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Sunday 30 September 2018

Oh that magic feeling

Saw Paul McCartney a couple of days ago. I had seen him once before - a very memorable concert, but this one, this one "blew my mind" as we used to say. It was, quite simply the best show I have ever seen (and yes, I have seen some good entertainment, eg, Black Sabbath, Led Zepplin, Iron Butterfly, Segovia, etc). At 76 years of age, Paul is still the greatest.

Only one problem. I was so "up" for the show, so into the music and the spectacle, that I subconsciously released the chains that were keeping my PD captive. My hand began to tremble, a long muscle (or nerve - I don't know anatomy) in my forearm began to tighten while my right leg went into spasm.

It was all very weird. It makes me think that my brain must work in concert with my drugs. Somehow the brain seems to assist the drugs in keeping me symptom-free. The music and the performance subdued that part of my brain that keeps tabs on PD and the symptoms escaped. Fortunately, the brain rearrested the escapees once I relaxed in bed at home and let my mind go blank.

Have you ever noticed that the highly intense PWP exhibit the most symptoms. Me neither, I have never noticed that in anybody I know; but, the existence of such people would fit perfectly into my theory that a part of the brain helps keep the symptoms at bay, so, they must be out there. Keep looking. A corollary would add that if you are highly symptomatic, you need to relax, permit the brain to shut down like they do in meditation.

When you meditate, you embrace your problems, your fears, your concerns, and even your anger. Let the body use its natural powers to heal itself (or so I have been told, I was never a fan of meditation, but I am going to start - tomorrow, Wednesday at the latest).

Where there are thoughts, it is distraction:
when there no thoughts, it is meditation*

Join me in my pursuit of nothingness.

*Ramana Maharishi

Friday 28 September 2018

It seems so easy; so doggon easy

Everybody's talking about it.  "It" being the nervous system and in particular those neurons involved with the production of dopamine.  So let's start with a beginner's look at the neuron pictured here on the right.  A neuron sends and receives messages to/from the brain.

1.  light purple on the left of the cell represents dendrites which, through some kind of magic, pick up messages from other neurons.  The figure to the left shows neurons in action, the space between the neurons is called a synapse.  Chemicals called neurotransmitters allow the message to jump the synapse and pass it on to the next neuron.

2.  The long light blue fiber (you can barely see it in the diagram to the right) is called an axon and it carries the message away from the cell to the axon terminal (light purple the end of the axon) where the message passes through the synapse to the next neuron.  The dark blue bulges along the axon make up the myelin sheath, the purposes of which is to speed up the message along the axon.

3.  In our case, the neurotransmitter that allows the passage of the message through the synapse is dopamine.

4.  In our case, dopamine-producing cells begin to die off and less dopamine is produced and our movements are affected by this lack of dopamine.

So, that's the Cole's Notes version of the working of a neuron.  If I have made mistakes or left out some important point, forgive me.  "Damn it Jim, I am a blogger, not a neurosurgeon. "

Easy right?  Now you know what I know and it doesn't take a genius; although, as Einstein once said:

                  "Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability 
                   to climb a tree, It will live its whole life believing 
                   that it is stupid.

Well, you ain't no fish and nobody's asking you to climb a tree.  The trouble is, the system is a lot more complicated than I have outlined, and I am half way up that damn tree.

Wednesday 19 September 2018

Sometimes you can expect mediocrity

I am having writer's block. It is the result of having too much material and not enough energy. My thoughts are my grandson's toys littering the carpet of my metaphysical living room. Yes, such a structure really can exist, albeit in the mind of a guy corrupted by reality.

But let's move on. It is time to clean the clutter that is preventing meaningful discourse, so here are the cole's notes versions of events from the past 6 weeks.

  • The reunion: I played a major role in the creation of a reunion of old friends from across Canada. We are old, you understand, in our 60's 70, and 80's; therefore, you can expect to see all types of conditions. I saw people who needed hip replacements through to victims of cancer, but no other PWP were present. I compared PD with the other conditions I saw. Our great disadvantage is our disease cannot be cured, it will continue to have its way with us. Their problems, for the most part, can be fixed, ours, not so much. Was I jealous? Of course I was, but here's the good news. I had forgotten to take my medicine that day and the shaking palsy should have made an appearance, but the excitement of seeing old friends appears to have caused the shaking and the stiffness to disappear for the evening. No meds, no symptoms! Maybe PD is all in our heads

    (Now cut that out. You know what I mean.)

  • Boxing continues to overcome my bad days. The boxers and volunteers are very laid back, interesting, nice and normal. I really enjoy the structured workouts, and behold, my left arm is improving. Boxing is good for PWP. It improves my outlook every time. I go home on a natural high and sometimes will ponder the future and realize it is not, as Leonard Cohen said, "murder".
  • Another activity for PWP is choir. Thirty or so of us trying to sing and, except for the ladies, failing miserably. But the point of the exercise is to project your voice (like LSVT Loud). There is no requirement for a bonny voice, which is a good thing because we sound like a flock of sick parrots. The noise is truly helpful, and it is also fun, and it doesn't hurt that the other singers seem very nice and down to earth. The instructor has an incredible voice and is full of enthusiasm. As for me, at the conclusion of the session, people could actually hear me when I spoke. I recommend it to any, and every PWP, especially if you are voice-impaired like me.

Tuesday 11 September 2018

SING, sing a song

Impairments in breathing and voice are substantial hurdles (in PD)that cause a significant drop in the quality of life.

Voice impairments impact 60-80% of Parkinson's patients. Their voice can become monotone and display less variety in volume; there may also be a reduced vocal intensity and pitch, and a harsh, breathy voice.

Standard Parkinson's treatments do not target these aspects with the same level of success as the motor symptoms. Deep brain stimulation of the subthalamic nucleus, which relieves many of Parkinson's classic symptoms, can, in fact, make voice alterations worse.

....(a study at Ohio State Universiy) consisted of 27 Parkinson's patients who attended group singing sessions either once or twice a week. Before and after the 8-week trial, swallowing measures and voice measures, such as the patient's vocal range and how long they could hold a note, were recorded.

Therapy sessions involved vocal exercises, followed by renditions of popular songs, including "You Are My Sunshine" and "Show Me The Way To Go Home."

The researchers found that, after 2 months of singing, there were significant improvements in pitch duration, vocal loudness and swallow control.
( taken from "Medical New Today article: Singing improves Parkinson's symptoms and Quality of Life by Tim Newman 4/18/15)

Okay, the time has come to expose my voice to the world. Somebody told me I have the voice of a little bird - a flipping parrot!!!

Only 3 hours before showtime. Am I nervous? Not a chance. They have been forewarned.

BTW, I will be signing autographs following the session.

Monday 10 September 2018

comments

I am still getting the hang of this blog stuff and when I recently searched for comments, I noticed quite a few them deleted.  For some, deletion is what I intended; for others, I did not intend to delete them.  I apologize to legitimate commenters.  I will delete any comment that is in anyway commercial.  All other comments, good or bad, are welcomed.


Sunday 9 September 2018

Gimmie the new age religion

I am not afraid of dying, although I am not looking forward to it. In my philosophy, death is just another part of our journey to who knows where, but it will be interesting being a part of the energy of the universe.

A friend of mine died recently. He lived across the street from me when we were teenagers. I had not seen him in the past 50 years, so maybe "friend" is an exaggeration but still, his death upsets me. At 72, it focuses my thoughts on my future and those of my loved ones. At best, I may have a decade left to make my mark, but this PD thing kind of interferes with any bucket list I may have, or will have, concerning those 10 years.

I don't fear death so much as I fear its prologues: loneliness, decrepitude, pain, debilitation, depression, senility.
Those are the words of Mary Roach who went on to metaphorically describe death - "like a holiday at the Beach". I don't know about that. I do, however, believe we continue to "be" after death, in one form or another, but on a higher plane. I am not particularly religious, but I accept the first law of thermodynamics - energy can neither be created nor destroyed. If that is true, the energy of me will simply change form upon my death and although I won't be able to run a 4-minute mile, I will eagerly become a part of the energy of the universe. Besides, I have never been able to run that fast.

What has all this got to do with PD?

Absolutely nothing, unless you create your own philosophy involving death and PD. I can't decide that for you, but the basis for my philosophy is positive thinking and I continue in my role an eternal optimist. As for you, when you are formulating your own philosophy, keep this in mind:

Science without religion is lame
Religion without science is blind.
Einstein





Thursday 6 September 2018

What's up doc?

Saw my doctor yesterday. He is a good family doctor and I have learned more from him about PD than from my neuro. He confirmed my shoulder problems are caused by a rotator cuff problem and I can expect months of pain. Other than that, I am in perfect health (here I touch wood), but, "Months"!!!

I remember playing hockey in my youth. In those days there were no helmets or face masks....Well, there was a sort of helmet, a large leather patch at the back of the head attached with straps to a smaller patch of leather at the front. I didn't even wear that. This was before Jacques Plante and I took a wicked shot that hit me on the side of the nose and eye. For a while, I took the blue/red/yellow/black shiner like a badge of honor but it took a long time before it disappeared. I was sick of it after a few weeks.

I am sick of shoulder pain. It has worn out its welcome.

We PWP must take care not to blame every ache and pain on PD. We might miss something serious.

Aside from my shoulder pain, things are going better for me. I no longer fight with my sheets and standing from sitting is definitely improved. I remain a perpetual optimist.

Hit me with your best shot, PD. I can take it.

Wednesday 5 September 2018

some good stats






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