March 2020 – Standing up to Parkinson's

Peace of mind and piece of mind.

John completed moving our infrared sauna into our bathroom, where he removed the large garden tub. It looks so nice. I’ve used it the past three mornings.

Ours is much like this one, A two person capacity.

I was looking on the internet last night, to see if I could find anything to verify what I thought I had heard, about the virus not surviving in heat. Our hottest setting on the sauna is 140 degrees. When I found the link below, from the World Health Organization, I felt to share.

https://www.who.int/csr/sars/survival_2003_05_04/en/

“Heat at 56°C kills the SARS coronavirus at around 10000 units per 15 min (quick reduction)”

Formula

(56°C × 9/5) + 32 = 132.8°F

According to the formula; 56 degrees centigrade translates to 132.8 degrees fahrenheit. I’m thinking as a preventative, we will spend 30 minutes each morning in the sauna, set at 140, and do breathing exercises to remove stale air from our lungs and increase our stamina. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

For our peace of mind, we shall encourage those who reside in our home to bring their towels, two at a time, and spend 1/2 hour deep breathing after they return from work or picking up necessities.

And I also want to share a piece of mind that was shared with us

…Common Sense

“Since they are calling on Respiratory therapist to help fight the Corona virus, and I am a retired one, too old to work in a hospital setting. I’m gonna share some common sense wisdom with those that have the virus and trying to stay home. If my advice is followed as given you will improve your chances of not ending up in the hospital on a ventilator. This applies to the otherwise generally healthy population, so use discretion.

1. Only high temperatures kill a virus, so let your fever run high. Tylenol, Advil. Motrin, Ibuprofen etc. will bring your fever down allowing the virus to live longer. They are saying that ibuprophen, advil etc will actually exacerbate the virus. Use common sense and don’t let fever go over 103 or 104 if you got the guts. If it gets higher than that take your tylenol, (err on the side of safety) to keep it regulated. It helps to keep house warm and cover up with blankets so body does not have to work so hard to generate the heat. It usually takes about 3 days of this to break the fever.

2. The body is going to dehydrate with the elevated temperature so you must re-hydrate yourself regularly, whether you like it or not. Gatorade with real sugar, or pedialyte with real sugar for kids, works well. Why the sugar? Sugar will give your body back the energy it is using up to create the fever. The electrolytes and fluid you are losing will also be replenished by the Gatorade. If you don’t do this and end up in the hospital they will start an IV and give you D5W (sugar water) and Normal Saline to replenish electrolytes. Gatorade is much cheaper, pain free, and comes in an assortment of flavors

3. You must keep your lungs moist. Best done by taking long steamy showers on a regular basis, if your wheezing or congested use a real minty toothpaste and brush your teeth (John suggested: or use a drop of peppermint essential oil) while taking the steamy shower and deep breath through your mouth. This will provide some bronchial dilation and help loosen the phlegm. Force your self to cough into a wet washcloth. pressed firmly over your mouth and nose, which will cause greater pressure in your lungs forcing them to expand more and break loose more of the congestion.

4. Eat healthy and regularly. Gotta keep your strength up.

5. Once the fever breaks, start moving around to get the body back in shape and blood circulating.

6. Deep breath on a regular basis, even when it hurts. If you don’t it becomes easy to develop pneumonia. Pursed lip breathing really helps. That’s breathing in deep and slow then exhaling through tight lips as if your blowing out a candle, blow until you have completely emptied your lungs and you will be able to breath in an even deeper breath. This helps keep lungs expanded as well as increase your oxygen level.

7. Remember that every medication you take is merely relieving the symptoms, not making you well.

8. If your still dying go to ER.

I’ve been doing these things for myself and my family for over 40 years and kept them out of the hospital, all are healthy and still living today.”

Knock on Wood

Written: Feb 2020 Posted:3/17

I experience two totally unrelated conditions which cause me consternation.

* One is a Parkinsonism: I gasp. That is to say I suddenly (without any warning) intake a large gasp of air very quickly filling my lungs…and then sigh it out. Typically it goes unnoticed or John asks me, ‘Are you okay?’ But once in a while it happens while I have liquid to my lips or near, as happened when I was rinsing my hair and accidentally sucked in shampoo. Most recently I gasp/choked on apple cider vinegar, lemon juice and water…after which I coughed for probably the next five hours.

* The second has no link to Parkinson’s as a cause: I think they are esophageal spasms. My father and my twin sister both needed to be cautious with the size of bites they took and frequently had to wait for the muscles controlling the esophagus to relax so the blockage could pass. They each had their throats stretched by medical professionals multiple times. They reported the procedure was very helpful, but the benefits wore off over time. I have a referral for a Gastroenterology specialist on March 25th to discuss these and other issues. (If the virus hasn’t closed them down… before my appoint.)

The doctor was wrong when he predicted to my father, “You’ll most likely die with a piece of meat in your throat.” My Father died at age 94 from a condition totally unrelated to his choking problems. I eat slowly enough that my food rarely causes a problem. When I have gotten in trouble, it has been as I attempt to swallow my prescribed medications and supplements. I have made adaptions to my protocol… I put a single capsule in applesauce, or yogurt or in a spoonful of a Metamucil fiber preparation. Then after a capsule has slid down, I take a drink of water. But as I relate what happened a past Tuesday, I question what other precaution might I take? Perhaps sleep with my head slightly elevated?

Tuesday morning: I had swallowed my very first capsule bathed in a teaspoon full of yummy… and as I picked up the glass for a drink to flush it, I noticed a tightening of my esophagus… probably 3 inches lower than the collar bone… so I hastily took my sip of water, but I was too late, and the water remained above the spasm. It nearly did me in! Besides the pain caused by the spasm, I had to sit really tall, trying to keep the fluid from back flowing into my wind pipe. As the body tries to clear the blockage, little spurts of air bubble up, raising the level of liquid, causing me to feel panic.

As the body strives to clear the blockage, and reflexes attempting to purge the digestive track push: involuntarily pushing in both directions. I’ve heard; a person in the throes of death frequently soil their clothing. Been there, done that. I don’t need that one on my bucket list.

I was shocked by the comment elicited from the very first person (outside of our immediate family) that I confided the doctor had given me the diagnosis of PD: She said, “My father had Parkinson’s… and he died from choking while my mother was feeding him!” Shortly after her comment, a search on the internet revealed the number one contributor to mortality for PwP is aspiration pneumonia: a lung infection that develops after you aspirate (inhale) food, liquid, or vomit into your lungs. You can also aspirate food or liquid from your stomach that backs up into your esophagus.

In many cultures, it’s a common superstition for people to knock their knuckles. It is a tradition of literally touching, tapping, or knocking on wood, or merely stating that one is doing or intending to do so, in order to avoid “tempting fate” after making a favorable or unfavorable prediction or boast.

Rather than knocking, I chose to be proactive. I took my physician’s advice and got a pneumococcal vaccination that reportedly can help protect against infection by 23 types of pneumococcal bacteria, which are common and often cause serious illnesses.

Addendum… March 11 ………… “Worry is like a rocking chair___goes nowhere.”

Two more esophageal spasms this month… have left my chest (and airway sore) and me feeling slightly panicked.

The first one happened in the night during an attack of dystonia in my feet and calves which had wakened me from, a deep sleep. Dystonia, for me, is severe cramping which twists my toes and runs up my legs. Anyway, while I was awake, i also experienced the distress of an esophageal spasm. Although very painful, no fluid was involved.

The next morning, I had finished my breakfast and didn’t have anything in my mouth when another spasm began. As the spasm continued, I was having trouble with moisture blocking my airway. I figured out that to solve the distress, I needed to spit out the saliva as it accumulated, in order to keep breathing.

I have been looking at AND DOING …breathing techniques and exercises to improve lung capacity. I recommend everyone do the same, during the threat of perilous times.

Not all things are confined to Parkinson’s

John received a report on the MRI on his gallbladder. Although it is full of stones, surgery isn’t warranted. I asked her if he continues to take 2 Tblsp. Apple cider vinegar (she interrupted me, “Oh, that would be excellent!”) and a Tblsp. of Lemon juice in 8 oz. water, would it perhaps help dissolve the stones? (She seemed delighted, “Combining lemon with the vinegar would be even better!” The she effused to John, “You are lucky man, to have such a great supporter!!)

I obtained the proportions for the drink John & I chug each morning, from Sarah King, a Parkinson’s PT… and her link on gut health. I say chug, because I have discovered, no taste, until air hits your food, so I bottoms up my glass and swallow (from 8 to 11 swallows, depending on the day) and then gulp and breath after the glass is empty.

I attribute our freedom from capturing any colds or sore throats to our daily morning glass…

I went to a website offering 25 ways for Apple cider vinegar to change your life.

I have cut and copied a few of them here… The first definitely seems valuable, since weed killer has long been suspect for being a trigger linked to PwP

“Weed Killer – A friendly neighbor turned me on to vinegar as weed killing alternative years ago and it’s even more effective than dangerous glyphosate. Just mix 1/2 gallon apple cider vinegar, 1/4 cup salt, and 1/2 teaspoon dish soap. It will effectively kill any plant you spray it on, so make sure you avoid the flowers and other plants you want to keep.”

“Be sure to always choose organic apple cider vinegar, to make sure it’s truly toxin free, as apples are a very contaminated fruit.”

“Shiny, Flake Free Hair – Apple cider vinegar is an excellent weekly hair rinse. It leaves hair looking shiny and soft. The acid in ACV helps to remove product build up. It also helps to balance your scalp’s pH level. Mix 1/3 cup apple cider vinegar into 4 cups water and rinse the hair after shampooing, then rinse with cold water. If you are having issues with dandruff, twice a week try spraying your scalp with equal parts apple cider vinegar and water. Place a towel around your head and leave wrapped for up to an hour. Wash your hair as you usually would.”

“As for sunburned skin, soak in a bath with 1 cup of apple cider vinegar to help ease the pain.”

“Non-Toxic Cleaner – It’s no secret that vinegar is an excellent household cleaner. What some people don’t know is that raw, unfiltered vinegar contains all the bacteria fighting benefits that some commercial vinegars lack. To make your own cleaning solution, simply mix equal parts water and apple cider vinegar, plus a little elbow grease, to get your home free of dirt, bacteria, and toxic cleaners. Don’t worry, the vinegar smell goes away as it dries.”