Life Down Wattle Lane v2 - Closing the Gate

Gate #393 is the last & final gate that I will make... for the foreseeable future.

A big Thankyou to all the people who ordered a gate. I really appreciate your support over the last 3.5 years. 

Making 393 gates has kept me rather busy. 

Having "retired" from a 9 to 5 job about 5 years ago, making gates was an enjoyable way to fill in my days.

Gate #393.

However in 2025, January and February were challenging months for me and my Parkinson's Disease issues and it had me questioning... everything about where my life is heading. 

I like to be incontrol of my destiny, and it scares me when I am starting to lose that control.

My Parkinson's issues are numerous, and recently all seemed to step up a few gears in intensity. My balance, head pain issues, and at times just getting one leg in front of the other has been a challenge. Not to forget my right hand tremors doing their thing and at the most inconsiderate timing when using the drop saw and giving me a hell of a fright when the saw kicks back.

So I have decided to call an end to the gate making... for my own safety.

I'm now taking more than double of my Parkinson's medication, but although there seems to be a little improvement, Parkinson's is a progressive degenerative disease, there's no "getting better" pathway. It's more managing a lifestyle the best I can.

I'm very mindful, that a day will come in the near future where I will have to give up my lifestyle dream, living on my small farm. When I can't manage the day to day up keep, it's time to sell up and move back to town.

When that time comes, I will need to rehome my Arapawa Sheep... which will be heartbreaking as my breeding flock are my pets. They know me, I know their personality, I have names for some, they understand voice commands and hand signals.

In time, I will also need to find a new home for Unicorn Fibre Cleaners. So if anyone is interested in taking this on, please message me. 

Once again, Thankyou for all the gate orders.

Achievements while making gates:

> Biggest Order: 24 Gates

> Number of Gates made in 7 days: 11

> Gates have been sold to customers across the South Island, from Blenheim to Invercargill.

Life Down Wattle Lane v2 - Lambing Issues

Well that was an interesting start to the day. 

We've started lambing with 3 ewes having given birth to successfully to 6 lambs. The 4th ewe to go into labour was Girlie, a favourite of mine and a great doting mum to her babies.

But all started going a little wrong.

When I noticed that Girlie was in labour, I thought I would see if I can video it as she was close to the house. So I setup the tripod only to discover the sun was in the wrong position and then to notice Girlie was having difficulty.

See Facebook Reel...

https://www.facebook.com/share/r/157rJeCwmp/

This is the first time in 10 or so years of raising Arapawa sheep that I have had a birthing issue. Girlie was due, she was very big and possibly carrying twins as she had last year.

I wasn't too sure what to do. The lambs normally just pop out... but this lamb was truly stuck no matter how much Girlie pushed. The lambs head was out... so I had a little feel around... bare handed...ewww... and I could feel a hoof above the head and thought that's not right. I didn't want to forcefully pull the lamb out, as I wasn't sure what to pull and I didn't want to cause additional injury.

It was time to call out the vet.

Girlie was a trooper and on the vets arrival and elbow deep the vet discovered Girlie was trying to birth the two twins at the same time. The head of 1 lamb and the leg of the other coming over the top. The vet repositioned the second lamb and pulled out the first.

There was some signs of life in the first lamb, but as much as the vet tried to keep it alive it didn't survive. The second lamb was born dead.

What's really sad... Girlie is such a great Mum, and I can feel her heartbreak, as she stayed nearby watching me burying the lambs. 

Once I had finished Girlie rejoined the flock. Girlie should make a full recovery.

Life Down Wattle Lane v2 - There's No Day Like A Snow Day

We've been living here in North Loburn, Canterbury for just over 4 years and we've just experienced our biggest snow day since we have been here.

And then the day after....

Life Down Wattle Lane v2 - My Little Bottles of Hope... NEURALLI

I've made the decision to try Neuralli MP Lactobacillus Plantarum PS128, in an attempt to help reduce and slow down my Parkinson's Disease

This researched probiotic in theory works to help restore the gut to brain pathway. See Bened Life for more information.

"Parkinson's disease was recognized as a neurological disorder that was caused by and affected the brain. However, many researchers and physicians are beginning to point to a clear connection between the gut microbiome and PD. This has led researchers to wonder if getting ahead of gut health could not only help manage GI difficulties but also possibly slow neurodegeneration processes that start in the gut".

Given my other health issues and general poor gut health, I'm more and more thinking that perhaps this is the source of my health issues. So my thinking is to fix my gut health first and see where that leads me.

Neuralli is shipped from the U.S, and it took 12 days from placing the order online to receiving my order. There were a couple of hiccups at NZ customs which slowed the shipping process. Lessons learned: 1. Spend less than $1000NZD to avoid extra paperwork.  2. The shipper needs to include the full probiotic name and strain on the documentation.

It's not a cheap probiotic, so for value I have ordered 6 months supply. I checked with the manufacturer and the probiotic has a long shelf life when refrigerated. When kept unrefrigerated the probiotic has only a 30 day shelf life.

The little bottles were exceptionally well packaged, including 2 ice packs. The bottles arrived chilled. Also included was a temperature indicator card, which changes colour if exposed to heat.



I'm not expected to see any benefits for a couple months but I am really hoping for the reduction in my akinesia issues. This is the loss of power in voluntary movements which affects my right side. This is really becoming a real disability in my day-to-day life. If I can restore some of my normal movements that would be great.

For now I am not on any other Parkinson's medication and I am taking my probiotic capsules in the evening. 

Below I will track any noticeable changes.

Day 1 - 30JUN24

Less than 24 hours from taking my 1st 2 supplements my right hand tremor was noticeably significantly reduced.

We were out at a large lunch today, which with a large social situation would normally set off my tremors, but today they were vertialy non existent. 

My fingers are crossed 🤞 that this is a good sign of things to come... but it's way too early to draw any conclusions.

Day 3 - 2JUL24

Today I've noticed that my right hand/arm has regained some freedom of movement. 

I was using a hand saw to cut some timber and today I was able to use my right hand. I haven't been able to do this task with my right hand for more than a year. I have been unable to sustain the push/pull motion due to my Parkinson's akinesia. 

So just 3 days after starting on Neuralli I am able to use my right hand to cut timber!

It's not perfect but it's better than it was. 

I'm naturally right handed, so the loss of movement in my right arm and hand has been a challenge having to rely on my left hand.

DAY 7 - 6JUL24

It's been 1 week since I started taking Neuralli. During the first 3 day I found significant improvement in my symptoms, or a reduction in them. But since about Day 4 I have slipped backwards,  back into my normal Parkinson's self.

My takeaway from this is that initially the Neuralli has found and depleted all the dopamine available in my system. What I need is new dopamine producing cell regrowth to replace what Parkinson's has killed off. I guess this will take time, if at all?

The Neuralli Parkinson's study had Parkinson's patients take Neuralli in conjunction with their Parkinson's medication which resulted in great improvements in their motorsymptoms. 

I've not been taking Parkinson's medication due to side effect issues. 

So my plan is to try Neuralli un-medicated for the first 2 months and to see what improvements are experienced. If there's little to no improvement, then I will introduce myself again to my Parkinson's levadopa medication but at a reduced level, to hopefully minimize the side effects problems I have previously experienced. 

My hope is that Neuralli will help to reduce my Parkinson's issues with the least amount of Parkinson's medication possible.

DAY 30 - 29JUL24

Honestly little to no noticeable improvement in my Parkinson's symptoms. Possibly feeling a little clearer in my head and thinking process. Also I still seem to be losing weight albeit slowly and with no real change to my diet. I first noticed weight loss when taking Yakult. My normal weight for years has been 92-93kg but I'm now down to 87kg. 

DAY ? - 18AUG24

I have been feeling positive and happy about life over the last few days, and that's despite ending up in hospital last Monday due to my EoE issue. Also I feel there's improvements in my walking stride, in that my right leg that drags isn't dragging as much.

So a little improvement to report.

DAY 60 - 28AUG24

I have reached the end of my 2 month trial of Neuralli MP with out any other Parkinson's medication and I would conclude it's been a mixed bag. Somedays I feel great and get excited and start dreaming about the possibility of going back to paid employment... and I haven't felt like that for a very long time. But that sense of hope is quickly taken away.

So what's next?

My plan now is to introduce Parkinson's medication at the lowest dose possible.

When I was taking Sinemet 100/25 three times a day, which contains 100mg of Levadopa per tablet, which made me physically vomit.

So inconjunction with Neuralli MP I will take 1× Madapor tablet per day which has 50mg of Levadopa. I will take the probiotic and medication for a month and evaluate at the end.

My hope is that Neuralli will help to make the most out of such a low dose of Levadopa, giving me the much needed dopamine, all the while hopefully avoiding any of the side effects that comes with Parkinson's medication.

I don't know whether I am doing the right thing... but I am hoping that I am taking a cautious approach to obtain the benefits without the negatives.

More Evidence that there's a link between gut health and Parkinson's Disease....Upper GI Damage Linked to 76% Higher Parkinson’s Disease Risk so I will continue on my path of trying to improve and restore my gut health while taking the smallest dose of Levadopa medication to reduce and keep at bay any side effect issues.

Day 90

It's been 3 months since I started my Neuralli journey, and 1 month since I restarted taking my Parkinson's medication and to be honest I am disappointed in the little if any improvement in my Parkinson's symptoms. I feel my thinking and thought process is much better without the brain fog. My walking stride is probably getting worse,  my partner noticed that I tend to lean forward when walking... which I find that's something I do when I am walking trying to keep up with him. I think I need to see my GP about an intense but short stabbing pain I'm experiencing at very random times, isolated to the lower left side of my lung area. Feeling very old and tired.

Day 120

4 months in I am questioning the positive gains and benefits of taking Neuralli.  I have been experiencing more issues despite being on Neuralli and Madapor. About a week ago I stopped taking Madapor due to ongoing headache issues that are not responding to nurofen and the headaches are making me irritable. Bit over it all, but I have booked in to see the doctor although the earliest appointment is a week and a half away.

I still have 2 months supply of Neuralli to go... it will be interesting to see what happens when I stop... what effects will no Neuralli have? At this stage I will not be reordering Neuralli.

FINAL NEURALLI CONCLUSION:

I've completed 6 months of the Neuralli supplements and while taking the Neuralli tablets daily I noticed very little improvement in my Parkinson's symptoms. 

At the end of the 6 months I decided not to continue with Neuralli.

It's just been 2 weeks with no Neuralli and I have noticed an increase in my Parkinson's issues.

Tremors are worse.

Balance is significantly worse.

Walking is worse.

Stiffness is worse.

Mood is worse.

Bladder issues returned.

Sleeping/Tiredness worse.

Poop worse.

My conclusion is that Neuralli did help to hide the progression of my Parkinson's symptoms and issues.

Would I like to continue with Neuralli? YES

Will I continue with Neuralli? NO DUE TO COST... at over $200NZD per month it's out of my reach when I have no income.

 .

Life Down Wattle Lane v2 - My Nemesis & Hope

It's been over 4 years now since my Parkinson's Disease diagnosis and one of my greatest challenges has been a source of hope.

From very early on in my journey I was resigned to the fact that I am now just waiting for my eventual death.

Parkinson's is a slow progressive degenerative disease with no cure and therefore no hope. 

The condition robs you of a normal life. I truly miss my working life. I certainly miss the paycheck and I miss the people.

What medication there is available, only helps to ease some of the symptoms but that comes at the cost of some nasty side effects. From what I have read about the Parkinson's medication, it does not slow down the disease but merely gives you a brief honeymoon period before the effectiveness starts to wear off. For myself, to date the Parkinson's medication has not been my friend. So I have decided to take the medicine free approach for now... it seems like a lot less hassle living this way.

I have no scientific knowledge to base this on, but I feel my Parkinson's and Esophagus Esophagitis issues stem from poor gut health. I've been reading a lot, gone down a few rabbitholes... but there are some similarities about the possible origins. 

So if my issues start within the gut, I have come to the conclusion that perhaps I need to improve my gut health.

I've started on a safe, affordable and well researched probiotic,  Yakult, in an attempt to restore the natural balance and order of my gut microbes... if that is the right term.

After about 3 months of downing a bottle of Yakult every day I am seeing some positive health outcomes. These include reduced constipation, reduced sore/sensitive stomach issues, reduced sweet tooth, weight loss and I have regained hunger pains. I didn't know that I was missing them until they resurfaced. I think I am perhaps digesting food better... I'm not sure.

So probiotics has been good. So can I take it further?

Well it appears I now can! 

Parkinson's research tends to be now focusing more towards gut health and the pathway from the gut to the brain. This has lead to a discovery, with research behind it. See the following article...

Probiotic for Parkinson's Disease article

This new probiotic PS128 can help with Parkinson's and possibly slow the disease. It's reassuring that there's some research behind the findings.

I now have a regained feeling of hope. It's not a cure but HOPE!

Benedlife

Unfortunately, for this little bottle of hope, at well over $200 a month, so it's well out of my reach.

I have sent an email to the company with a few questions and concerns. But if their reply alleviates my concerns should I somehow make it happen, find the money? 

Should I give this PS128 a go?

Life Down Wattle Lane v2 - Gates # 355 & 356

Gates # 355 & 356

A planned 1 week job turned into a 2 week job... mainly due to my Parkinson's slowing me down. 

A lot of cuts, sanding, painting and a heck of a lot of bolts that I'm finding more difficult to install these days. My hands just don't seem to have the strength in both hammering the bolts into the holes and then tightening the nuts.

But I didn't sucumb to my nemesis and got there in the end.

The job... new gates for this entrance, essentially the same gates but higher.

The finished gates...

Life Down Wattle Lane v2 - Preparation for Arapawa Lambs Sale

Our Arapawa Lambs are now 4 months old and it's time to get them ready for sale and rehoming.

We've already weaned off and separated the ram lambs from the main flock as they had started to annoy the Mumma ewes. The Mumma ewes are also starting to walk away from the ewe lambs when they try to feed. The Mummas have had enough.

Before we Iist them for sale they all will be drenched, feet checked and bottoms tidied up if required. 

I also like to introduce the lambs to sheep pellets and hay. So when they are rehomed it's a bit easier for the new owners.

Today it was back to school with the Mumma ewes showing the lambs how it's done!