Nick Pernisco - Parkinsons Warrior: Guide to Supplements, Natural Therapies, and Medical Marijuana

Parkinsons Warrior: Guide to Supplements, Natural Therapies, and Medical Marijuana

Parkinsons Warrior: Guide to Supplements, Natural Therapies, and Medical Marijuana

By Nick Pernisco

Published by Connected Neurosciences LLC

Copyright 2021 by Nick Pernisco

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, write to the publisher, addressed Attention: Permissions Coordinator, at the address below.

Connected Neurosciences LLC
1037 NE 65th St. #80832
Seattle, WA 98115
www.ParkinsonsWarrior.com

Ordering Information:

Quantity sales. Special discounts are available on quantity purchases by corporations, associations, and others. For details, contact the publisher at the address above.

Orders by U.S. trade bookstores and wholesalers. Please contact Ingram Book Company: Tel: (800) 937-8200; Email: .

Printed in the United States of America

Cover design by Marianna Bernshteyn

Ebook: ISBN 9781087980348

Print: ISBN 9781087980324

First Edition

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Other books by Nick Pernisco:

Parkinsons Warrior: Fighting Back and Taking Control

Parkinsons Warrior: Deep Brain Stimulation, A Journey to Relief

Parkinsons Warrior: Guide to Supplements,

Natural Therapies, and Medical Marijuana

is dedicated to my wife, Rosaline Bernstein,

and to all the Parkinsons Warriors who

fight each day.

First things first Im not a doctor nor a lawyer, I dont pretend to be a doctor or a lawyer, and I dont play one on TV (or YouTube). What I am is a well-informed, engaged Person with Parkinsons (PWP). My intent is to provide you with information and inspiration to help guide you through your Parkinsons journey. While you will learn all about natural therapies, and you will be able to speak the lingo intelligently with your doctors, your family, and your friends, this is not a medical book, per se. This is one Person with Parkinsons reaching out to hold the hand of another Person with Parkinsons.

Always seek your doctors advice and follow their instructions before starting any new medication, beginning any exercise routine, or changing anything about your routine. In these pages, I will share my experiences, and give you a lot to think about as you consider when choosing natural therapies. My hope is that you will learn more about these natural ways to ease the symptoms of Parkinsons, and that this might change your life for the better. I hope you take this information, do more research on your own, then be informed enough to have a true discussion with your medical team one in which there is a back and forth of ideas, not one in which your doctor says, this is how it will be because Im the doctor. A good doctor will always welcome your input, and a great doctor will admit when they dont know enough about a topic and will be open to continue learning. My hope is that you may add a naturopathic doctor to your team, who would give you advice about natural therapies.

Ultimately, the decision is up to you. But as every Parkinsons Warrior knows, information is power. The more of it you have, the better off you will be. This book is meant to inform, educate, and inspire. After reading this book, you will know the good and the not-so-good about natural therapies. After reading it, take to the internet with questions, speak with doctors, consult with your local Parkinsons organizations, speak with others who have taken supplements or medical marijuana, or have tried some of the other therapies and see if they are right for you.

I would also like to say up front that I am NOT being sponsored by any company or organization. The only money I make is through book sales, and perhaps through a few sales of my app, Parkinsons LifeKit, which I mention throughout the book because it has helped me. I have had many profound experiences during my Parkinsons journey, but I will not recommend a specific company, and I will readily indicate any faults I see in any product. By buying this book, we have entered a sacred bond between reader and writer. I am looking to inform, educate, and inspire, not get rich.

One final word about the terminology I use here. Whenever I talk about the treatment of Parkinsons, Im talking about easing the symptoms. This is the gist of Parkinsons the disease is a set of symptoms, and there are ways to alleviate symptoms while not curing the disease. Remember, there is no cure for Parkinsons! This is also why I will continually use the term therapy and not remedy. A remedy aims to cure, reverse, or otherwise change the direction of a disease, while a therapy is meant to alleviate symptoms. That is what we intend to do here.

This book could not have been written without the help of so many people. To everyone in the Seattle Parkinsons community, including my friends at the APDA, thank you for your inspiration. To my many naturopaths, physical, occupational, and neuropsychological therapists during my journey, thank you for your support. To my friends and family, thank you for being there and for your love.

Over the years, I have had the good fortune to meet thousands of Parkinsons Warriors at conferences, as a Parkinsons patient advocate, as the moderator of the Parkinsons Warriors Facebook group, and in small, local gatherings around the world. One thing that has been a common thread with all of these new friends, is that they were not happy with the medication-only regimen that most movement disorder specialists continually push, especially early in the disease. Parkinsons Warriors seek something more than what is offered through traditional medicine. Obviously, exercise has a role, reducing stress does as well, but there is also a place for natural therapies, including supplements and medical marijuana.

The problem with this is that, first and foremost, most doctors will look down upon the nature only course of action. Since marijuana, even for medical purposes, is illegal in most of the world, most doctors wouldnt want to risk losing their license to practice by recommending you take a substance that is largely still illegal, especially at the federal level in most countries. And because marijuana is illegal in many places, it is practically impossible to get money for research. Harvard and Yale arent in the business of giving grants to researchers making new discoveries on what is still called pot in many circles of society. However, there is some research, and we will explore the early research in this book.

Another issue is that the promotion of natural supplements as an alternative or miracle cure can easily fall into the category of quackery. No, Im not a doctor. No, I do not believe there is a cure out there, if only you take this supplement. I am going to be very careful in this book about pronouncing something a miracle for Parkinsons Warriors. There is no miracle. Lets keep that in mind. On the other hand, there are supplements and natural therapies that might help with controlling or minimizing many of Parkinsons symptoms. There may even be supplements that alter the course of the disease through neuroprotection.

One final problem with writing this type of book is that everyone with Parkinsons experiences different symptoms on different days with different intensities. If you think about it, Parkinsons has only three symptoms that were originally defined as a part of the disease: tremor, slowness of movement, and stiffness. But ask anyone with Parkinsons and theyll tell you thats just the beginning of their symptoms. There are physical, mental, and emotional symptoms that we all face each day, and so it becomes difficult to recommend a supplement that will work for any one person. In this book we will explore a huge number of natural therapies, supplements, and medical marijuana, but it will be up to each of you to try, test, and see if a therapy is working for you.