Originally Posted by Muireann

Soccertease,

I have to disagree that 'alternatives' don't work. They are expensive and not covered by health insurance. Therefore people cannot afford to stick with them. So they are not realistically assessed. People 'dabble' in them and seldom make use of physical therapies every day or several times a week, whereas they are prepared to take pills several times a day. There are few clinical trials of 'alternatives'. No-one really knows what a dedicated intensive rehab programme might achieve for a PWP because there's no funding for it.

If you look at Moondaughter's recent post about a lady who says she has recovered from PD using Chi Kung, she said she was spending 3 hours a day doing it. That takes a lot of will power and belief in investing effort. And time that a lot of people might not have if they have obligations of work and childcare. That's why alternatives 'appear' not to work.

Linter, advice for your partner - I have benefited from massage therapy [you need lots of it and it's very expensive], a lot of yoga and now learning tai chi, accupuncture, Dopavite nutritional supplement [google it], swimming pool rehab exercises, cycling in the summer, and eating a good diet. I have had major problems with the PD drugs and quit them 1.5 yrs ago.

The alleviation of stress is hugely important, as is social support, love and friendship, interesting things to do by way of occupation, even if unpaid.

Any time spent lurking here will reveal that PD meds are very problematic. It is well worth it, if you are in the early stages where you can still basically take care of yourself, to really throw yourself into retraining your brain as much as possible, into balanced living, better movement and positive thinking. Really give the time to it as a matter of priority, and ditch any excess baggage in your life. You're fighting for your life.