By WOJCIECH WASILEWSKI
Expensive Reader, if you happen to’re in search of one thing comfortable and straightforward, please purchase a distinct e-book. This one isn’t right here to consolation you — it’s right here to shake your lazy world, to shock you, to pull you out of the identical lethargy I used to be trapped in for years after being identified. In the event you really feel anger, rise up, or perhaps a surge of motivation whereas studying, then it was price writing this book, each hour. Parkinson’s isn’t well mannered — and I gained’t be both. That is my warfare manifesto towards Parkinson’s.
All through this book, I take advantage of the phrase “Parkinson” as shorthand for Parkinson’s illness, not as a reference to James Parkinson, the physician who first described it. If that looks like an oversimplification — I apologize. However belief me, it’s the least essential factor right here.
Folks immediately are trying to find actual tales — not textbook definitions, sterile medical jargon, or sugar-coated tales of struggling. You gained’t discover any of that right here. What you’ll discover as an alternative is one thing way more useful: the reality. Uncooked, unfiltered, typically brutal, typically even vulgar. Why? As a result of that’s what this illness actually is. That’s the type of relentless battle you’ll want if you happen to don’t need Parkinson’s to steal your life, piece by piece. I’m not afraid of that battle — and that is precisely what this e-book is about. I need you to cease being afraid and to consider you may get into this battle too.
This isn’t a scientific e-book. I’m not a physician. I don’t have a PhD. I’m not an “professional” who seems on morning TV. I’m only a affected person — such as you. Somebody who heard the prognosis and, as an alternative of quietly accepting it and ready for the top, selected to battle again. And a very powerful half? After years of battle, I’m dwelling proof that it may be accomplished. This isn’t idea — it’s my sweat, my ache, my setbacks, and my comebacks. If you wish to learn the story of somebody who curses Parkinson’s out loud day by day and refuses to let it win — you’re in the appropriate place.
If you wish to hear the voice of somebody who assessments each doable methodology to claw again yet one more day of regular life from this illness, somebody who isn’t afraid to talk the reality and take dangers — this e-book is for you. That is my declaration of warfare on Parkinson’s. And if you happen to’re prepared to hitch me on this battle — come on board. As a result of to stay nicely with Parkinson’s, you must fully change your life-style. That’s precisely what this e-book is about.
PARKINSON’S AFFECTS THE YOUNG
I’m speaking to you — the one that typed into Google: “Parkinson’s and bodily exercise,” “food regimen and Parkinson’s,” “tips on how to cease Parkinson’s,” “are you able to get better from Parkinson’s,” or “can younger folks get Parkinson’s.” In the event you’ve landed right here, you’re trying to find solutions. I’m no miracle employee. I don’t have magic drugs or secret formulation. I do have one thing higher although — actual methods that work for me. Not only for me.
This isn’t an instructional thesis. This can be a battle information. A survival handbook. It’s about resisting this illness, outsmarting it, slowing it down, exhausting it. It’s about clawing again yet one more day of regular life — and doing it over again tomorrow.
You already know what annoys me probably the most? That almost all of individuals nonetheless assume Parkinson’s is a illness of previous males sitting on benches exterior their house buildings. That’s simply not true. Increasingly more younger folks — individuals who ought to have their entire lives forward of them — are being identified. After which what? Concern. Panic. The crushing feeling that every part is over. Docs not often have time to elucidate what’s actually happening. And the web? It hits you with nightmare eventualities — movies of individuals shaking so violently they will’t even carry a spoon. Nonetheless, that’s not the total reality about Parkinson’s.
For youthful folks, Parkinson’s is a very totally different battle — a distinct tempo, a distinct stress, a distinct type of warfare. They’re those who this e-book is for. For folks of their 30s, 40s, and 50s, with households, careers, desires, and plans — all of which Parkinson’s is making an attempt to tear away. We don’t need to let it occur. We are able to battle again.
WORDS OF CRITICISM FOR THE CRITICS
I can already hear the noise — the mocking, the scoffing, the eye-rolling. Critics saying there’s no scientific proof, that perhaps one thing did work for me however gained’t work for anybody else, that it’s all clichés and empty phrases. Possibly my Parkinson’s is ‘faulty,’ they’ll say. Or perhaps I don’t even have it. Or I simply bought fortunate and ended up with the comfortable model — you already know, Parkinson’s Lite.
To all of the critics who will declare that nothing on this e-book works, I’ve just one factor to say: Carry on clucking.
After I first determined to battle Parkinson’s, my situation was declining quick. I had muscle rigidity. I might barely stroll. My left arm didn’t swing. I felt that heavy-leg fatigue, and my tremors have been intense. I handed out twice — each instances collapsing within the rest room. Then I underwent the FUS process, and it considerably diminished the tremor in my left hand. That was the second I spotted I needed to change my life. And so started a gradual however highly effective transformation.
I HAVEN’T WON THE WAR
Let’s be clear, pricey Reader: I haven’t gained the warfare towards Parkinson’s — not even shut. Scripting this e-book, after working full-time as an analyst for eight hours a day, takes a toll on me. Sitting on the pc for hours briefly worsens my signs. Simply this morning, I awoke in ache — arms, legs, again, every part.
And what did I do? First I went for a light-weight three-kilometer run. Subsequent I took a freezing chilly bathe. Then I had a wholesome breakfast. These easy steps and similar to that — my physique got here again to life.
Now let me ask you, pricey Critics: what would you have got accomplished if you happen to had woken up feeling the way in which I did this morning? Would you have got popped one other painkiller? Slapped on a ache patch? Possibly relied on a pump delivering dopamine straight into your intestines?
Inform me — which certainly one of you can provide me a straight reply about what my life will appear like in 5, ten, or twenty years? None of you possibly can as a result of fashionable drugs doesn’t assume long-term. It treats signs — not causes — and it offers with them solely now, not tomorrow. So how lengthy will I final on this ‘dopamine from the pump’? I’ve been dwelling with Parkinson’s for nearly a decade. How shortly does my physique develop tolerance to every new dose? What are the long-term uncomfortable side effects?
Will I find yourself like my pal with superior Parkinson’s — so overmedicated he sees animals on his mattress and suffers from terrifying hallucinations? What occurs to me in twenty years if I comply with your playbook of escalating doses and stronger meds that deal with nothing however masks every part?
A few of you may say, ‘What about DBS?’ Effectively, right here’s the reality: Deep Mind Stimulation helps some signs, nevertheless it worsens others. Speech? Reminiscence? They usually worsen. DBS is outdated, invasive, and — a minimum of in Poland — poorly maintained. So no, it’s not the silver bullet both.
MY BODY AS THE PROOF
My physique is the perfect proof I’ve — nonetheless unscientific — that life-style change generally is a highly effective instrument on this battle. The distinction between how I used to really feel and the way I really feel now could be purpose sufficient to share my story.
Earlier than anybody thinks about stem cell remedy or gene enhancing — remedies which may assist however might simply as simply hurt — why not strive one thing accessible to everybody? Bodily exercise. A life-style overhaul. As a result of this illness hates motion. It thrives on stillness, dependency, and inactivity.
Sure, somebody may quote a examine claiming bodily exercise doesn’t all the time ship. Possibly that’s true in some instances. Even so in animal fashions, it helps. What about research on people? Let’s be actual — they’re restricted and never completely dependable. Why? As a result of you possibly can’t pressure somebody who’s severely sick to comply with a strict, demanding train routine. However I did. And it modified every part.
THE HONEYMOON PERIOD IS OVER
Now let me say one thing which may shock a number of and piss off the remainder: regardless that my so-called ‘honeymoon interval’ — that golden part when meds work like magic — ended very long time in the past, I’m nonetheless doing nicely. In truth, I’m in higher form than many newly identified sufferers.
How is that doable?
As a result of as an alternative of crying over the misplaced ‘honey,’ I set to work. I ended chasing miracles and realized the one miracle I can depend on is the one I create myself. No capsule will ever change a liter of sweat spilled in coaching, a deep breath of unpolluted air, or a plate of actual meals.
The honeymoon is over — however I’m not. So long as I can transfer my arms, my legs, and what’s left of my dopamine system, Parkinson’s won’t win. So if you happen to assume that after these early ‘golden years,’ it’s all downhill — you’re useless fallacious. That is when the actual battle begins. It’s as much as us whether or not we crash or climb.
On the finish of this e-book, I’ve included a fast and sensible information tips on how to handle a few of Parkinson’s signs at house — easy instruments, habits, and actions that may make an actual distinction.
MY STORY THE WASTED EARLY PHASE
I used to weigh 130 kilograms. I lived on junk meals and spent most of my time mendacity on the sofa, glued to the TV. Then Parkinson’s got here alongside — and flipped my world the other way up.
I used to be identified with Parkinson’s illness on the age of 36 or 37 (I’m 45 now). At first, I didn’t consider it. I assumed the docs had made a mistake. I stored hoping it was one thing else — the rest. However the prognosis was confirmed by a DaTSCAN. There was little doubt.
One in all Poland’s main neurologists, Professor Andrzej Friedman — for my part, an impressive professional on Parkinson’s — confirmed it: I had young-onset Parkinson’s illness (YOPD), affecting the left aspect of my physique.
So what did I do with that data? Nothing. For the primary 4 years, I wasted time. I sat on the sofa, I cried, I did nothing however watch TV. I let my dosage of levodopa–carbidopa improve whereas my well being slowly declined. I used to be caught — bodily, mentally, and emotionally.
SEARCHING FOR INSPIRATION
Then got here a second of reflection. I had two selections — quit or battle. I selected to battle. Wanting on the instance of Michael J. Fox and others dwelling with Parkinson’s, I spotted one thing essential: the street to success is lengthy, winding, and filled with obstacles. You’ll be able to have all the cash on the earth, entry to the perfect docs — and nonetheless lose to this illness.
For my part, the one possible way ahead is to fully overhaul the dangerous, self-destructive habits which can be breaking down your physique. That’s what I got down to do. I started trying to find data, for inspiration — for one thing to carry onto.
One of many first issues I got here to know was that weight problems and Parkinson’s illness are a horrible mixture. I used to be merely consuming my disappointment, consuming my despair. I didn’t have the data or the time — or perhaps simply the power — to comply with a correct food regimen. There was all the time that magical phrase: ‘I’ll begin tomorrow.’
THE TURNING POINT
Someday, I spotted I couldn’t hold suspending the laborious choice to vary my life-style. So I began — with weight reduction. As a result of actually, it felt like the best place to start with. I stored it easy. I diminished the calorie content material of my meals and launched one thing known as a ’feeding window’. One primary rule: eat lower than 2,000 energy a day, solely between 8 a.m. and three p.m. That was it. I didn’t lower out any meals teams. I didn’t quit sweets — I simply ate them moderately. On high of that, I began strolling and doing yoga. The outcomes have been staggering: inside a 12 months and a half, I went from 130 kg to 80 kg.
THANKS TO PARKINSON’S, I HAVE NO OTHER DISEASES
Unusual as it might sound — I’m grateful to Parkinson’s for this transformation. It could have saved me from diabetes, coronary heart illness, and all the opposite well being issues associated to extreme weight problems. After that breakthrough, I stored going. I stored experimenting with my very own physique, progressively introducing an increasing number of modifications. I modified every part — my food regimen, my bodily exercise, my sleep, even my psychological lifestyle. Was it straightforward? No. It was brutally laborious.
But immediately, after eight years of dwelling with Parkinson’s, I’m in higher form than many individuals who have been identified extra not too long ago. In truth, I’m in higher form than I used to be years in the past.
My situation hasn’t progressed. I haven’t elevated my medicine dosage in years. I at the moment take three tablets of Nakom 250 mg in the course of the day and two tablets of Madopar HBS 100 +25 mg at evening. Possibly I’ll even be capable of cut back that comparatively excessive every day dose and nonetheless really feel good.
Daily, I make the identical alternative: it’s me — not Parkinson’s — who runs my life. And if I can do it — so are you able to. Everybody has their very own model of ’Parkinson’s.’ It’s not nearly sickness. Everybody has one thing that holds them down — some concern, some burden, some invisible weight. In the event you can overcome Parkinson’s, you possibly can overcome something.
WHAT IS PARKINSON’S DISEASE?
Most individuals assume Parkinson’s is straightforward: lack of dopamine — give dopamine — drawback solved. Nonsense. That’s like taking a look at a burning home and saying, ‘Simply pour water on it, and every part shall be nice.’ Nevertheless, what you don’t see is that the gasoline exploded within the basement, the wiring is fried, and the inspiration is collapsing. Parkinson’s is not only about dopamine. It’s a full-body vitality disaster that impacts each cell — not simply the mind. Each cell in your physique — out of your mind to your muscle tissue to your coronary heart — depends on one factor to operate: mitochondria. These tiny energy vegetation create the vitality (ATP) that fuels each motion, thought, and heartbeat. The extra wholesome mitochondria you have got, the extra vitality (ATP) your physique can produce. And the extra ATP you have got, the extra power, focus, and vitality you are feeling.
PARKINSON’S DAMAGES MITOCHONDRIA
However then Parkinson’s creeps in like a thief and begins sabotaging these energy vegetation. Within the our bodies of individuals with Parkinson’s, mitochondria are broken and weakened. They produce much less vitality and age quicker. Meaning your cells are operating on empty. Much less vitality means much less motion, much less readability, much less life. You are feeling it as power fatigue, that lead-like heaviness, mind fog, the lack to get off the sofa. It’s not laziness — it’s mitochondrial failure. And it will get worse. Broken mitochondria additionally produce poisonous waste: free radicals. These unstable molecules assault wholesome cells like smoke flooding from a damaged engine. Your physique will get poisoned from inside. This units off a vicious cycle: free radicals destroy extra mitochondria, which then produce much more poisonous waste, accelerating cell dying — particularly within the mind. Parkinson’s doesn’t start in your fingers or toes. It begins deep inside your cells, the place your mitochondria — the engines of life — begin breaking down. That’s why dopamine medicine alone isn’t sufficient. You’ll be able to flood your system with dopamine, but when your cells don’t have the ability to make use of it, it gained’t take you far. It’s like pouring premium gasoline right into a automobile with a cracked engine block. The pistons may transfer somewhat, however you’re not going anyplace.
Scientific analysis backs this up. A Danish-German crew discovered that injury to mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) performs a key function within the improvement of Parkinson’s illness. They found deletions within the mtDNA of sufferers, particularly in mind areas answerable for cognition. In lab experiments on mice, they confirmed that mitochondrial injury results in the identical pathological modifications seen in Parkinson’s. This might result in new diagnostic instruments, biomarkers, and ultimately higher remedies. In brief, mtDNA is the genetic blueprint of your mitochondria. When it will get broken, every part begins to interrupt down — and Parkinson’s is only one doable end result. These disruptions hit nerve cells the toughest, as a result of they want big quantities of vitality to outlive. When that vitality vanishes, the cells start to die. That’s when neurodegenerative illnesses like Parkinson’s begin to take maintain.
These problems are particularly damaging to nerve cells, which want large quantities of vitality to operate. When that vitality provide breaks down, neurons start to degenerate — and that’s what results in neurodegenerative illnesses like Parkinson’s.
LIFESTYLE CHANGES CAN REPAIR MITOCHONDRIA
Food plan, motion, sleep, toxin elimination — all of those have a direct influence on vitality manufacturing on the mobile degree. Your mitochondria aren’t static. They will regenerate, multiply, and change into stronger — however provided that you give them a purpose to. That purpose is bodily effort, deep respiration, clear diet, and intermittent fasting, which prompts a robust mobile course of known as autophagy (we’ll come again to that later within the e-book).
Parkinson’s isn’t only a mind illness — it’s a complete warfare, fought in each single cell of your physique. Each step you are taking, each acutely aware breath, each drop of sweat sends a sign to your system: “We’re nonetheless within the battle. We want vitality. Begin rebuilding.”
What if you happen to sit nonetheless and complain? Your mitochondria get a really totally different message: ‘We’re accomplished right here. No want to provide something. Shut all of it down.’
And if there’s one factor mitochondria actually hate — it’s sugar. Sugar clogs them, weakens them, and slowly destroys their capacity to operate. It’s the final word enemy of your mobile engines.
This e-book shouldn’t be about hope — it’s about motion. In the event you’re uninterested in ready for miracles, begin making your individual.
To Beat Parkinson’s, You Must Stand on Your Head is obtainable now.
Wojciech Wasilewski is a Polish writer and fairness analyst dwelling with Parkinson’s illness — and preventing it with radical life-style change.
