try the braverman for the heck of if?
 

For the "wound tight"
http://www.nutritional-healing.com.a...A%20deficiency


My weakness was accompanied by a panicky feeling, my husband was always wrapping my legs with athletic bandages for strength. Always in the evening, my friends know this.

http://www.naturescountrystore.com/p...dpanicattacks/

there's more but i'm kinda off. one includes the potassium condition if not these i will post it when on more.

Rick, many people with stiffness get diagnosed with fibromyalgia. Some of these seem to differentiate over time into other diagnoses, and a few of us wind up here....... along the way people are often told you are too young for this, or you can't possibly have that, but nevertheless time shows differently. Is this stiffness, that features so large for us as rigidity, a start point in a process of health deterioration......

Lindy-
What I think is shaping up, for me at least, and I suspect for many of us, is a hyperactive thyroid triggered by a high-stress incident that, in turn, sets up this hypersensitive condition that causes these electrolyte problems and the attacks that started all this.

Another molecule in another part of the brain could explain it
 

http://esciencenews.com/articles/201...nsons.research

This could definitely cause our dopamine dependent and acetylcholine dependent muscles much confusion.

All,
many researchers believe pd becomes an autoimmune disease, but there is probably an iinitial insult first.

myasthenia gravis is, at least in some cases, from not enough acetycholine if i understand it correctly. here's a statement about it:

In an autoimmune response, the immune system turns against the “self”, developing antibodies against its own antigens and destroying its own cells. For example, in myasthenia gravis, the person’s immune system destroys the acetylcholine needed to transfer nerve impulses across the synapses."

From NINDS:
http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/m....htm#153553153

What causes myasthenia gravis?

Myasthenia gravis is caused by a defect in the transmission of nerve impulses to muscles. It occurs when normal communication between the nerve and muscle is interrupted at the neuromuscular junction - the place where nerve cells connect with the muscles they control. Normally when impulses travel down the nerve, the nerve endings release a neurotransmitter substance called acetylcholine. Acetylcholine travels through the neuromuscular junction and binds to acetylcholine receptors which are activated and generate a muscle contraction.
In myasthenia gravis, antibodies block, alter, or destroy the receptors for acetylcholine at the neuromuscular junction which prevents the muscle contraction from occurring. Individuals with seronegative myasthenia gravis have no antibodies at all to receptors for acetylcholine and muscle-specific kinase, which is involved in cell signaling and the formation of the neuromuscular junction. These antibodies are produced by the body's own immune system. Thus, myasthenia gravis is an autoimmune disease because the immune system - which normally protects the body from foreign organisms - mistakenly attacks itself.

From http://www.hkpp.org/faq/periodic_paralysis.html
The Periodic Paralysis News Desk-

"The periodic paralyses are a group of rare inherited disorders that cause temporary episodes of muscle weakness or paralysis. Periodic Paralysis is found in all races and in both sexes. Attacks can begin at any age. Some patients have their first attack within minutes of birth, but a few don't have symptoms until they are in their 60s or 70s. The paralysis can be mild, and confined to one limb, or so severe the patient cannot breathe on their own. Attacks can last only a few moments or go on for days, depending on the type of periodic paralysis the person has. Some forms of periodic paralysis include muscle stiffness or rigidity as part of the attacks. Some forms include permanent muscle weakness which happens over a period of many years."

(Note- This is an extensive website addressing a dozen different PP with a special section for professionals.)

"Commercial labs only test for the two or three most common gene mutations found in Hypokalemic Periodic Paralysis and one or two genes in Hyperkalemic Periodic Paralysis when more than 30 mutations have been identified. In addition there are mutations which have yet to be identified. This should make it obvious that a negative DNA test does not rule out a diagnosis of periodic paralysis"

" In periodic paralysis the ion channels fail to regulate the flow of ions under certain conditions, and the electrical signals which keep the muscles moving come to a standstill."

"There is a secondary type of HypoKPP which is associated with an overactive thyroid gland. This type of HypoKPP is called ‘Thyrotoxic HypoKPP’ (TPP). "

"Patients with HypoKPP typically begin showing symptoms in the first or second decade of life...but first symptoms have been documented in patients as old as 60-70 years."

"Weakness most commonly affects the muscles of the arms and legs but may affect the trunk as well. Weakness occasionally affects the eyelid muscles (causing droopy lids). "

"During episodes of muscle weakness, potassium flows from the bloodstream into muscle cells, affecting the ability of the cell to contract properly. Potassium levels usually fall during attacks but are normal between attacks."


"Many episodes of weakness are triggered by food. Food triggers include sweet or sugary foods or starchy foods. ...... Insulin drives potassium from the blood into the cell, which triggers weakness. Salty foods, like burgers or potato chips, are a trigger for many HypoKPP patients. Getting too hungry, or eating a large meal (especially if you are very hungry) triggers episodes in many patients.

Other common triggers include unusual activity or exercise - usually the day before the attack, but sitting still for too long may also trigger episodes. Patients learn that pacing their activities is absolutely vital to gaining control. Sleep is a potent trigger, and many patients wake up paralyzed. Getting too cold (or too hot) makes some patients weak. Weather changes trigger episodes in some patients.

A little bigger picture
 

Hyperthyroidism is an overactive thyroid. Grave's Disease is the most common form. As I mentioned earlier, it can also cause the most common form of periodic paralysis (10x all the others combined). An attack leaves you weak as a kitten. PD is NOT required. But it makes a hell of a combination.

So here are three disorders. The PP element is the rarest. The combination of PD and hyperthyroid is much more common. There has been very little research done since the advent of L-dopa. A Medline search of Parkinson's + hyperthyroid turns up two hits. Change it to Parkinsonsism + hypothyroidism and you get 45 or so ancient "no abstract available" hits with a sprinkling of full text.

The consensus as best can be told from the texts and titles is that bringing the thyroid under control made a major improvement in PD symptoms. But nobody followed up.

Hyperthyroidism is another one of those hard to diagnose items, even when it rises above the preclinical stage, as it does under severe stress.

Two things have shown themselves effective at straightening out the problem. One is acetyl-L-carnitine (4 gr/day) and the other is lemon balm. I started both evening before last after having had two of my all time worst days ever. Yesterday was much better and today is starting off very well.

For what this is worth. I took in a cat that was going to be euthanized because her 10 yr lifelong owner had died.

She is hyperthyroid [found out after i adopted her] but of course had bonded with her as well. She was a really timid and strange cat and ran around all night jumping up and eating anything that might be left on the counters. She was playful for a 10 year old cat. It took months to get her to do these things because she literally hid in a bedroom till she got used to her new home. But she was ravenously hungry all the time it seemed which didn't match the fact that she had no muscle or fat - was skin and bones. At age ten she weighed 7 lb.

i'm leading up to something. OVerall she is a very smart cat - my other one who must be 19 yrs old is my best buddy but she isn't that smart.

ok so i took her to the vet for a bump on her cheek and a fever. they discover the hyperthyroidism and now she has to take medicine just like me for my hypothyroidism. thank heavens its chewable and flavored, she loves them.

what i wanted to say about all this is her entire personality changed wth thyroid medicine. She is calmer, doesn't play too much but is starting to again a little (after two months is she adjusting to the medicine?} And altho still gobbles down her food without chewing half of it, she no longer goes on kitchen counter night raids.

so if the thyroid can change the personality of a ca that much, what is hyperthyroidism doing to people? Combine that with too much epinephren [excitatory] acetylcholine [excitatory] and low GABA (inhibitory) and low dopamine [excitatory but has some inhibitory effects] you have a wound tight creature, impulsive, compulsive and weak brakes. That was me with a hypothyroid so I'm not saying the exact same thing as Rick but there is a relationship with the thyroid....and hormone deficiencies that also leads to illness.

Last point - my physical therapist, when i asked her if she had ever seen pd in children, said no but that many have metabolic conditions that were not common in the past - future chronically ill? Future pwp?

i think of loulou's post about the American diet at this point in the sergey thread. Agree with rick that much of what we are talking about with metabolic and transmitters also is old, outdated.

Is it really just a reaction to stress?
 

Hey all,

Spoke to my neuro yesterday regarding my "episodes" which are very similar to those who have reported here. He is an intellectually curious guy and he was intrigued by what was going on and did state that he hadn't heard of anything quite like this before.

Of course, that is as far as it went, but it was rather nice to be taken seriously and listened to even if he could not offer any insights. He did say kind of what I expected; it is his opinion that I am experiencing deep stress induced offs. He claims that stress is the only time he has seen meds not have any effect like this.

One huge insight I have gained from this whole PD experience is that stress and bottling up negative emotions over the course of decades will make us sick. I always acknowledged that as possible when reading of it, but never thought things were so out of control for me. My childhood was less than ideal, but who has a perfect one? I have realized that I have made a life habit of suppressing my emotions, and it has got to stop. It is interesting to note that when I do have these episodes, I feel a tremendous amount of anger. Rick, Lindy, do you have a weird sense of something eating at you too- it is so the opposite of what my body is doing that I sometimes wonder if these periods are my body's way of compensating for the fact that I have lived far too long in fight or flight mode.

One thing I plan to try is rolfing. I have read that it is a form of massage that recognizes the mind/emotion and body connection and that many do improve long term through any sort of touch therapy. Has anyone tried it?

Laura

Across the Great Divide
 

We are leaving neurology behind and entering the world of endocrinology. I am convinced that that is where PD lives. Yes, we have damage to particular parts of the brain, but the causes of that damage come from here as well as the immune system. Motor symptoms result from the latter's inflammatory response. Non-motor symptoms, however, are a child of the endocrine and stress.

Long neglected because neurology didn't consider it important, the endocrine system is all about stress and emotions. We all know what an effect these have on our symptoms, but we are only now starting to wonder what they were doing to us during those "pre-clinical" decades prior to that first tremor.

A lot of us have trouble with emotional stress. It disturbs our grip on things. We like for things to be cool and calm and we embrace homeostasis with a vengence. But it cannot be avoided. A a friend once said, stress affects everything. Any picture of the human condition that omits stress is incomplete.

This all interfaces with reality via the network of glands that make up the endocrine. It really is a network with each in constant communication with the others by means of hormones released into the bloodstream. The brain influences it but does not control it.

It has incredible power. An overt example are the stories of mothers lifting cars off their child. Pure endocrine response. But far more of its actions are subtle and day-to-day. It has been running since we were first conceived, constantly monitoring the environment for danger. I wonder when it decided that things were safer when we sat with our backs to the wall? Or when we concluded that if something was important that we had better see that it was done right?

The ghosts from childhood stay with us and this is where they live. Here at the center where their influence can reach every cell. They literally inform each individual cell about current conditions by means of the blood.

There is a lot to learn here. Just over the last few weeks, both by book and experience, I have learned:
1) The thyroid is the cruise control for everything else.
2) Stress makes it go faster and we call it hyperthyroidism.
3) When one person has both PD and high thyroid, correcting the latter can produce great improvement in the former.

There is much here to lean.
-Rick