..ago, I received my “You have Parkinson’s Disease” diagnoses from my neurologist. A lot has happened in those eight years most of which is chronicled on this blog, which I started a few weeks after my diagnoses. A few weeks ago I met with my current neurologist who was pleased with my slow disease progression since last year’s visit. He had no suggestions for changes to my current medication and feels (as I do) that my exercise regimen is a primary reason for keeping PD at bay.
Of course my PD has progressed, I don’t move a quick as I used to, I take more medication than I used to, I even purchased a lift chair this year because it was getting difficult to get up after an evening of watching TV. And I have some occasional dyskinesia and the off times are more frequent than they used to be but, I still try to play tennis at least 5 times a week and participate in the Cycling for PD class twice a week.
I am encouraged by the progress of PD research. New drugs have been developed in the past few years and there are many research studies going on looking for the all elusive ‘cure’. Organizations such as PD Avengers and Ending Parkinson’s Disease are working to publicize the PD pandemic and the need for a cure.
Speaking of pandemics, the Covid 19 pandemic has had a major impact on our ability to get together in a support group type of setting. Zoom is better than nothing but it’s still not the same as person to person contact, whether at the gym during cycling or other exercise class, or at a support group, or at a symposium. With the sudden increase in cases this month, it looks like this situation is not changing anytime soon.
I am thankful for the support of family, friends and readers during the past eight years. Your encouragement and positive comments are much appreciated and push me to do what I can to fight PD. Thank you!
This is my eighth World Parkinson’s Day and my 7th post on the subject (skipped 2018). You can read my earlier posts by selecting the Archives tab above and then Apr to view the post for that year. If you did that, you would see posts ranging from reporting on the annual Oak Ridge PD walk to ranting about awareness for the other 11 months of the year. In between are posts about cycling in the lobby of the YMCA, the Unite for PD campaign and quotes from other bloggers.
Last year’s post was a review of the book Ending Parkinson’s. The authors of this book have continued to impact Parkinson’s awareness with webinars and the Give a Dime about PD campaign discussed in last month’s post. You can find out more about the authors, the book and the movement to end PD at https://endingpd.org/ The book is now available in paperback from Amazon, Indie Bound and Barnes & Nobel with all of the proceeds going to ending PD. If you cannot afford to purchase a copy, email them at info@endingpd.org and they will send you a copy.
The book has inspired the creation of the PD Avengers group which I have also discussed in an earlier posts. If you haven’t joined PD Avengers, please click on the link to the right and support the quest to END PD. This is not a charity nor are they affiliated with any one organization. The goal is to unite 50 million voices worldwide to build a sense of urgency to END PD. If you are already a member, please promote the group to other PwP’s, family members and friends. We are almost 3000 strong now, let’s double the number by the end of Parkinson’s Awareness month 2021!
“It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop.” – Confucius
In 1938 FDR and millions of americans led a march of dimes to end polio. On March 16th, PD Avengers and Ending PD will kick off We Give a Dime about Parkinson’s with a goal of mailing over 10,000 Red Letters to the Whitehouse asking for Presidential support to end PD now. In the book Ending PD (see my review here) one of the goals is to advocate for increased awareness and the campaign to end Polio was one of the examples of how we could meet that goal. Please join us in this effort. You can find out how to get your Red Card and how to watch the webinar on the 16th here. You can join PD Avengers by clicking here. Ask your family and friends to join too!
It’s a new year and time to renew my resolution to continue exercising at least 4 -5 times per week. As 2017 came to a close a new research study was published that shows high intensity interval training (HIIT) delays Parkinson’s progression. As Daniel Corcos, one of the lead authors of the study states “If you have Parkinson’s disease and you want to delay the progression of your symptoms, you should exercise three times a week with your heart rate between 80 and 85 percent maximum. It is that simple.” If you query Google for High Intensity Exercise and Parkinson’s you will find an abundance of articles about this study, here is the link to one of them from Science Daily.
While the need to exercise for PD patients has been shown in many studies, this was one of the first to be conducted for 6 months instead of 12 weeks. The participants were divided into three groups, HIIT exercise, moderate exercise and no exercise. All scored about 20 on a PD scale of 0 – 108 before the study. When scored after the 6 months The HIIT group showed no change while the moderate group got worse by 1.5 points and the no exercise group worsened by 3 points or about a 15% change.
Although the primary exercise used during this study was the treadmill, Kathy, our Parkinson’s cycling instructor immediately figured that we can step up our cycling program to include high intensity intervals and start raising our aerobic fitness level. So, even though many of us thought we were doing high intensity training already (well at least I did), she started pushing us to reach the 80 – 85% heart rate after Thanksgiving. Almost every workout has incorporated HIIT and I am already starting to see a change in just 6 weeks. The first few sessions I found I had to lower the gear to finish the workout. But each time I felt I was getting stronger and this week I was able to increase instead of decrease the gear and still maintain the required 80 – 90 RPM. I am happy with that progress and I am noticing a reduction in my symptoms after exercise including not feeling ‘off’ a half hour or so before it’s time to take my medicines on the day of exercise.
But I wondered what is happening to my aerobic fitness? Then I discovered that my Fitbit app is keeping track of my cardio fitness! The app determined my heart rate zones and then uses those zones and my resting heart rate to compute a cardio fitness score. As you can see in this screen shot on the left, Fitbit has determined that, for me, a heart rate greater than 126 is my peak zone and my cardio zone is 104 – 125. The peak range is approximately 80% of my maximum heart rate so anything above that would be considered high intensity exercise.
The app also graphs my heart rate for the entire day so I can tell from that graph how long I was in the peak zone. The screen shot on the left is for 1/2/18 which includes a cycling class.
November 16, 2017January 2, 2018
So I was in the ‘zone’ for 9 minutes during the class which corresponds to intervals where we pushed up to 85 or 90 RPM for short periods.
And here are screen shots showing my cardio fitness as computed by Fitbit on November 16, 2017 and January 2, 2018. So, in theory, I’ve already improved my Cardio Fitness by a point since we started the HIIT. But just as important is that fact that either score is considered excellent by Fitbit where the average score for men over 60 is 27.2 – 31.0.
Between cycling twice a week, playing tennis 2 -3 times a week and the Dance for PD class I am staying fit, slowing the progression of my Parkinson’s and having fun. We will revisit my cardiac score in a month or so to see if the trend continues or maybe I’m maxed out!
So my New Year’s resolution this year is the same as last year, keep exercising and keep fighting PD. By the way, if you are interested in Pedaling for Parkinson’s, check out this video from the Sarasota YMCA website of one of Kathy’s classes and watch us having fun doing intervals!
“It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop.” – Confucius
It’s a new year and time to renew my resolution to continue exercising at least 4 -5 times per week. As 2017 came to a close a new research study was published that shows high intensity interval training (HIIT) delays Parkinson’s progression. As Daniel Corcos, one of the lead authors of the study states “If you have Parkinson’s disease and you want to delay the progression of your symptoms, you should exercise three times a week with your heart rate between 80 and 85 percent maximum. It is that simple.” If you query Google for High Intensity Exercise and Parkinson’s you will find an abundance of articles about this study, here is the link to one of them from Science Daily.
While the need to exercise for PD patients has been shown in many studies, this was one of the first to be conducted for 6 months instead of 12 weeks. The participants were divided into three groups, HIIT exercise, moderate exercise and no exercise. All scored about 20 on a PD scale of 0 – 108 before the study. When scored after the 6 months The HIIT group showed no change while the moderate group got worse by 1.5 points and the no exercise group worsened by 3 points or about a 15% change.
Although the primary exercise used during this study was the treadmill, Kathy, our Parkinson’s cycling instructor immediately figured that we can step up our cycling program to include high intensity intervals and start raising our aerobic fitness level. So, even though many of us thought we were doing high intensity training already (well at least I did), she started pushing us to reach the 80 – 85% heart rate after Thanksgiving. Almost every workout has incorporated HIIT and I am already starting to see a change in just 6 weeks. The first few sessions I found I had to lower the gear to finish the workout. But each time I felt I was getting stronger and this week I was able to increase instead of decrease the gear and still maintain the required 80 – 90 RPM. I am happy with that progress and I am noticing a reduction in my symptoms after exercise including not feeling ‘off’ a half hour or so before it’s time to take my medicines on the day of exercise.
But I wondered what is happening to my aerobic fitness? Then I discovered that my Fitbit app is keeping track of my cardio fitness! The app determined my heart rate zones and then uses those zones and my resting heart rate to compute a cardio fitness score. As you can see in this screen shot on the left, Fitbit has determined that, for me, a heart rate greater than 126 is my peak zone and my cardio zone is 104 – 125. The peak range is approximately 80% of my maximum heart rate so anything above that would be considered high intensity exercise.
The app also graphs my heart rate for the entire day so I can tell from that graph how long I was in the peak zone. The screen shot on the left is for 1/2/18 which includes a cycling class.
November 16, 2017January 2, 2018
So I was in the ‘zone’ for 9 minutes during the class which corresponds to intervals where we pushed up to 85 or 90 RPM for short periods.
And here are screen shots showing my cardio fitness as computed by Fitbit on November 16, 2017 and January 2, 2018. So, in theory, I’ve already improved my Cardio Fitness by a point since we started the HIIT. But just as important is that fact that either score is considered excellent by Fitbit where the average score for men over 60 is 27.2 – 31.0.
Between cycling twice a week, playing tennis 2 -3 times a week and the Dance for PD class I am staying fit, slowing the progression of my Parkinson’s and having fun. We will revisit my cardiac score in a month or so to see if the trend continues or maybe I’m maxed out!
So my New Year’s resolution this year is the same as last year, keep exercising and keep fighting PD. By the way, if you are interested in Pedaling for Parkinson’s, check out this video from the Sarasota YMCA website of one of Kathy’s classes and watch us having fun doing intervals!
“It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop.” – Confucius
It’s a new year and time to renew my resolution to continue exercising at least 4 -5 times per week. As 2017 came to a close a new research study was published that shows high intensity interval training (HIIT) delays Parkinson’s progression. As Daniel Corcos, one of the lead authors of the study states “If you have Parkinson’s disease and you want to delay the progression of your symptoms, you should exercise three times a week with your heart rate between 80 and 85 percent maximum. It is that simple.” If you query Google for High Intensity Exercise and Parkinson’s you will find an abundance of articles about this study, here is the link to one of them from Science Daily.
While the need to exercise for PD patients has been shown in many studies, this was one of the first to be conducted for 6 months instead of 12 weeks. The participants were divided into three groups, HIIT exercise, moderate exercise and no exercise. All scored about 20 on a PD scale of 0 – 108 before the study. When scored after the 6 months The HIIT group showed no change while the moderate group got worse by 1.5 points and the no exercise group worsened by 3 points or about a 15% change.
Although the primary exercise used during this study was the treadmill, Kathy, our Parkinson’s cycling instructor immediately figured that we can step up our cycling program to include high intensity intervals and start raising our aerobic fitness level. So, even though many of us thought we were doing high intensity training already (well at least I did), she started pushing us to reach the 80 – 85% heart rate after Thanksgiving. Almost every workout has incorporated HIIT and I am already starting to see a change in just 6 weeks. The first few sessions I found I had to lower the gear to finish the workout. But each time I felt I was getting stronger and this week I was able to increase instead of decrease the gear and still maintain the required 80 – 90 RPM. I am happy with that progress and I am noticing a reduction in my symptoms after exercise including not feeling ‘off’ a half hour or so before it’s time to take my medicines on the day of exercise.
But I wondered what is happening to my aerobic fitness? Then I discovered that my Fitbit app is keeping track of my cardio fitness! The app determined my heart rate zones and then uses those zones and my resting heart rate to compute a cardio fitness score. As you can see in this screen shot on the left, Fitbit has determined that, for me, a heart rate greater than 126 is my peak zone and my cardio zone is 104 – 125. The peak range is approximately 80% of my maximum heart rate so anything above that would be considered high intensity exercise.
The app also graphs my heart rate for the entire day so I can tell from that graph how long I was in the peak zone. The screen shot on the left is for 1/2/18 which includes a cycling class.
November 16, 2017January 2, 2018
So I was in the ‘zone’ for 9 minutes during the class which corresponds to intervals where we pushed up to 85 or 90 RPM for short periods.
And here are screen shots showing my cardio fitness as computed by Fitbit on November 16, 2017 and January 2, 2018. So, in theory, I’ve already improved my Cardio Fitness by a point since we started the HIIT. But just as important is that fact that either score is considered excellent by Fitbit where the average score for men over 60 is 27.2 – 31.0.
Between cycling twice a week, playing tennis 2 -3 times a week and the Dance for PD class I am staying fit, slowing the progression of my Parkinson’s and having fun. We will revisit my cardiac score in a month or so to see if the trend continues or maybe I’m maxed out!
So my New Year’s resolution this year is the same as last year, keep exercising and keep fighting PD. By the way, if you are interested in Pedaling for Parkinson’s, check out this video from the Sarasota YMCA website of one of Kathy’s classes and watch us having fun doing intervals!
“It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop.” – Confucius
It is a busy time of year but I wanted send along good wishes for the holiday, pass along a reminder or two and note some items of interest in the Parkinson’s community.
Reminder number one: November is National Caregivers Month. Yes the month is about over but I know that you, like me, are thankful for your care partner(s) every day of the year. Remember there are lots of resources available for care partners and one of the best, available from the Parkinson’s Foundation, is the Caring and Coping guide, written for caregivers at every stage of PD. Download load a copy at this link.
Reminder number two: Tuesday the 28th 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 the Michael J Fox Foundation is shooting to raise $1million in 1 day 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.
Item of interest number two: The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research has launched Fox Insight — an online clinical study that empowers people with PD to partner with researchers and accelerate the development of breakthrough treatments. I have talked about Fox Insight in previous posts but, if you haven’t joined yet, now is the time, your data is needed as we work to find a cure. Click on the link above to get more information and join us.
Item of interest number three: The next World Parkinson’s Congress will be June, 2019 in Kyoto, Japan. Soaring With Hope has started a project to make origami cranes for an art installation to display at the WPC. Each crane represents a person withParkinson’s or a person impacted by Parkinson’s. They are asking each person to give their message of hope, which will be written on a crane. They have a goal of 10,000 cranes to bring to the WPC, each of them with a message of hope written on it to help raise awareness and HOPE for PD globally. Please take a minute to click on this link and add your WORDS OF HOPE, and please spread the word to get others to join in and participate. Thanks to Sharon Krischer (blogging as Twitchy Woman) for providing this information on her blog.
On this Thanksgiving day I am thankful for the support of my wonderful wife, my family, my friends and all of you who take the time to read my occasional posts. Thank you all and Happy Thanksgiving!
Yesterday was our local Parkinson’s Walk held in Oak Ridge,TN. The weather websites were predicting rain and thunderstorms, but it turned out to just be a cloudy day. Our local walk is in support of the Unity Walk in New York City and 100% of the funds raised go to the seven major Parkinson’s research organizations.Despite the weather forecast we had a good turnout and raised over $8100 for PD research. I want to again thank all of you who made a donation in support of Mara and me and Team PK Hope is Alive – THANKS!
We arrived early to help with the setup for the walk and I was glad my stepson, Darrin, joined us for the heavy lifting! This was also our first ‘gig’ as Fox Trial Finder Ambassadors and we set up a table to promote Fox Trial Finder and Fox InSight. We had a lot of activity at our table, handed out a lot of information and MJFF orange brain shaped stress relievers. We met a lot of new people who were interested in both programs and hopefully our efforts result in some new sign ups.
We were asked to speak during the prerace ceremonies so, in addition to our first Trial Finder gig, I made my first presentation about current research and the need for participating in Fox Trial Finder and Fox InSight. I had prepared some notes (about 7 pages when printed in large type!) but found it hard to read the notes, maintain some eye contact, speak loudly AND hold the microphone at the same time so it was more of an ‘off the cuff’ speech it but it seemed to go OK for a first attempt.
This week I moved the blog to its own internet domain www.tomspdblog.com which is easier for me (and you) to remember when people ask for the address. Google assures me there should be no noticeable change for readers as both the old and the new address will end up at the blog. So far it seems to be working OK, but those of you who have the address bookmarked may want to update your bookmark to the new address.
Next Thursday we go to Vanderbilt for my next appointment with my Movement Disorder Specialist. I continue to be so much better on the new medication and I hope Dr. Davis agrees. I am also hoping to be considered for the NPF Parkinson’s Outcomes Project which is conducted at the NPF Center’s of Excellence of which Vanderbilt is one. They have been following PwP since 2009 with a goal of establishing models of excellent PD care for best health outcomes. You can read more on the NPF website at this link .
I’m still working at reviewing some of the exercise options available for PwP, maybe it will be done by the next post (I’m pretty sure procrastination is another non motor symptom!) In the meantime, don’t forget to sign up for Fox Trial Finder and Fox Insight and be an agent for change!
“It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop.” – Confucius
