The Impatient Patient - a Column by Doc Irish

In my columnist profile, I describe myself as a “patient research scientist,” although I’m not a real scientist (and I’m not patient). This description probably applies to most people with neurological disorders, as we’re constantly searching for new therapies that might work. And if you’re like me, you need to…

In recent columns, I touched on my frustrations with clinical trials and how, as a patient, I felt out of the loop regarding meaningful research and development. Despite all my efforts to get involved, I’ve realized it’s a slow-churning, big-money system. I can’t see how I can personally make…

I became extremely frustrated with the whole treatment and research system when I was denied access to the Parkinson’s disease clinical trial I wanted to participate in. That prompted many questions: Why does research take so long? Where does all the fundraising money go? Why do I feel so…

What’s the best way for people with Parkinson’s to contribute to research? I recently talked about how there are always more questions than answers and how there must be better ways to solve our problems. I highlighted the obvious need to engineer better brain-body communications. I’ve encouraged patients…

Since I was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease four years ago, I’ve become obsessed with trying to understand everything about it. I don’t know if that’s good or bad, but I question and test everything. And I mean everything. As time passes, I find myself doing that more and more…

I was watching my youngest daughter’s high school lacrosse game the other night and commented to my wife, “She’s seeing the field really well right now.” We talked a bit about how it’s obvious, from a spectator’s perspective, when our kids are bringing their A-game and are engaged and anticipating…

In my last column, I discussed the importance of pursuing a collaborative effort with healthcare providers to develop a holistic and personalized approach to managing Parkinson’s symptoms. Today, I’ll delve into the ongoing trials and errors I’ve encountered in identifying the most effective combination of therapies to…

Living with Parkinson’s disease is an intricate dance of challenges. For me, pain has been a persistent partner on this journey. For years, my coping strategy was to try to push the pain out of my mind, summoning internal strength to accept it as an enigmatic facet of…

When I was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, one of my fears was that I would have to stop refereeing basketball. The game of basketball has been a big part of my life since childhood. Some of my best memories with my dad were with him coaching my youth teams.

Can there be anything beautiful in Parkinson’s disease? It’s so easy to see the ugly and clutch the feeling that all is lost. I hate to say it, but sometimes we need to experience loss to break through to another level of understanding. This certainly has been true in…