Down the Rabbit Trail

Wednesday, July 15, 2015

Today I had an appointment with a doctor who practices complementary/holistic medicine in addition to other more traditional methods and medications. I believe his general approach is to find out the root cause, then treat it as naturally as possible with a combination of diet, supplements, exercise, and a host of other tools he has at his disposal.

I had great hope that this doctor would be able to tell me where to start to alleviate some of my Parkinson's symptoms. I wanted him to tell me what's wrong with my stomach -- why it stays swelled up and continues to get worse with time. I secretly hoped he would help me get off my PD medicine, which is so hard on my body.

Mike took off work to go to the doctor with me, and we agreed that whatever he told us, we would do.

As it turns out, the good doctor's private practice was recently purchased by a large hospital, and he apparently no longer has the freedom to practice the kind of complementary medicine that caused me to choose him in the first place.

He, was, however, quite helpful. Here's what we found out:

1)  He seems to believe all my issues, including the increased swelling in my feet, neck, arms, legs, and stomach may be rooted in my Parkinson's Disease, or in some of the medications I am taking, which may actually worsen these conditions. In some ways, that is comforting to me -- he didn't immediately send me for a CT scan to find out what's wrong, nor did he seem unduly concerned about those particular symptoms.

2)  He talked to us about Glutathione. It is recognized in complementary medicine as a highly successful, low or no side effect treatment used to alleviate symptoms in a number of diseases, including Parkinson's Disease. It is most effective when given intravenously, and costs about $3000 a year. I believe it may be a method of chelation -- cleaning and purifying the body of heavy metal poisoning, the symptoms of which can mimic Parkinson's Disease. It is a natural anti-oxidant found in fruits and vegetables. It is also recognized somewhat by the mainstream medical community, and recently gained exposure on Dr. Oz's show.

3)  The doctor I saw today is certified to do this treatment, but cannot do it for me due to his contract with the hospital.

4)  He did, however, point us to one of his prodigy, a doctor in Seymour who is also certified to do this treatment, and who comes highly recommended by the doctor we saw today.

5)  I believe the famous author and medical doctor, Dr. Perlmutter, pioneered this process. He practices in FL and our doctor's recommendation was to see Dr. Perlmutter himself, or see the guy in Seymour.  Of course, we will try the local doc first.

Today was not my first exposure to glutathione. I had read a blog from a woman with Parkinson's who had taken it intravenously for 2 years with great success. At the end of 2 years, however, she started to decline again.

Another exposure to glutathione came when I was first diagnosed by a different neurologist than the one I am seeing now. She told me about glutathione and said she would refer me to someone who could do it for me whenever I wanted. At the time, I was quite overwhelmed and did not act on her offer. Later, she referred me to my current neurologist (seems I am a difficult case), and we have not spoken about it since.

Amazingly enough, earlier today I had yet a third exposure to glutathione before I left for my doctor's appointment.  One of my friends invited her Facebook friends to a seminar on glutathione coming up in Brownsburg this Sunday night. The particular version being discussed Sunday is an oral application. I asked my doctor about it today, and he said it would not be as readily absorbed by the brain as the intravenous version would be, but he still said it wouldn't hurt for us to attend the seminar.

So, no immediate answers today, but we now have another source and another option.  We'll be calling to make our appointment with the doctor in Seymour, and will keep you posted.

This whole thing sometimes feels like we are playing a board game, progressing through the game one dice roll at a time. I'm sorry, but I just want to pass "GO" and collect my $200. I don't like this game anymore.

Maybe you should pray for me to have a better attitude. I hear people say all the time, "I'm grateful that I got Parkinson's Disease. If this had never happened to me then I never would have ______"  (fill in the blank with something good, like "reconciled with my daughter."

I can't figure out if those people are just putting a pretty face on an ugly disease, or if I just have an extraordinarily bad attitude, because I do not feel that way AT ALL. I am NOT glad I got Parkinson's, and it has not done me any good turns. As a matter of fact, I'm a little mad about it!

So there ... I said it!

Apparently, I need some prayer!  Thanks for caring enough to keep track of what's happening as I try to negotiate my way through this crazy medical system of ours!