Saturday, 8 June 2024

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...


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!


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?

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