They say necessity is the mother of invention and by its grace sometimes, well, mostly along this path I have stumbled -lately, fallen... a lot (not unlike a drunken sailor--you get the picture....) my way through to discovery of what my body will positively respond to and perhaps even more often....what it will not respond to. The latest of these epiphanies came from the desperation of an inefficient gut...and a very old jar (exp dated 2007) of papaya enzymes tablets that for some reason I never had the heart to discard (and I loathe taking anything that is not fresh).

So, I was surprised when after downing a couple of these with morning med (one half tab sinemet 10/100 + one half teaspoon mucuna powder) there was no dyskinesia. So now I have added drinking papaya leaf tea and a few enzyme tablets in the morning and one eighth teaspoon of slippery elm powder and after a couple of weeks of this still feeling a smoother transition inbetween med doses.

Anytime a gentle and inexpensive remedy can help I feel a r esponsibility to share with you all .

Hope this helps - MD

just curious how many times a day you take l-dopa and what exactly do you mean by "TRANSITION", are you going OFF unpredictably? staying ON is a full time job for me now.

sometimes 3 but usually 4 times/day --the minimum dose that I can tolerate yet affords me reasonable functionality. A neuro gave me a scrip for sinemet back in 1998 ( resting tremor began in 1994) which I discarded and waited till 2011 to take. I have been very guarded about not oversaturating receptor beds and also depleting B vitamins.

suffering ill health IS a full time job...do you feel like you are between a rock and a hard place.. ?no rest for the weary....??perhaps you are more dedicated to maintaining the status quo than I soccertese.

Thx for all your posts!

Kind Regards,
MD

I firmly believe in papaya helping PD symptoms. Just fresh papaya helps a lot, fermenting it with turmeric and cinnamon helps even more and I have been doing that for several years now. Any kind of fermented foods are good for your gut, papaya is incredible though. After fermenting it, I add ground flax seeds and it thickens slightly. I line dehydrator trays with unbleached parchment paper and drop the papaya in cookie -like blobs on this (about 1/4 inch thick) and dry it to breakable. This I store in zip lock freezer bags in the freezer until needed. I keep a small jar of finely ground fermented papaya in the refrigerator and place only 1 teaspoon on my breakfast supplements. Before doing this years ago...I was the Hunchback of Notre Dame at nite , trying to get to the bathroom about 2 in the morning...dragging one leg/ humpbacked/ one arm up in kangaroo position and the other reaching out for anything to support me.. ugh...I did my best to try to talk myself out of having to go, but it never worked! Since papaya I am normal at nite. God has given us all we need. Check out Thiamine (B1) for PD !!! I just posted news about this on the Four Acres to Grow Fava post. It's amazing too.

I'm beginning to resemble that hunchback at night that you describe so well, Aunt Bean. I'd like to try that fermented papaya - could you tell me exactly how to make it and use it? Thanks!

Sorry that I am not on line very often.
My fermented papaya concoction: All papayas are different sizes, for football size these are approximate amounts. Take your fresh, ripe (will give like a nearly ripe peach to the touch) papaya. Wash with soap and water. rinse well, dry well. Cut into rings about 2 inches wide and scoop seeds into a separate bowl. Peel off skin and discard *some can be rubbed on clean skin to soften...feels good. Cut away any discolored spots , like in any fruit. I blend the papaya fruit until smooth and pour into a clean glass or crockery bowl. Add 1 teas Ceylon cinnamon and 1 teas turmeric and stir in. (you can use more of these to taste) smooth out top, try to get rid of any air bubbles and cover with plastic wrap (start at center and *burp out air bubbles that form under it, until completely covered. Then I add another layer of plastic wrap covering first one and up over the sides tight to keep out air. Place this on counter with a tray underneath to catch expansion when it starts to ferment. Depending on the ripeness of the papaya and the temperature of the kitchen, it will take anywhere from 4 days (very ripe and warm kitchen) to 7 days to bubble. Watch for mold forming...if I see this under the plastic, I immediately use a spoon and scrape this off and call the ferment completed, It is best not to see any mold, just bubbles. At this point it can be put into a glass container with lid or plastic wrap in the refrigerator to use (I used a heaping Tablespoon a day of fresh) or , you can add fresh ground flax seeds to thicken (several TBS) stir in 1/2 teas salt if desired , a little sweetener, if you absolutely have to. Cut unbleached parchment paper to cover shelves in dehydrator and drop cookie size blobs on them. Flatten these out. Dehydrate these on vegetable setting or the fruit setting/ I like lower heat. When dry, I put these in Ziplock freezer bags and keep in the freezer until used. I grind a small jelly jar at a time to keep in the refrigerator and just use 1 teaspoon a day of this in my morning supplements. Your body may require more to start and build up the good enzymes until you are getting good results. The fermented papaya even improved my night vision. Just eating fresh papaya is supplementing a wonderful thing , but when I was doing that, I ate a lot of it. Good Luck,,, God Bless You