I recently had an unusual attack of kidney stones, passing 20 medium to large crystals within 24 hours. I stopped taking the plant-based vitamin I was trying, thinking it was the culprit, and the stones stopped. But the healing process took a surprisingly long time. My usual routine was thrown…
Possibilities With Parkinson’s — Dr. C
Dr. C is the familiar pseudonym for readers who visit “Possibilities with Parkinson’s.” The love of writing has spanned his careers as a research theoretician, brain rehabilitation clinician, and college professor. Dr. C was first diagnosed with early-stage Parkinson’s disease in 2014. His interest in how Parkinson’s disease can manifest itself in other body and mind symptoms has become a focused area for his research and writing. His goal is to share current medical research on how Parkinson’s can be diagnosed in early stages, and to help other early-stage Parkinson’s patients manage their disease process in a holistic healing approach.
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You can’t walk around with a doctor in one pocket and a therapist in the other. In fact, you can’t even walk around with your hands in your pockets if you have Parkinson’s disease because you need them to prevent you from bumping into things and falling. Nobody…
Celebrating the recent holiday here in the U.S. tested our ability to adapt. It has always been a time for the family to gather, but not this year. Our family members decided not to congregate in a physical space. Instead, we adapted, connected through video, spoke on the phone, and…
When I was struggling with healthcare providers to arrive at the right diagnosis, I kept wondering, why is Parkinson’s so difficult to diagnose? I asked my favorite neurologist, Dr. Donald Higgins Jr., “Has anyone come up with a good theory explaining the large variability in how Parkinson’s presents?” He answered…
“You’re a veteran. All Vietnam vets have PTSD.” This simple statement misses the mark. Prior to my Parkinson’s diagnosis, I was not diagnosed with any of the symptoms attributable to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Despite having PTSD ruled out by psychologists twice, it still rears its ugly head. Yes, many…
The imaginary talking neocortex of my brain, whom I call Neo, looks up from reading my column, “Possibilities with Parkinson’s.” “Hey, Doc. I still don’t understand this conductor theory. How can I use it as a treatment for my Parkinson’s?” he asks, referring to a mental construct Dr. C…
The symbiotic conductor/exercise training, which centers on a mental construct for shifting perspective that I’ve described in previous columns, helps me to live better with Parkinson’s. Putting it in place as an early intervention (unknowingly on my part) was a crucial piece of this successful outcome. If we…
In previous columns, I have discussed using the conductor (in particular, the resting mind state) to suppress faulty input from the second dopamine center, thus reducing the effects of Parkinson’s symptoms. Is there any evidence to support this besides my ramblings? The first piece of evidence is my own…
I have written about “the conductor,” a mental construct useful for shifting perspective. The conductor likely has major neural components in a network of areas in the brain: the default mode network, the salience network, and the executive network. In this column, I will focus on the default mode…
The idea for the title of my column, “Possibilities with Parkinson’s,” arose from my attempts to understand what was happening to me. Because I do not display the dramatic motor symptoms of Parkinson’s disease, but have many of the non-motor symptoms, I seek out research that can help explain…
During my training for the U.S. Marine Corps at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, in 1968, I was exposed to toxic chemicals in the water. Later, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs investigated and found that Parkinson’s disease was strongly associated with exposure to those toxic chemicals. Out of the…
The conductor is a mental construct that supports metacognitive processes while in a rested state. That means it is a nonjudgmental observer of the mind that is curious without causing harm. There are many benefits to having a strong conductor, but for me, the most beneficial is the…
A loud crack. I turned and yelled at my grandson, “Keep the billiard balls on the table!” The noise was so loud that I was sure the ball had smashed into the Sheetrock wall. I’ve been known to bounce a ball off the table practicing a special billiard shot. But,…
It was one of those “perfect storm” weeks, when everything came together in a cumulative effect to make life miserable. Too much stress on my system makes it exceedingly difficult to use the conductor due to malfunctions. This only happens to me a few times a year, but it is…
Conductor brain training has made living with Parkinson’s disease easier for me. The most amazing thing I discovered while using what I call “the conductor” is that signals coming into my brain are sometimes distorted. This distortion can take place in the form of signal amplification or suppression. If…
Imagine that it is a bad day, and you are also in a Parkinson’s disease “off-period.” Normally, it would be time to rest, right? But what if family arrives for dinner? It was the only time they could manage in their busy lives, and I really wanted to see them.
They all stood and watched the dog run through my gardens, trampling the newly transplanted iris and hostas. Neighbors called for their poorly trained dog to come. It did not. It continued in its role as a canine tank. I love my gardens. I put a lot of sweat into…
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