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Managing Freezing Episodes
My Dad’s freezing episodes are becoming more frequent. And they last longer. Most of the time, I notice it happening while he’s dodging some kind of object. He tells me that standing up straight and focusing on moving one foot at a time helps him unfreeze.
Have you found any useful ways to manage freezing episodes? Do they happen everywhere for you? Or just in particular areas of the home? How long does each episode usually last?
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5 Replies
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I also have a problem with freezing. It happens every time I get up and try to walk, It also happens when I have to stop and then try to walk again; or if I am in confined area. It has become quite debilitating. I am very concerned about fails due to freezing. I don’t know of any surefire way to”unfreeze”. Sometimes it seems to help to concentrate on moving one foot at a time and other times it helps to concentrate on something else entirely. Wish I could offer you more helpful information.
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Thank you for sharing your thoughts, JoEllen. My Dad seems to think that rhythm helps him. And straightening his posture makes it easier to get unstuck. But I wonder if adjusting the layout of a room can help too, because he seems to get most stuck around obstacles.
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My solution for part of the problem of freezing is scheduling of meds in such a way as to take into account more demanding physical activities, say 1-2 hours if tennis.
Presently my levocarb is effective (wrt both tremors and freezind0 for only the first 3 out of a 4 hour cycle between meds, so the last hour is pretty much “off” in terms of both tremors and gait freezing. So I need to avoid it during the tennis, or I may very well fall in some play sequences where acceleration or changes of direction are required.
In order to do that, I take my usual dose (1.5 pills of 25/100) with 30 minutes in advance of the start of tennis. This means I will be left with 2.5 hours of “on” period, and that freezing will mostly occur after tennis.
The more I’m advancing in age, the more I feel that an at least 30 min warm-up (flexibility, tennis footwork) is necessary before stepping on the court.
The 20 minutes before tennis proper ensure that the meds are absorbed and effective.
Look at Schwarzmann, a one-time top 10 player, for inspiration to design simplified version of his exercises.
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My freezing will occur during my off times. It is actually a trigger for me to know I am starting to run on empty. When freezing occurs I have to think about how I am going to start. left foot or right foot forward. I normally take my average step and try keeping the right pace so that I will not fall. Careful to not run. When freezing starts to occur. I take a break because it is downhill from there. Time to refuel. Take 12 carb/levo 25/100 a day
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