If you try something new, how will you know if it helps?

That's not as simple a question as it seems with PD. Our lives can be such a rollercoaster that anything less than a miracle could be easily lost in the "noise" even if it was helping. Sure, we can say we feel better. Today. But was it the new med/supplement/exercise/etc or did we just get a little extra sleep?

That's why science thrives on numbers. With all its limitations, it is still hard to sort things out without a hard data component.

I have made a NY resolution to start keeping a simple data stream and I encourage you all to consider doing so. It might pay off down the road. It will also help you sort out what is worth your limited resources of time and money and what is not.

Here's my plan which I began just four days ago and which is already proving its worth (more on that in just a minute). I already keep a haphazard journal so there is the natural place for my records. I wanted a quick and easy way of detecting real ups and downs of PD and have settled on two very basic tests.

First is the balancing on one leg test. I stand in a doorway with my shoulders aligned at right angles to the door and my back to the hinges with my eyes focused on a point on the door frame in front of my face. This gives me something to grab for if I lose my balance. I raise one foot and balance as long as I can and time it by counting "chimpanzees." I do it five times and only include those that get past "one". Then I take the best of the five and record it. Then I repeat with the other leg. Next, I repeat both with my eyes closed - much harder. That gives me two pairs of numbers.

That tests several things directly related to PD. Leg strength. Balance. Body awareness. Postural control.

The second is the moving of objects quickly from point to point. I use ten coins on a table. I start with them all grouped on one side of my laptop and then slide them one-by-one across the front (12") to the opposite side and then reverse and slide the ten back, timing it all the while with my laptop's clock. Then I repeat with the other hand. Finally I go through it again while opening and closing the "dormant" hand. Again, I end up with two pairs of numbers.

I do the leg standing in the mid-afternoon when I am on and at my best. I do the coin shuffle in the morning while waiting for my meds as a measure of my unmedicated state. Neither takes more than five minutes to do and should prove useful as time goes by. If you adopt a similar testing approach, remember that it is not so much just what you do so long as you are consistent. You are looking for change.

And I have found change in just four days, much to my surprise. I intentionally began this at a time when I had been off any supplements for about a week and a half while I adjusted my medication spacing. I had pretty well gotten the latter stabilized and so reintroduced the supplements that I have relied on for the longest - my "core" as it were. These are alpha lipoic acid, acetyl-l-carnitine, l-carnosine, green tea extract, ginger extract, and a multi-vitamin.

I reintroduced them on 12/19 and also took my first test readings as follows:
12/19
Leg stand, eyes open: R- 5 sec; L- 18 sec
Leg stand, eyes closed: R-0 sec; L- 5 sec
Coins, opposite hand passive: R- 25 sec; L- 23 sec
Coins, opposite hand active: R- 26 sec; L- 23 sec

So that was my baseline, meds only. I have not repeated the coins tests yet, but did repeat the leg standing part on the 20th and today the 22nd as follows:

12/20
LS, EO: R- 5; L- 23
LS, EC: R- 0; L- 5

12/22
LS, EO: R- 7; L-50
LS, EC: R- 3; L- 7

Now this is a very limited set of data and the next few days will be interesting. Far more interesting than just swallowing a handful of pills!

So, work out your own system as you wish, but give it a try for a week or two. Merry Christmas and Happy New year!

-Rick