(14) PBM & PD: more questions than answers?

What is "normal"?

What does the word "normal" mean to me? Well, I have three responses. Is it to be a man in his late sixties and (i) to ignore the onset of my Parkinson's Disease (PD), (ii) to acknowledge I have PD and am sensibly medicated or (iii) to acknowledge I have PD and (actively or stupidly) engage in finding drug-free alternatives to the disease? I am reminded of a song by Johnny Nash: 

There are more questions than answers
Pictures in my mind that will not show
There are more questions than answers
And the more I find out the less I know
Yeah, the more I find out the less I know...

So, "There are more questions than answers"! 

Is drug-free PD realistic?

Would it be realistic to accept (i), (ii) or (iii) above? The first response is unrealistic as, when possible,  I've generally sought alternative remedies for any ailments. The second bothers me as I would not know how to deal with those periods between the drug wearing off and waiting for the next dose (this is second hand information). And I say this with great admiration for all those who are parkinsed and are taking medication. So, I need to justify my current approach, namely, a drug-free approach to PD. 

I have been thinking a lot about approach (ii) and opting for medication over the past month as I have moved from thrice-weekly to weekly doses of laser or near-infrared (NIR) therapy. The weekly doses are great for a few days but then appear to wear off, I imagine in the same way the medication is reported to "wear off" in some who are parkinsed. I completed a total of 14 sessions of therapy between 03 May and 03 August 2020. That includes the initial 10 sessions over three weeks (May), followed by the mandatory month-long break (June) and now weekly maintenance sessions (started July). To date I have had four weekly sessions. 

Sadly, my tremors have worsened. It is reasonable to assume that the increased tremor is the natural progression of being parkinsed since 2013 (remember "I'm all shook up" 😀). But worse still was the difficulty in maintaining a daily exercise routine. By the way, exercise for PD includes standing for long periods, sweeping, walking up and down stairs, stretching in the shower, etc. Consequently, I have been thinking about PD medication. 

The picture below, taken at a Gauteng bird park, illustrates my quandary. Do I continue to follow my heart and eat later like the pelican in the top-right corner, or do I want to be one of the crowd and eat now, like all the others?          

Is PBM worth it?

My non-committal answer to photobiomodulation (PBM) is: "Maybe. Maybe not." That is always a useful contradictory response when one is in a quandary. 

In the last post, number 13, I drew attention to seven contrasting factors surrounding my NIR (aka PBM) therapy. Today, after my 14th therapy session I am on top of the world and feeling like the old "me", feeling clear-headed, feeling confident and feeling positive. This is a Go Ari time of the month! 

In the last post, I also drew attention to the 'apparent separation between the mind and the muscles', and there's the disjuncture. I have been spending a lot of positive energy on pre- and post-PBM/NIR because I need to make sense of my decision (thanks O.M. in Durban for a heads-up on the Carte Blanche documentary). It is so much easier to experience the therapy as someone else is doing it for me. There is  no doubt in my mind that the "intruder" inside me will get stronger but I would like to think that this therapy is allowing me to deal more effectively with this eventuality. However, I need to maintain the Biokinetics routine together with the therapy. Simple, really, to address the disjuncture but easier said than done. There is no group to help motivate me as I had in the Dance for Parkinson's classes in Gauteng. It's just me, myself and I. 

If I am able to balance the amount of energy spent on both the mind and the muscles then this PBM/NIR adventure should be worthwhile. 

A way forward

I need to stay with the programme and address the notion of a 'disjuncture' above. Creating a balance between the agility of my mind and the flexibility of my muscles is critical in order to merge the two functions again. August is the month of my revisiting this disjuncture so I may return to the august company of my mind and my muscles. Eish! 

Till next time, stay safe.