Columns

I bit my tongue hard enough to draw blood, releasing that unique rusty-iron taste. This wasn’t the first time. When I have had multiple teeth removed (leaving open spaces for a few weeks while artificial teeth were being made), my mouth muscles had difficulty adjusting. The consequences are quite painful.

When you live with a chronic illness, it is sometimes so easy to fool yourself into thinking life isn’t so bad. Life isn’t so hard. You’ve got this. Then you go to a doctor’s appointment and walk out of his office with a rock sitting in the pit of your…

I find I can make lots and lots of lists of lots and lots of goals, but rarely do they amount to anything. Some lists were New Year’s resolutions I made in February because I never got around to making a list in time for New Year’s. However, on…

My previous columns about pain and chronic pain seem to have fallen a bit short for my liking. So, following are some commonsense tips that I use when medically appropriate. I hope they help you as they’ve helped me. Tip 1: I exercise. It may seem counterintuitive…

There is a difference between dreams and daydreams. Daydreams are filled with pleasant thoughts that distract you from the present while you are awake. Dreams are thoughts and images that occur in the brain while you sleep. Then there are nightmares — frightening, unpleasant dreams. And then there are…

I try to be productive while in the waiting room and today is no exception. However, this time I am not in a neurology waiting room. This time, it’s rheumatology. Why rheumatology? This is my story. When I was diagnosed five years ago, one doctor told me two things that…

What is your biggest point of frustration in living with Parkinson’s disease? Mine is my inability to speak up. I have a lot of pain with this disease. I drool when I don’t want to. (I can’t actually think of a time when I want to drool.) I…

For 15 years, I have been a failure at managing my chronic pain. I was prescribed oxycodone with gabapentin, and after my Parkinson’s diagnosis, I was put on levodopa. This decreased my pain to the point where oxycodone was no longer needed. I also tried alcohol and marijuana in a…

Summer is here in the U.S., bringing with it humidity and heat. So, in the midst of the stickiness, sweatiness, and eventually, the ripened smelliness, we might ask ourselves, “Should I stop drinking water and dehydrate myself so that I stop sweating, thereby skipping the stinking?” Uh, not recommended.

I was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in November 2015. Since then, I have explored both allopathic and naturopathic solutions. From a naturopathic perspective, I immersed myself in Parkinson’s disease summer school, which dedicates a week to strategies to improve Parkinson’s outcomes. I also consult with a naturopathic doctor every few…