Helping Those Who Care for Parkinson's Patients
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My husband was in the hospital for the last 5 days due to constipation/bloating/cramps and a lot of pain. He was scoped to check off anything other than PD related constipation. We have not tried coconut oil yet, but it is on the list for tomorrow. He has been taking 4-6 sennekot a day as well as eating the "Recipe" in the morning of bran, dates, prunes and raisins all blended together. He has also had enemas, eats nothing but whole grains and all the other things we are told to eat/drink. He has a lot of trouble dealing with anxiety, and anything 'little' thing can set him off and cause what I call attacks, but he says feel like he is being Tassered. Mostly right-sided, his muscles cramp/spasm and hurt and it goes on and on and leaves him exhausted. Usually the Sinemet he takes can keep these attacks at bay, but not always, especially if he gets an anxiety attack. He takes 2 100/25 Of the sinemet every 3 hours and a 200/50 sinemet CR at bed time. He has started taking clonazepam for his anxiety. Because we just got him out of the hospital this afternoon he is exhausted and anxious because he feels his constipation/bloating/acidity stomach problem is not addressed. he was told tonight to take 2 glasses of GoLytely as well as 2 sennekot during the day and that is supposed to keep him moving. Questions I have: Has anyone heard of these intense painful attacks in other PD patients? Anyone know of anxiety causing these attacks? Other suggestions? Desparately, Jeannie |
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I have no quick fix for him. If the coconut oil comes in capsule form start him with 4 tablets and if that works try weaning him down to two as is working for me. I dont know what the dosage of the pure stuff is but can research it for you on another of my forums. As for the cramping and pains, they are a part of PD. I get leg and toe cramps, stiff neck shoulder pain hamstring tightness and calf muscle pains. Fortunately for me none are continuing and are relatively infrequent. I do not experience anxiety attacks but would strongly suggest getting into some form of relaxation regimen. Try everything ranging from simple exercises to hypnosis (i use a relaxation CD). Good luck. Bob C |
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The dose of coconut oil from the jar is supposed to be two tablespoons per day. It's often mixed with oatmeal. Digstive problems can definitely give a person terrible cramps and sharp abdominal pains. I once was sent by a doctor to the ER for x-rays for abdominal pain that turned out to be gas. Very embarassing. So, if the coconut oil works as well as many people say it does, that may help the pains quite a lot. |
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Yes, coconut oil and yes, that pain is horrendous. Our daughter was in the emergency room as a toddler because her pain was so bad her pediatrician was concerned she had an aneurism in her intestines, talk about freak out! We went racing to the ER, where, after hours and tests, it turned out to be gas from, surprise, way too many sweets and insufficient water intake. We really watch the sugar intake now, with the kids and us. Remember sugar actually dehydrates us as the cells take in more water to handle the glucose. The ER doc told me gas could be one of the most painful pains there is, ranking right up there with childbirth, and after watching my kid writhe around on the table screaming, I agree. He gave her an enema, she did her thing, and that was that. Most expensive poop I know. Another comment: all these drugs our dear loved ones take exert tolls on the body that no one really knows all the consequences of. I would suspect that at least some of them upset the natural balance of things, so we do the following (I'm no doc but this at least makes us feel like we are being as proactive as we can, and it's something I also take with my husband): 1. take a food-based (preferably organic) multi-vitamin; 2. take a food-based (again, organic if you can find it) multi-mineral at a different time of day that you take #1; 3. supplement seperately with potassium, magnesium, and calcium (many drugs leach these minerals out of the body, and most multi-minerals have pathetic amounts of these critical minerals in them); 4. the coconut oil, and the dose most take is 2T a day although we don't take quite that much, we spoon a hunk out of the jar and mix that in the oatmeal or smoothie; 5. eat yogurt at least once a week (hey, you could put the coconut oil in that too!) to keep the healthy bacteria going in the gut. Most doctors will not tell you about this (or worse, don't know) and I was horrified recently to learn my mother's doc prescribed her a drug for her heart palpitations which is well known to leach potassium out of the body, and most docs prescribe a potassium supplement to counter this effect. My mom's doc did not. I bought her some potassium, told her not to take the drug at all until she tried the potassium for at least two weeks, because a potassium deficiency can actually be the cause of the heart problem....lo and behold, she did, and her heart issue disappeared. It was caused by a potassium deficiency, something many elderly suffer from. A nurse once told me that a lot of health problems in this country would be alleviated or eliminated if people would simply supplement with calcium, magnesium, and potassium. I googled it, and how right she was/is. Obviously not everything is attributable to something as simple as this but I often wonder if the balance gets out of whack, it's like a dominoe effect and it just cascades until the whole body is in a mess. So we try to do as much as we can to keep my husband's body in as natural and balanced a state as we can, given all the other stuff he has to put into it to function. Good luck. |
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Thank you all for your good suggestions and supportive words. My husband is home now and we have learned a few things to help him with his Parkinson dystonia attacks (i.e. crush a sinimet and mix with a bit of water and give to him immediately) Also the Neurologist said to raise his sinemet to 3 100/25 every three hours. That is helping. He said that my husbands type of dystonia is very rare. The severity of his attacks are not stress-related, though stress does come into the picture when he is writhing on the floor in pain. How awful for him and I will do everything in my power to make sure it doesn't happen again. We still have the problem with the constipation and burning/bloated stomach abdomen. All they did in the hospital must have irritated him even worse. Coconut Oil has made no improvment to his constipation. If the pain does not improve by morning I will take him back to the ER. I wonder if the Sinemet is irritating his stomach? I will post about that in a new message to make sure it gets seen. Again thanks for your input. Jeannie |
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| The mighty coconut oil will take a couple of days to work, I hope it gives your husband some relief. My understanding is that like everything with PD, the digestive system slows down as well, so things take a lot longer to get through. |