There is such a dizzying amount of information about Parkinson’s disease available on the internet and at large. For people living with PD, their carers and clinicians, it’s increasingly difficult to know where to start and sometimes more difficult to know where to stop, let alone work out what a lot of it means.
We are all anxious to see major improvements in the field, and particularly keen to see the development of treatments that do more than control the symptoms of Parkinson’s disease. Indeed, perhaps most importantly, therapies that might slow, stop or cure PD.
In all of our searching however, its easy to forget that we already have at our disposal many strategies that help people living with PD feel a lot better, sometimes remarkably better. Some of these therapies like tablets are relatively simple to deliver, and others, like Deep Brain Stimulation, more complex, but coupled with exercise and a clear focus on mental health and wellbeing, existing therapies can make a big difference for most people living with PD.
So…its this kind of thinking that inspired us to write ‘Back to Basics’, a series of posts starting with what we know about Parkinson’s disease and moving on to a discussion of what we are currently able to do to improve the wellbeing of people living with PD. Of course, we’ll talk about the medical treatments, but you’ll also see a big focus on the motherhood stuff too: diet, sleep, exercise, mental wellbeing, bowel function and strategies to help with taking medications regularly and on time. We hope you find them helpful!