Skip to main content

Rx For Hope

 


I heard it again today.  I hear it every day lately.

"My doctor said I have PD.  I left with a prescription for meds that I know little about and go back in three months. I'm shattered and don't know what to do from here."  

This happened to me too almost a year and a half ago.  I get it now.  The doctors don't seem to.  I'm praying that the neurologists out there somehow get the message.  What we need is a prescription for hope.  I'm not asking for false hope but even just a glimmer of something that we can do to fight back.  Just because today is miserable doesn't mean every day will be miserable or worse.  Having PD means something has gone wrong in your body.  Not everything, but something.  The day of diagnosis is the day you should be given the resources to optimize your health.

My Rx for hope:

You are about to go into battle.  It is time to arm yourself.  You need to be strong.  Take care of your body...exercise.  If you never have, now is the time to start.  Move a little more each day. Don't try to do it on your own.  Find a PD group to keep you motivated. Take a good look at your diet...with a professional.  Your food is your fuel and your medicine.  Treat it as such.  It might not be fun but fighting is hard work.  And of course, don't forget your meds.  We might not like them but they often help.

Arm yourself with knowledge.  A good soldier knows his enemy well.  There is so much to know and it can be overwhelming to try to do it alone.  Build a healthcare team that will work together to do what is best for you, the individual.

It's hard to fight a battle with little motivation.  Keep focused on the good things in life. Faith. Family. Friends. Joy. Love. Laughter.  Life is going to continue whether you have PD or not so don't sit out.  Stay involved.  Get inspiration from what you see in the world and inspire others.

You CAN do this.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

My Experience in the Clinical Trial for the New FDA Approved Subcutaneous Levodopa Pump

  It took quite a while but the FDA has finally approved a new way for people with Parkinson's to get levodopa. It is a subcutaneous pump designed by AbbVie. The medication is Foslevodopa/Foscarbodopa and they have named the new pump Vyalev.   Back in 2021, I joined the clinical trial. It was time intensive and I had to drive almost an hour and a half to and from the trial site once a week but I was excited to be part of a trial that I thought might make a difference for people with Parkinson's.   In a nutshell, I only got to wear the pump for about a month. The doctor overseeing the trial recommended that I stop because I was having a lot of bruising and swelling at the injection site and the meds were sometimes pooling under my skin instead of going into my system. I was disappointed to have to stop but I was hoping that my experience in the trial gave the researchers some info that would be helpful. Now that it is on the market, I want to try it again. So what w...
Post a Comment
Read more

Good News for Mice with Parkinson's

  Today brought us another exciting headline: "Scientists Discover Drug Already Approved by FDA May Slow or Stop Parkinson's."  Yippee, Yahoo, right? The reality is that it has only been tested in mice and "there is more research to be done." The research results will likely be many years away. I already feel like a lab rat using the current medications and treatments as doctors often admit, "we don't really know how it works." How do we speed up the research process? Too many people are suffering while waiting for treatments to get approved.   #parkinsonsresearch   #parkinsons   #scientificresearch #labrats   #frustratedmouse
Post a Comment
Read more

We Have to Make Wellness Happen

  As I inch closer to the eight-year anniversary of my diagnosis, it becomes clearer every day. If I want to continue to live well with Parkinson's, I must work intentionally at it. I need to figure out (with the help of my care team) what is needed and then do it. That might mean going to speech therapy. It might mean switching up my workouts or adjusting my diet (again). It definitely means that I will have to do some things that I don't feel like doing and if I want to stay well, I will need to continue this for the rest of my life (unless of course a cure comes soon). I have seen the result of hard work in myself and in many, many friends. Those who are putting in the effort are doing better than those waiting for something to happen.  We have to make wellness happen and it is hard to do every day. That is one of the reasons I think it is so important to be part of a community of others with Parkinson's. They are the ones who understand and the ones that can kick you in...
Post a Comment
Read more