Robert Harris

No. If I were always honest when someone asks, “How are you today?” or “How are  you feeling?” much of the time I would have to day, “Wretched, exhausted, tired, having some more balance issues.” Other times I would have to say, “I’m sleepy because my myoclonous kicked in a 3:30 this morning and kept me awake. I couldn’t move around it because I…[Read more]

To Robert C from Robert H:

Well, compadre in PD combat, we have a lot in common. Your last paragraph in another related post mentions your problem with typing. My accuracy rate is about 10-6: for every ten letters I type, six of them are typos requiring me to back up and retype. If my meds have pretty much burned off, I have to quit typing. And…[Read more]

It can sometimes be a challenge to separate what is a side effect of medication and what is a symptom of Parkinson’s. For example, fatigue, insomnia, constipation and a few other presentations can be related to either the disease or the medication (or maybe both). If  you read the monograph accompanying these medicines, you’ll note that they will…[Read more]

Russ:

What is the strength of your pills? Do you take straight butyric acid or GABA?

Okay, let’s see if we can discover why natural remedies are so often shoved aside by the pharmaceutical industry:

1. A remedy must be proven to be SAFE and EFFECTIVE before it can be declared a genuine remedy.

2. To prove a remedy is safe and effective, several rounds of development and testing are necessary. For a new chemical, the cost to big…[Read more]

In this episode of How to Take Your Medicine, we offer some information about where to stick the Neupro patches.  Those Parkies with too much free time might have tried to read the full monograph that comes with each 30 patches, but having access to the Cliff’s Notes version (or is it the Reader’s Digest Condensed Books version?) might provide a…[Read more]

Okay, I’ll come out of the closet. I’m a Christian, and the faith and my relationship with the Lord have made all the difference. The reasons are. first, we are all going to die, but God  has a cure for death. Second, take a look in the Bible and you’ll see that some of the greatest promoters of  Christianity suffered horribly. The Apostle Paul g…[Read more]

In high school, I was a macho meanie. Six feet one, and intimidating everyone by hulking around at 179 pounds. Okay, the macho part is a lie, as was meanie, intimidating, and hulking. Actually, if you think about a 179 pounds hanging off a 6-foor frame,  you will more than likely think, “string bean” instead of “nightclub bouncer.” Then I went to…[Read more]

I met a woman through eHarmony after we were deemed by some computer or pocket calculator to be compatible. We later met in person and ate food together. She  brought me an avocado and a jar of green olives because in one of our emails I had said I liked them. I think I kissed her at the end of the second date, while she was distracted putting…[Read more]

Got Pills?

Bob Harris, March 17, 2020

Scene 1

My father, who was a medical doctor in his prime about seventy years ago, used to say about someone he found utterly distasteful, “He is just a pill,” or “That woman is a pill.” I use the word “distasteful” intentionally. Many pills in those days were just stamped out of powdered ingredients…[Read more]

My Parkinson’s Disease is Not Progressing
Bob Harris, Original: August 22, 2017, update, March 16, 2020

They have it all wrong. In fact, they’ve got it backwards. And I find that positively retropulsive. (Did you get that joke? Huh? Huh? Retropulsion is the fancy term for those little backward steps some of us Parkies take, to prevent us from fal…[Read more]

My Name Is Bob, and I Don’t Have Parkinson’s
Bob Harris March 16, 2020

So they look at me and notice some things about me and say, “You have Parkinson’s Disease, don’t you?”
To which I say, “No. I don’t have Parkinson’s Disease.”
And they say, “Then why do you take little shuffling steps and sometimes freeze and can’t decide which foot to st…[Read more]

Ten Things Parkinson’s Disease Has Taught Me
Bob Harris  July 13, 2016, revised March 16, 2020

Yes, Parkinson’s Disease has taught me many valuable facts, about myself and others. Indeed, a Parky can see the world and others in it in a totally unique way (and that’s not just because we are stooped over when we stand or walk). Anyway, here ar…[Read more]

There are several magnesium supplements, some less expensive and some more expensive. The various compounds  have different absorbency speeds and total absorbency. For some reviews, check out https://www.bestreviews.guide/magnesium-supplements

and see https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/magnesium-types

I have just begun my magnesium regimen,…[Read more]

Here are some thoughts on why regulating  Parkinson’s medications can be tricky:

1. Parkinson’s is a progressive disease, so over time medications will have to be increased. But the most effective increase is not obvious, Do  you increase dopamine (Cd/Ld), add a dopamine agonist to make the Cd/Ld work better, or add an MAO-B  like rasagiline to…[Read more]