I've been dealing with some major stress the last few weeks. So much so that I was having only a few hours per day that I could walk. It finally got to the point that an acute stressor would leave me so weak that I could barely speak. Worst I have ever been, in fact.

Which got me to thinking. Stress = cortisol. Cortisol levels in our blood increase under stressful conditions. They also follow a daily rhythm - they usually shoot up about breakfast time then plunge down to low levels by midnight and repeat (see the attachment). In short, the times that I am at my worst coincide with a bump in cortisol levels. The question is which is causing the other? The assumption seems to be that our cortisol goes up as we battle the PD. But the same data can make an argument that the cortisol is creating the worsening symptoms which I find to be the case for me.

The brain fog, the sensory overload leading to freezing, the frequent urination - all can be traced to reaction to cortisol.

One test would be to block the action of the cortisol and see if symptoms improved. There are a number of herbal products on the market which claim to do that as a weight loss aid, but they contain a dozen different herbs and the results would be of little value.

There is an herb, however, that does it. It is called American Skullcap (Scutellaria lateriflora) and is at the local health food store. Nature's Way is the brand I tried.

Two days in and I am very impressed. Very impressed, indeed. Stay tuned...

Attached Images

cortisol.png (12.0 KB, 335 views)