The National total so far is over $1.2 million.  I want again to thank all of my supporters this year, together we will find a cure!

    Speaking of the seven major organizations, if you haven’t heard, there is some welcome consolidation going on among the these groups.  PAN (Parkinson’s Action Network), primarily our voice on the hill, has become the Policy unit of the Michael J Fox Foundation.  In addition, NPF (National Parkinson’s Foundation) and PDF (Parkinson’s Disease Foundation) have signed an agreement to merge during this year.  I feel like this is a good thing, all of the organizations have similar goals – Find A Cure- and they don’t need to be in competition.

    So we are back from Florida and have been attending the Silver Sneakers Program and using the weight equipment at the local gym.  We are shooting to maintain at least one hour per day/5 days per week and we have hit it most weeks so far.

    We have rented a town home in Sarasota for a year to give us a chance to experience the area in all seasons, not just when it is cold in TN and warm there.  So we will go down and come back up through out the summer/fall seasons plus spend most of the winter there. No plans at the moment to sell the Lake Cottage, but we keep hearing that too many people wait too long to make a decision about moving and end up somewhere they don’t enjoy.  We know at some point we need a single story residence and we like the PD community in Sarasota and this opportunity popped up the last week of our stay so we jumped on it.  Watch this space for more information about how it all works out.

    Couple of last minute items:
    1) Partners In Parkinson’s will offer a live video feed on Saturday May 14th.  Click here for more information and to sign up.  A great opportunity if you haven’t been able to attend a local event.

    This year the Fourth Triennial World Parkinson’s Congress will be held in Portland OR, September 20 – 23.  Early registration ends July 5th.  Mara and I are attending and serving as volunteers.  Check out the event schedule and register here.

    Finally, I saw this great info graphic on  Parkinson’s Journey, a blog I follow by Sherri Woodbridge. This is part of a larger info grapic from the American Parkinson Disease Association.  I think it hits the exercise nail right on the head!

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

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