"Where Life Meets Parkinson's." A blog for Parkinson's education, research advances, treatment strategies, and personal reflection. The goal is to provide support and resources to anyone either with Parkinson's disease or with any neurodegenerative disorder.
"I think everyone has the same question on their mind: Is the glass half-full or half-empty?" Oliver Stone "Something has to matter. Otherwise, a person's life will be miserable and empty." Tim Sandlin Introduction: When you think about Parkinson's, it is a disorder where you balance your daily life with enough dopamine or run on …
“Because you are alive, everything is possible.” Thích Nhất Hạnh “Keep swinging.” Hank Aaron Dopamine is Important: Dopamine has the chemical structure of 3,4-dihydroxyphenethylamine and is a member of the catecholamine and phenethylamine families. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter, which means it delivers a message in the central nervous system. The enzyme L-DOPA decarboxylase removes carbon dioxide …
"The human brain doesn't come with an instruction manual." Bill Engvall "The great events of the world take place in the brain." Oscar Wilde Levodopa: Levodopa markedly improves motor symptoms for the majority of people with Parkinson’s. The pharmacological effectiveness of levodopa is quite good; however, it has less efficiency in controlling the non-motor symptoms. …
Continue reading "Science Tuesday: Sublingual Carbidopa/Levodopa"
"Apathy is the acceptance of the unacceptable." John Stott "I don't know, I don't care, and it doesn't make any difference." Jack Kerouac Definition: Apathy (ap·a·thy, /ˈapəTHē/) lack of interest, enthusiasm, or concern. Occurrence of Apathy in Parkinson's: The presence of apathy in Parkinson's is between 17% to 70%, the wide range is partly due …
"Resilience is not what happens to you. It’s how you react to, respond to, and recover from what happens to you." Jeffrey Gitomer "Resilience is very different than being numb. Resilience means you experience, you feel, you fail, you hurt. You fall. But, you keep going." Yasmin Mogahed Introduction: Several years ago, someone gave me or …
"The key to change is to let go of fear." Rosanne Cash "Worry does not empty tomorrow of its sorrow. It empties today of its strength." Corrie Ten Boom Introduction: Seven years ago, when diagnosed with Parkinson's, I began taking Ropinirole, a dopamine agonist. And in the last month, I decided to stop taking Ropinirole …
Continue reading "Treating Parkinson’s with a Dopamine Agonist: The Ropinirole Taper"
“Perhaps I am stronger than I think.” Thomas Merton “I choose to make the rest of my life the best of my life.” Louise Hay Introduction: We celebrate Parkinson's Awareness month in April since it is the birth month of James Parkinson. He first reported/described the disorder, and from which, years later, his name was …
Continue reading "2021 World Parkinson’s Disease Awareness Month: Recap from 2015-2021"
"Today is the first day of the rest of your life." Abbie Hoffman "Your life is a work of art that you will work on the rest of your life." Richard Blanco Introduction: The year is closing in on us, one for the record books; a year like no other, it would seem. The Pandemic …
Continue reading "Wellness Checklist for Life in the Presence of Parkinson’s"
"If you are always trying to be normal you will never know how amazing you can be." Maya Angelou "Hope and fear cannot occupy the same space. Invite one to stay." Maya Angelou Précis: This blog post's primary goal is to present an overview of Carbidopa/Levodopa (originally named Sinemet) for treating Parkinson's. A secondary objective was …
Continue reading "Treating Parkinson’s with Carbidopa/Levodopa"
"Hope arouses, as nothing else can arouse, a passion for the possible." William Sloane Coffin "Walk on, walk on with hope in your heart, and you'll never walk alone, you'll never walk alone." Oscar Hammerstein II Introduction: I have been trying to learn more about brain physiology and the inner workings as it relates to …
Continue reading "Basal Ganglia, Nigrostriatal Pathway and Parkinson’s"
