Choking Episode

I'm still feeling remarkably well, considering it's been weeks now since I took a PD med. Reading a post on PLM makes me think it's at least in part due to the 6-8 cups of green tea I'm drinking most days. Taking the Turmeric and eating a lot of the Super Foods, mostly raw, probably has a lot to do with it, too.

I'm doing my neck exercises each morning, using the cervical collar daily for about 15 minutes, and using the TENS when I need it, so I'm not hurting much, either.

But I did have another choking episode this morning. It's a little hard to explain. I've done it several times lately with my own saliva, but this morning I had a mouth full of tea when a tiny amount just slipped down the wrong way. I wasn't really swallowing, either. That's what has been happening with saliva, too. I may not know how it's happening, but I sure know the results! I end up coughing and gagging for several minutes each time, and it hurts. I'm going to have to try to figure out exactly what is happening, so I can decide the best way to prevent it.

Other than that, I'm feeling fine. I worked really hard on our collectibles and toy inventory yesterday, and pretty well wore myself out, trying to get it stored in a more logical and organized way. But it was good exercise, and I'm glad I was able to do it. I also added another pile to the lasagna compost. That is slowly building up an area of rich material about 100 square feet or so and over a foot high. I haven't done any walking or Tai Chi for some time, and I do need to get back to it, now that I'm feeling better.

There was a good explanation of voice exercises on PLM, too, so I guess I'll try to add those exercises to my daily routine, too.

And, to finish this post on a positive note, neither one of us have a single doctor's appointment this whole month!!!

Tummy's Back to Normal - PT Continues

It took a couple of days of very careful, limited eating, to get my tummy back to a normal situation, but I'm much better now. I've gone back to using the glycerin suppositories, and that's helping the most, other than to avoid some questionable foods.

I talked to my PT Monday, and told her my neck was much better, and that I was surprised they had not had me doing any exercises. She said they wanted to get my muscles calmed down first. So, she is going to add some tomorrow. I told her I wanted to be stingy with my visits, in case I needed to come for something else later on in the year, so she has me on Monday and Thursday now, instead of 3 days a week. Of course, that frees up our Date Day, and that suits me just fine.

I've been extremely busy trying to help all the families who have been asking for help find lost lovies, ever since the msnbc.com article came out about our Plush Memories Lost Toy Search Service. We had well over a thousand hits that first day, and our traffic is still about double what it was before the article.

I'm fighting the poison ivy again, and I'm not sure which one of us is winning right now. I have found that I can take one Benadryl at night, and that stops the itching until in the afternoon. Then I take a non drowsy type that the pharmacist said I could use. It doesn't work all that well, and by early evening I'm in misery. It gets in my blood stream or something, because I end up with rash and blisters in places that it should not be. Very delicate skin itches ten times more than arm or leg skin, I guarantee it!!!

I see the Dermatologist in another couple of weeks, so I will certainly ask him about anything I can do to dry it up quickly.

I think I know where the poison ivy is coming from. We've been bringing our outside cats in at night when the weather is below freezing. I am pretty sure I'm catching it from them. We had the brother and sister kitties neutered last week, and the little girl is somewhat frail, so we did not want to take any chances with the cold. The only other possibility is that the wood chips I'm using for the compost have the vines ground up in with it. Our back yard is just full of poison ivy, so that's certainly possible.

I'm continuing to limit my reading of anything Parkinson's related, but nothing has changed as far as my foot tremors and facial tics go. Oh, and I still haven't started back using the TAP. I decided to get my neck calmed down, plus see if the mouth tic was related to maybe my tongue moving around on the inside of the mouthpiece in my sleep, and it getting to be a habit. Well, the neck is calming down nicely, but the mouth tic is still there. So I think I can stop blaming the TAP for that.

Since I've been taking the Benadryl at night, I'm sleeping quite well, even without the TAP. Funny, the Benadryl is working much better than all the fancy sleep meds ever did, and I've tried almost every prescription they make at one time or another.

Less Computer Time = Getting other things done!

Well, I have pretty much stuck to my intention to stay away from places where PWP are describing their symptoms. I have visited the PLM site a few times, and even made a few comments, but I have been cautious about the type of posts I opened, to avoid reading about anything tremor related. I have not done any research on PD, either, other than to try to find a correlation between heavy steroid use with Parkinson's. This was not for my benefit, but for one of my readers, who asked some interesting questions.

My neck continues to be very stiff and painful, but I can put up with it, knowing I will be getting help next week when I start Physical Therapy.

I am pretty much caught up with posting requests for help on the Plush Memories Lost Toys Search Service, and we are over the Christmas rush on eBay. I still need to put a new post on our Yesterday's Memories blog, and there is always work to do on the BLOG VILLAGE TopList that I run.

So, I have been getting some much needed house clutter cleaning done, but there is plenty more that needs to be done. I would like to have the house straight for the New Year. At least it can start that way LOL.

We did have a great Christmas, seeing all of our family all at once, and enjoying being with our grandchildren. It looks like we actually managed to buy them some things they will enjoy, and that's not easy to do when they hit those preteen and teen years. They all have birthdays right after Christmas, so we will be seeing them again real soon, too.

Hubby gave me a blender for Christmas, so now I can learn how to make Raw Foods Smoothies, something I have been wanting to try for some time now. Jackie, from The Vegan Diet, clued me into The Raw Food Coach, and since we eat a lot of raw foods, anyway, I have been learning as much as I can about what foods are the best for me. I have been doing a lot of research on the high anti-oxidant Super Foods, and we are gradually changing our diet to include lots of them daily.

We have had a lot of fun at our house of late with trying to get our very spoiled (neurotic) inside cat to accept our two outside cats as occasional inside visitors. They are too young to leave outside all night when it is freezing, so we bought a pet cage for them. They don't mind being in it at all, which surprised us, but it sure makes going out of town easier. We keep our inside cat in the hall bathroom when we are gone, and now we can keep the outside cats protected, too. Our only problem is that Miss Queen Fluffy doesn't like having them inside. There have been quite a few fights between Fluffy and Mr. Salt. Miss Pepper stays out of the rough stuff, as she has some kind of nerve damage to one of her hind legs. She is the main reason we decided to bring them in on cold nights and when we are out of town. Fluffy surprised us last night and behaved the whole time they were in the house. Maybe she's finally adjusting to them, I hope.

One of my anonymous readers has given me a clue as to what my diagnosis might be, if it's not Parkinson's. So, I have started doing some research on Dystonia. Also, there was a new post today on PLM discussing Ataxia, and that sounds familiar, too. I already feel better, knowing that there are other conditions that my symptoms seem to fit. It makes me feel less like this is all going to turn out to be psychosomatic. I can't bear the thought that my body has been going through all this due to an emotional problem. With other possibilities in sight, I am in a much better frame of mind than I was yesterday, thank goodness. So, Marion, the glass is looking more and more like it's half full, again.

As always, I appreciate your prayers and concern, and love to hear from you, even if it's just to say HI!

Decided Against It

I do appreciate the feedback you gave me on the decision about joining the St. Vincent's facility, but we finally decided not to do it at this time. Time was, after all, the deciding factor. It was going to eat up about 3 hours each day I went, and to get any good out of it, I would have to have gone at least 2 days a week, if not 3. I think I can accomplish just about as much with home exercise equipment and our time at the walking track, which is about 5 minutes from home. Of course, in this day and time, we have to take gas prices into account too, and we do live a long way from any of these kinds of sports facilities, with some really bad traffic to contend with both ways.

I continue to accomplish more and more when I exercise in the mornings, but I'm paying for it each night with a lot of sore muscles. DH fusses at me for over doing it, but it doesn't ever seem like I am at the time. It's only later in the day that I realize I've over taxed my muscles. I think some of this pain I experience is coming from the Peripheral Neuropathy, particularly since I went off the Cymbalta. My Neurologist wasn't the least concerned about me taking it in conjunction with the Zelepar, even though the Pharmacist had warned me about the combination. So, I may yet go back on it. But for now, I'm still adjusting to adding the Requip back to my meds, so I don't want to add 2 new drugs at the same time.

The Requip is beginning to upset my stomach, just the way it did last time. I'm having lots of heartburn and belching a lot. Nothing else has changed, so it has to be the culprit. I'll put up with it if it doesn't get much worse than this, but I'm still planning to ask for the Neupro patch when I go back to Dr. S in June.

Just to document where I stand physically:

I can now sit down and stand up from a straight chair without using my arms, at least in the morning. I can't by the evening, though. Sofas and soft chairs I haven't mastered yet. I can walk over 3000 steps a day on the pedometer most days. I've put the handicap toilet seat away for now, as I can deal with the standard one, as long as I have the sink cabinet to hold onto. I'm still using the cane when we go to yard sales and such, where the terrain is unknown, and I still don't go up and down flights of stairs if I can avoid it. Crouching down to get things in and out of my kitchen cabinets is difficult, so I usually depend on DH to do that for me. I lose my balance too easily, particularly with something in my hands. My core muscles, those of the trunk, are definitely getting stronger as I continue to exercise, as I can now lift my behind when I do what's called the Bridge. It's a simple exercise, really. All you do is lie on your back, feet on the floor, with your knees raised, and try to lift your bottom. Until recently, I couldn't lift more than a half inch or so, but now I'm coming completely off the floor.

I'm doing the Tai Chi short form almost every day now, and I'm getting pretty good at it again. My balance continues to improve.

The biggest problem I am having right now, I suppose, is the insomnia. As soon as I started back on the Requip, it started back again. I haven't been able to sleep past 3:00 AM for some time now. I get a lot done on the computer, but I really need the sleep! I've tried napping later in the day, but that doesn't work unless I'm in the car. Then I can doze off almost instantly ;).

So, I am progressing, but I have lots of room for improvement. Eating healthy foods and exercising are just as much medicines for me as anything that comes in a bottle!

Daughter's Gastric Bypass Horror Story Continues

Our older DD had Gastric Bypass surgery over 2 years ago now, and her health problems from it continue to show up. All last year she battled with Peripheral Neuropathy so bad that she was almost not able to walk at all. She was in and out of the hospital something like 50 or 60 days last year, while they tried to bring her nutrition level up to a point that her body could recover. She thought she was over all that, even though it meant she had to gain back a lot of the weight she had lost.

During that same time period, she was having constant problems with crumbling teeth and abscesses. Now, the dentist tells her that the real problem is that the jaw bone is deteriorating, so the roots of the teeth are not stable. He is planning on pulling them all and putting her in dentures.

And, now, on top of that news she received this week, her eye exam showed serious problems, which they thought at the time was weak muscles from the Neuropathy. So, she went to an ophthalmologist, who says she has holes in her retina. She now has an appointment with a retina specialist.

To say the least, she is overwhelmed. We spent a long time on the phone last night with her sobbing away, and understandably so. When she decided to have the bypass surgery, we did all kinds of research, and at the time it seemed like the best way to improve her quality of life. Obviously, that was not the case.

I realize there are people out there who are so morbidly obese that they are existing, not living, in their present condition. DD's health was such that she was in serious danger. But now, it's hard to think that she (we) made the right decision.
If you know anyone who is considering this surgery, please let them know that there are people who have major regrets about it.

"I Want to Go Home Now"

The human mind is a fragile thing when age or the onslaught of disease takes its toll. Since we've already been Care Givers for my mother and DH's father, who both had Alzheimer's, we've heard many, many pitiful pleas and angry demands for us to take them "home." My Mama was in the hospital, with me there 24 hours a day for 35 days, recovering from a broken hip and going through rehab. She never could get straight in her head where she was, but I expected things to be better once I got her back into her own home.

I was very disappointed to find that she didn't know she was in her own home, when we did get her back there. Each day involved question after question about when we would be leaving, why wasn't I taking her home, who were these strange people, etc. No amount of reassuring her that she was home, and that the people were her family, would appease her. At one point she was in a panic, because she was worried about her dog being alone at the house, with no one to care for him. What could I say? She was remembering the house I had grown up in, and a dog I had as a little girl. So I had to play along that Cindy was being well taken care of, and for her not to worry.

We moved Pop out of his home, and moved him in with us. So his constant requests to go home at least made sense!

But I was not prepared to have these same conversations with my Daddy! He's old - VERY old - but has been more or less lucid most of the time, even after he fell on Thanksgiving weekend. Well, he's been lucid about everything EXCEPT that he was still in his own home! He's forever asking me for his cap and jacket, so we can head home.

I've come to the conclusion that what they all mean when they ask to go home is to go back to a time when they were in control. A time in their lives when they had privacy. A time when someone else did not pick out the clothes they would wear, or decide what they would have for lunch, or when it was bedtime. A time in their lives when they could still drive, take a walk around the block, or, in Daddy's case, cut the grass.

As Care Givers, we can do our best to keep them safe and comfortable physically, and we can even play along with their delusions at times, but the one thing we cannot do for them is to give them back that control over their own lives that they so long for.

My Daddy will be 102 in less than two weeks. His body becomes noticeably more frail each day, his speech has become all but nonexistent over the last few days, and we can get very little nutrition or fluids down him. It frustrates him to try to talk when he can't get the words out. He can no longer help us when we turn him in the bed. His days and nights are spent for the most part sleeping. Sure he wants to go home. Who wouldn't want to return to a better time??

I both rejoice and am deeply grieved that he soon will be truly HOME. Seeing my dear Mama again. Walking with a full strong stride. Enjoying seeing all the wonderful sights that his blind eyes have been missing for many, many years. Hearing the angelic choir in all its glory. And I betcha he'll be on a riding lawn mower keeping the yard cut!!!

I'm already grieving his loss. Just writing these last words has the tears flowing. But he's lived a long life, with much to be proud of and to enjoy. It's time for him to go home.

Downs and Ups with Daddy

A lot has been going on with Daddy this week that has kept us both pretty busy. I called the Podiatrist's office Monday about his heel, and they said he would come by Wednesday evening. The regular Hospice nurse came and took a look at it and changed the bandages, telling me that the key thing was to keep the blister from breaking open. She promised that we would get the rippling kind of mattress this week, too, which is supposed to help with pressure sores, such as those on his bottom and heel.

Monday night was the worst I've had with Daddy. His usual bedtime is 6:30, but he wasn't sleepy then. That's not too surprising, since he sleeps so much during the day, but part of his night medicine is a Tylenol PM, so I can't let him stay up too late after taking that, or it would be dangerous to try to transfer him into bed. So, I put him to bed a little after 7:00PM. He spent the next 5 hours talking wildly about things like when was he going home, who were all those people, where was his bed, where was I going to sleep, and on and on. He would call me to the back every 15 or 20 minutes, and nothing I told him appeased him. When I told him he was already in bed, he would disagree, telling me he was in the car, and wanted to go home. About midnight he finally went to sleep, but the whole craziness started over again off and on every few hours until it was time to get up.

Not surprisingly, he was wobbly all day Tuesday, and I was worn out, too. So, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday night I gave him 2 Tylenol PM! He slept soundly, and his walking was much better during the day. His appetite has even shown signs of improving a little.

His Podiatrist ended up coming out yesterday evening. He immediately set to cutting the whole top of the blister off!! Mind you, Hospice had told me to do everything I could to keep the blister intact. I was SO glad I had called him! He showed me a dark place in the tissue that was already beginning to develop into a deep decubitus ulcer, and said it would not have healed if it were not fixed so it could drain. He also told me to keep it open to the air as much as I could, instead of keeping it all wrapped up.

I think I've finally gotten my point across to the Hospice people that I expect preventative care as much as possible. So the rippling air mattress came yesterday!! It has many crosswise sections of air filled tubes that slightly inflate and deflate back and forth from the top to the bottom of the bed and back. For getting in and out of the bed, it can also be set to inflate completely for a firm surface. I think this will actually help, and may even keep him from getting any more sore places on his bottom.

He still has times when he doesn't know whose house he's in, but the hallucinations are not as disturbing to him as they were. His strength is returning, and with the improved appetite, he feels more like walking. So, a week that started as the worst yet has prospects of ending as one of the better ones. I'm keeping my fingers crossed!!

Is My Tummy Ever Going to Be Normal Again?

I started this blog to keep track of everything that was going on with what turned out to be a diagnosis of Peripheral Neuropathy and Parkinson's Disease. Once the PD diagnosis was made, the Neurologist seemed to basically ignore the PN diagnosis. Since I can't really tell that I'm not feeling things as well on my right side, that's OK with me, as long as I can walk normally. And I can say, that as long as I'm faithful to take my PD meds, I am walking normally enough to appear to be symptom free to the uneducated eye.

So, what's the problem? It has been, and continues to be, my digestive system. As I sit here writing this, my stomach feels like I have some kind of heavy weight in it, and there's the feeling of a lump all the way up to my throat. I've had good days, usually several in a row, but I've had more bad days than good since I started taking the PD meds. Since I do have good days, I keep trying to find a pattern, something I'm doing right, or wrong, that will give me some clues as to how to avoid this bloated uncomfortable feeling. But I can't find a pattern at all. It's very frustrating to go to the doctor, and they start asking all of their neat little questions, and you can't give them any neat little answers!

OK, I've whined long enough. This is turning into a major problem for me, as I'm losing weight rather rapidly, simply because I don't feel like eating. I have a Gastroenterologist appointment on the 20th, and hopefully by then I'll have something to tell him besides it feels like a weight and a lump!

Continuing to Feel Good

I felt better for a Sunday than I have in some time. All the exercise is beginning to pay off, I think. Usually, by the time I've cleaned up after Daddy and fixed his cooked Sunday morning breakfast, I'm already tired. Then the long sit through Sunday School and Church just leaves me drained for the day. That didn't happen yesterday. I had plenty of energy. My body still cramped some in church, but not as bad as usual. I've stopped carrying the cane to church, too, so I'm feeling much more normal. Everyone's still good to ask about me and let me know that they are praying for me, which I really appreciate.

I didn't do so good a job of staying off the computer yesterday, even though I really did mean to. This is going to be a hard habit to change, and the difficulty of it just convinces me that it has reached the compulsive point. I've gone through all my usual daily computer tasks already this morning, and I've taken a set of pictures for an eBay listing already, so at least I'm being a little more efficient.

We're taking Daddy to the Podiatrist today, so that will get me away from the computer for awhile. I'm going to see the Podiatrist, too, this time. I made the appointment several months ago, thinking I would keep it if the diagnosis was Parkinson's and cancel it if it weren't. What with the Peripheral Neuropathy, and some very deformed toenails already, it just seemed like a good idea to touch base with him. Daddy sees him every three months, as he's a diabetic, but I don't expect to see him but maybe once a year, unless he tells me otherwise.

I'm noticing a gradual weight loss, which suits me just fine. I've just about cut out all sweets, and my portion sizes are much smaller than they used to be. I really don't feel like eating very much at one time any more. I've cut out the in between snacks, too, for the most part. And the meal at night is usually very small - sometimes only a banana. I just don't get hungry at night any more. We eat our big meal at lunch now, and my dear sweet hubby, who does the cooking, makes sure it's a very nutritious meal. I'm overweight, anyway, which puts extra strain on my legs and balance, so I hope to continue to lose weight gradually for some time.

Information on Swallowing Problems with PD

One of my dear blogging friends, Marion, asked me in her comment today for help planning a menu for an Advanced Parkinson's guest she was expecting, who has trouble swallowing. After Googling on the subject, this seems to be the best general information I could find.

This is an excerpt from a very well written pdf article titled, Parkinson's and Swallowing.

It is important that you continue eating your regular food until you are no longer able to do so safely. A regular diet with a wide range of tastes and textures is important to keep all of your muscles working, and encourage proper nutrition and hydration. Only if you begin experiencing significant difficulty, you may need to adapt your diet. While each individual will have different problems and therefore different solutions, the following suggestions may help.

SUGGESTED FOOD

• Food that is soft and moist, with a good flavour and smell, tends to be easier to swallow: custards, jelly, pureed fruit, sauces, spices and herbs.

• Avoid foods which are hard, dry, crumbly or stringy.

• Avoid mixed consistencies (e.g. solid plus liquid).

• Be careful with foods which stick to the roof of the mouth or get caught around the mouth: dry mashed potatoes, tomato with skin on, biscuits, bran flakes, hard-boiled eggs.

• Thicker fluids (e.g. nectars, milk shakes) may be easier to control and swallow than thin clear liquids, as they move more slowly.

• Keep food presentation appetising: flavour, smell and appearance of food.

• Relax and enjoy your food. It is good to have a break between mouthfuls and take sips of water during the meal. This will not only help you relax, but also allow you to clear your throat and mouth. You may need to swallow twice to clear each mouthful.

• Eat smaller portions more frequently, especially if time for meals is limited.


POSSIBLE PROBLEM FOODS

• mixed textures, like liquid with bits in (e.g. minestrone soup or watery mince);

• flakey biscuits;

• hard toast or nuts, chocolate, grains, seeds;

• stringy, fibrous vegetables


FOODS THAT MAY BE EASIER TO SWALLOW

• milk

• mousse, custard, yogurt, ice cream

• souffle, omelette

• casseroles

• soup (Creamed would be my suggestion, based on other articles I've read.)

• fruit juice, pureed fruit

• pancakes (with syrup etc.)

• soft boiled rice

• well cooked vegetables

• banana.

Hopefully this information will be of some help to Marion as she plans her menu, and possibly to others as well.

Nutrition Suggestions for GERD plus Sinemet

After spending this weekend nauseated, it is obvious that I'm going to have to be very careful not only with when I take my medicine, but also with what I eat. After doing a lot of research on my own, and getting a general idea of what I need to have, I was at a loss as to how I was going to decide on a diet, taking my GERD into account.

So I wrote to Jackie, a fellow BLOG VILLAGER at The Vegan Diet, who was kind enough to put together some information for me. She's done such a wonderful job of pulling together just what I needed that I thought it might help someone else, so here are her suggestions.

I see with GERD you must steer away from :

* fatty or fried foods * peppermint and spearmint * whole milk
* oils *onions * chocolate *high sugar content * creamed foods or soups
* most fast foods * citrus fruits and juices (grapefruit, orange, pineapple, tomato)
* coffee (regular and decaffeinated) * caffeinated soft drinks * tea
* other caffeinated beverages *Spicy or acidic foods


You can have :

apples, berries, melons, bananas, peaches, pears
chicken (no skin), fish, turkey (no skin)
fat-free milk and yogurt
milk free breads
a miniscule amount of fat or butter

Basically my advice is lots of small meals a day, not three meals a day. I eat 5 meals a day, like many people do now for many medical conditions and to keep weight average (not under or overweight), as it keeps my IBS and my sugar levels on track. A few ideas below, not totally vegan, plus useful links at the bottom.


Breakfast

Fruit is good. Papaya is the best I find when I am acidic. Herbal tea (not mint)

Mid morning

Fruit Apples, melon, bananas and nuts like almonds and walnuts (most nutritious).
or Bean dip (chick peas or beans blended with a tiny amount of oil just to make it cream cheese consistency and a fresh herb like cilantro) on a slice of white or brown bread (not seed bread or wholewheat)

Lunch

Tofu dip (no oil with it) with raw vegetables like carrot sticks or
Veggie Soup with tofu cubes

or this Fish Dish recommended by a GERD sufferer:

This recipe is for one serving. Increase the ingredients for additional servings as needed.

One 4oz filet of white fish (orange roughly, sole, turbot, flounder, etc)
One med. Potato. Steamed green vegetable such as broccoli, spinach, peas or asparagus
Parsley or chives for garnish. ¼ tbsp unsalted butter, olive oil or Pam

We will start with the potatoes, because they take the longest to cook, and they tend to retain their heat the longest. The fish and vegetable take only minutes to cook.
Peel and cube potato. Place in cold water to cover. Bring to the boil, and then simmer until fork tender. Drain, leaving just enough cooking liquid for mashing or whipping. You may also use the vegetable broth (recipe below) instead. Add salt to taste. Hold in a warm place. Season fish with salt and pepper to taste. Place non-stick sauté pan over med high heat. Add butter, oil or spray with Pam. When not quite smoking, add fish. Cook two minutes, turn and cook other side for two minutes, or until the filet is light brown and cooked through. If the filet is very thin, one minute on each side may be enough. (You can broil or bake the fish if desired). Serve fish on top of mashed potatoes, surrounded by the steamed vegetables. Garnish with chopped parsley or chives.

or Savory Lentils with Texmati Brown Rice

1/2 lb of organic green lentils (2 ½ cups), rinsed 4 cups water or stock
1/2 onion, chopped 1 cloves of garlic, chopped 2 carrots, sliced
2 stalks celery, chopped 1 bay leaf 2 sprigs of thyme, or ½ tsp dried
Organic Texmati brown rice (follow instructions on package)

To a large pot bring water and lentils to a boil. Add other ingredients. Reduce to the simmer, partially covered. Cook until tender (about 20 to 30 minutes), stirring occasionally and adding more liquid as needed.. Remove the bay leaf and thyme sprigs. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste. Serve over organic Texmati brown rice. Garnish with chopped parsley. Serve with a light green salad, dressed with the lemon chive dressing above.

Mid Afternoon

Herbal tea (not mint) or glass of strawberry soy milk or flavored fat-free yogurt

Early evening (best for supper)

Grilled or dry stirfried turkey or chicken without skin and steamed or stir fried veggies and mashed potatoes/baked potato or pasta

or Broiled Burgers with Mushrooms and Rice

1 lb lean (10% or less fat) ground beef
1/4 cup seasoned bread crumbs
1/2 tsp dried rosemary (crushed)
2 tsp dried parsley, divided
1 egg white
Nonstick vegetable cooking spray
1 tbsp olive oil
2 cups mushrooms
1 cup fat free skim milk
1 tbsp flour
1 1/2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup long-grain brown rice, cooked according to directions

In a bowl combine ground beef, bread crumbs, rosemary, 1 tsp parsley, and egg white.
Mix well and make into four 3/4" thick patties. Spray a broiler pan rack with nonstick vegetable cooking spray. Place patties on rack and broil 3 to 4 inches from heat for 5 to 6 minutes on each side or until desired doneness. Put olive oil and mushrooms in a skillet sprayed with nonstick vegetable cooking spray over medium-high heat. Cook 3 to 4 minutes until mushrooms are soft. Combine milk and flour together in a bowl. Add mixture to skillet. Add Worcestershire sauce, the remaining 1 tsp parsley, and salt. Stirring constantly with wire whisk, cook sauce 3 to 4 minutes until thickened. Serve mushroom sauce over broiled burgers with hot cooked brown rice. Makes 4 servings.

3 hours before bed

Another snack like a banana or a cup of clear soup

***************************
Gerd friendly recipes - Vegan and meat eaters (index in right column)

Fat Free Vegan and Vegetarian Recipes

Non Vegetarian Dairy-Free (lots of ideas and substitutes)

VegWeb Fat-Free Recipes plus tons of other recipes that should be suitable

Free Vegan Cookbooks (fabulous ideas) to download

Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine:
Parkinson articles

I had asked Jackie to help me find foods that would be suitable for a GERD diet and take into account the fact that Sinemet cannot be taken with large amounts of protein. I'd say she went out of her way to be helpful, wouldn't you? But I shouldn't be surprised. Every post she has on her blogs is just this thorough.

I can't thank her enough for all this information, but I can ask you to visit her blog, so please stop by

Developing Our Plan of Attack

In order to understand my approach to having a chronic illness, you need to know a little about me and my side of the family. My grandmother had and my Daddy has Macular Degeneration. My Daddy has been legally blind now for over 30 years, gradually losing more and more of his sight, but never doing anything to prepare himself for being blind.

I've said for years that if I were ever diagnosed with the beginnings of MD, I'd immediately start learning Braille and take classes on how to take care of myself from a low vision standpoint.

My approach to any illness is to search the Internet for every bit of information I can find. I have a Chemistry major, with a strong background in Biology and Biochemistry, so the technical papers usually make at least some sense to me.

With that said, it shouldn't be so surprising that I've spent almost all this week researching everything I can find about Parkinson's Disease. I've found bits and pieces of information on various sites that I've bookmarked for myself, but the links that have the most information, presented clearly, I'll be listing in the right hand column.

DH and I are working together, bouncing ideas around as we try to understand how to balance the medicine with the foods that interfere with the medicine, but are necessary for good health. I did my first set of the PD exercises today, and DH bought a different cereal for me, based on the nutrition information I found.

By the time I see the Neurologist again, I should have a good idea what I need to ask him about. Of course I'm still assuming the DX is going to be PD, but at least I feel like I'm doing something besides waiting for the next appointment.