Well we have survived the holidays and here it is 2014! The Christmas tree is down and the house undecorated and it is time to make some resolutions and get the diet back to normal. The week before Christmas I visited my neurologist and he doubled my medication dosage to .5 mg three times a day. By Christmas day the increase was having a positive effect on my balance and ‘sticky’ feet so the timing was perfect.
As many of us do, I have resolved to maintain a weekly exercise routine. I will exercise at least 30 minutes a day 5 days a week as part of the 2014 Mary-thon and I have set a ‘stretch goal’ (remember those?) to up the time to 45 minutes for at least some sessions as the year progresses. As I have mentioned before, exercise has been shown to be the best thing I can do to slow the progression of Parkinson’s and fight the stiff muscles so it behooves me to step it up.
I started PT last month and they have designed a plan to improve my core strength and balance. The staff at Star PT seem to enjoy working me over a couple of times a week but it’s for my benefit (so they say):) I also plan to add yoga or Tai Chi, both of which help with the stiffness and balance, to our exercise routine this year.
In a couple of weeks we will go to the University of Florida Center for Movement Disorders and Neurorestoration which is a National Parkinson’s Foundation (NPF) Center of Excellence. They incorporate an integrated multidisciplinary approach so I have appointments with a Neurologist, a Physical Therapist, an Occupational Therapist and a Speech Therapist over the course of the day.
The Center is headed up by Dr. Michael Okun who is also the medical director for NPF. He has written an excellent book,”Parkinson’s Treatment: 10 Secrets to a Happier Life” which is one of the first books I read after my diagnosis. He speaks at length in the book about why this integrated approach is successful. Since we are in Florida, after our visit to the Center we will spend a few days at the beach before heading home.
Another resolution I am making is to be a better blogger! I would like to post on a regular schedule and will work to do that this year. We will see how that works out!
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