I picture it as a game to play with my neuro next visit, but it is really intended to be a collection of observed symptoms, effects, etc that just don't fit the simplistic "dead cells, low dopamine, tough luck" theory. I'll start with one that got me thnking. If you have another, add it in.

When I am freezing and my feet are epoxied to the floor, I can break a foot loose by simply touching the top of my (bare) foot with the tip of a lightweight walking stick. I can achieve a similar effect by pivoting the foot to touch the heels together. Each "trick" is good for a single step and must be repeated.

As best I can tell, this has nothing to do with dopamine or the substantia nigra. My guess is that there is a sensory phenomenon involved, perhaps a result of neuropathy.

Anyone else have one?

I have the same effect lifting my left arm(symptomatic side). I can put my right index finger on the back of my left hand and the arm lifts much easier and with far less cog wheeling. Just by touching it.

I find a similar thing with arm swing but using mental prompts only

Reduced arm swing...

Think swing arm seems to cause confusion in the movement - works for a couple of cycles but seems to fail quickly.

Think pause at high point of forward swing and forget about the swing motion itself = seems to provide a more fluid movement that lasts a great deal longer before interruption.

Anyone else find the same or am I getting clogniton too?????

ken

Ooooo, Rick, I bet your neuro just LOOOOOVES to see you coming. Twenty years of school and training would sure make anyone want to play games, LOL. Hey, they don't even really know how a normal brain works yet!

But seriously,

This is really why I responded. Why do you say this?/How do you know this?

Jaye

I got one for you. Not all the time, but once in a while, when I am "off" I can concentrate really hard on a big step forward...and break out into a SPRINT!!! I can keep going as much as 1/2 a city block, maybe 20-30 seconds (?). When I stop running I slow down and within seconds (2-3) I am back to my "off" condition.

Try to explain THAT with a "lack of dopamine" theory.
Keith

whether its a foot to step accross, a laser beam or whatever, Anything that changes our motor responses works. I used to get yelled at work for running. I explained that I ran because I could not walk.

there are lots of things that work in this regard. You just need to try them til you find one that works for you.

Charlie

I am doing remarkable better in relation to all symptoms, even when I forget to take my meds..I have made 3 changes in the past 8 months, and they are..

Switch from 3x25/100 Sinemet daily to:..

2x50/200 Sinamet CR daily since around August

Ive taken 4 25/100 Sinemets daily before with nowhere near the results

1/2 Teaspoon of DM before bed since March

Seeing a Chiropractor once a month

I walk near normal now and the only new consequence being dystonia in my bad leg and foot

When I was at my AA meeting last night, I saw a friend who I havent seen for a few months, who used to work for the Chiropractor I used to see a few years ago, and she asked me what I did, because I am walking and moving so much better?

Keith yes!! I've had a similar experience.
Late to catch a flight in an off state and told "they're about to close the gate" I could suddenly run faster than the rest of my family and beat them all there. I then reverted to my off state.
Strange to say the least. It only happened to me the once but I remember reading of a similar encounter a PWP had in a burning house.
Lee

I decided along time ago to swing my arms anyway and to walk when my body said can't - I would walk backwards etc. the worst symptoms I have are caused by excessive worry which leads to stressing the adrenals,
my worst time of the month for PD crapola is the PMS timing...
otherwise, I was told the freezing is not the body but the eye gaze, so to stop look around the room and breathe some more, will unlock the entire freezing -my best scenario is if I freeze - I can run... so I will run to said spot ... but the weirdness of this scurge - I can only tell you is PD was mainly labled as a mental illness...
I do not have faith in illnesss.

I have been off meds in front of a world reknown neurosurgeon and many neurologist, and could show them -the running, it amazes the crapola out of all of them -more like scares them..
___________________

the emotional component as the key to the cause and cure of genuine or idiopathic Parkinson's disease. I have come to the conclusion that the real underlying cause is an inappropriate response to panic situations. Instead of fighting or running away in a situation of extreme danger, the Parkinson personality will freeze up and 'play dead'. One may be born with this trait or it may be acquired in this lifetime.
If born with it, then in a frightening situation already as a baby or small child this personality type will freeze rather than scream and thresh about with arms and legs. There is a 'frozen panic' at the bottom of this personality, which causes them to move fearfully through life. However, the affected individual or friends and family members are usually not aware of this. Commonly it is covered by a rather rigid and inflexible personality that tries to control events and conditions in order not to be suddenly confronted by unexpected and potentially frightening situations.
The following case history may be typical for an acquired 'freeze-response'. This individual was a bomber pilot during the Second World War. Over the Strait of Dover his plane was hit and started burning. He was extremely frightened but remained outwardly calm at the controls. Several years later he started developing signs of Parkinson's disease.
In the case of an 'inherited' freeze-response regression therapy revealed an experience in which the patient was being burnt as a witch at the stake. Lately she had been so afraid of fire that she even froze when just watching a fire on television. After I suggested during regression that she mentally free herself of the ropes and run away, she was no longer afraid of fire and her Parkinson symptoms considerably improved.
My understanding of the connection between an inappropriate panic response and Parkinson's disease is about as follows. There is a two-way communication between the movement centres in the brain and related muscles. While dopamine dependent nerve impulses stimulate and control muscle action, there is also a communication from the muscles to the brain, relating the responsiveness or ability of the muscles to move. Muscles, like every other part of the body, retain a memory of past traumas. This can be shown with regression and similar therapies. However, in this case it is not just a mental memory, the real damage is done by 'frozen emotions'.
The emotions are the connecting link between the mental level and the bio-energy flows in the acupuncture meridians. The frozen emotional energy slows the meridian flows in the affected muscles and leads to increased rigidity and spasticity by affecting neuromuscular receptors and other biochemical parameters. This in turn leads to a reduced communication from the muscles to the brain, thus weakening the energetic as well as biochemical structures of the muscle control centres in the brain.
This makes these control centres susceptible to other harmful influences, be it emotional stress, vitamin-mineral deficiencies, endotoxins and microbes as well as chemical toxicity from the environment. I also noticed a connection with dislocations in the spine, which interfere with the movements of cerebrospinal fluid and energies within the spine. A combination of all of these factors may gradually lead to the degeneration of the substantia nigra and related structures.
Furthermore, it is known from Reichian or bio-energetic bodywork that the freezing of one important segment of the emotions leads to a general suppression or inappropriate response to all emotions. If the affected individual would start to feel strong negative emotions and especially anxiety, there would be an imminent danger that the memory of the frozen panic could awaken and emotionally overwhelm the mind and body. This must not happen and the only way the individual can keep suppressing any arising strong and potentially terrifying emotions is by tensing the affected muscles. While this gradually leads to more and more emotional and bodily rigidity and maintains the inappropriate body responses in the face of danger, this is the price that the individual subconsciously is willing to pay for keeping the panic memory from becoming conscious.
This basic underlying cause of P.D. needs to be removed if one wants to have any real chance of overcoming the disease. The key to removing the memory of the frozen panic from the body is to become conscious of it and emotionally relive it. This may be done with regression therapy, although one needs to be aware that there may be several incidents in different time frames. As the subconscious mind is very reluctant to revisit traumatic incidents, it needs to be firmly guided in the desired direction and many attempts may have to be made. Most promising is likely to be the exploration of the death experience in the previous incarnation. If successful, then initially the panic-causing incident will only be contacted at the mental or intellectual level. Repeated regressions need to lead deeper and deeper into the emotional aspects of it until the full emotional impact can be felt. This will be a terrifying experience with possibly strong bodily manifestations and requires the presence of a competent therapist, guide or helper.
Normally it will be necessary to get a professional therapist who is experienced with regression work. However, you may do some preliminary or additional work with the help of a reliable friend as described in Mind Tools. After a panic situation has been made conscious, it is equally important to relive it again during regression with the suggestion to act appropriately now and to use guided imagery for this purpose. In addition, use guided imagery during relaxation or meditation periods to imagine using the body appropriately in a variety of dangerous situations.
Until the individual becomes fully aware of the hidden panic, he or she will continue to prevent actually feeling anxiety and other negative emotions by increasing muscle tension which in turn reinforces the symptoms of Parkinson's disease. With this, the severity of Parkinson symptoms can fluctuate very much according to the momentary emotional condition. While good nutrition and supplements can more or less remove most of the symptoms of Parkinson's disease and improve the overall energy level, a real or complete cure should include both, emotional as well as nutritional therapy.
Mark Hurni made a great contribution to the understanding of the emotional component of Parkinson's disease by observing his bodily reactions to emotional challenges. He started developing symptoms of Parkinson's disease in 1990. Instead of using drugs, he decided to try body-based psychological therapies to heal his emotions.

I, too, can run when I cannot walk. When I cannot turn I can hop up and down to pivot about, as well.

I don't like to call these "tricks" like the doctors do dismissively. These are observations they can't explain and should be of keen interest to them.

Others- Taking my shoes off alters everything when freezing. Removing my socks does it again. A year ago I was seeing my GP and began freezing in the exam room. I told him that in all these years he was the only doctor to have had the opportunity to see me in that state. He is a good doctor and paid close attention as I demonstrated just what a pain in the butt PD can be. Then I told him "Watch this." and removed my shoes, picked them up, and walked completely normally out the door. He was suitably impressed.

Another bit of surreal PD lore- I find that talking to myself out loud explaining what I am about to do enables me to do it. "I am going to stand up and smoothly walk across the room and turn at the chair and sit down." And I do exactly that. If I had not done the vocal bit I would have frozen upon standing and struggled across the room. Now, that is weird.