Sometimes you have a chance to read a book because the subject matter touches your heart. I have too many people in my life who struggle with Parkinson’s. It is HARD to watch people deteriorate with this disease, therefore the title of this tome intrigued me, so I chose to review it. It would be fascinating and oh.. ever so wonderful to see someone Fighting Parkinson’s…and Winning.
About the Book:
In his memoir Fighting Parkinson’s…and Winning, Shifke describes life with Parkinson’s, his path to recovery and his life since he was declared free of the disease nearly eight years ago.
Howard Shifke knows a thing or two about Parkinson’s disease. He watched his mother deteriorate in body and mind for 24 years before finally succumbing to the disease. Two years later, he was told he also had the disease. But he took a different path than the one his mother had taken, devising his own healing plan from what he had learned in the 10 years he spent studying Chinese medicine.
“My philosophy of Parkinson’s is that I was out of balance physically, mentally and spiritually, and once balance was restored, full recovery took place,” Shifke says. “Western medicine’s view of Parkinson’s is that there are dead brain cells and depleted dopamine in the brain. My position is that the brain cells are not dead and the dopamine is not depleted, but that instead the dopamine flow is blocked.”
His recovery was swift. Within nine months of embarking on his bold plan, Shifke received a clean bill of health from the neurologist who repeated the same battery of tests that first revealed his disease.
In the nearly eight years since his initial diagnosis and his remarkable recovery, he has regularly posted to his blog and has heard from others who have followed his plan and experienced similar recoveries.
A native Floridian, Shifke and his wife forsook the Southeast two years ago for Oregon, where he reads, gardens and continues to coach people from around the world in his recovery methodology. “We have created a worldwide community of people wanting to recover from Parkinson’s who cheer each other on,” he says.
What you Get:
268 pages divided into three sections, one epilogue and two appendices.
Part One: Parkinson’s Disease: Where it all Began for me
Part Two: Parkinson’s Recipe for Recovery: My methodology of recovery
Part Three: What has been happening subsequent to my recovery.
Appendix One: Daily Parkinson’s Journal
Appendix Two: Recipe for Recovery Ingredients
My Thoughts:
I have to admit, I am intrigued. I know that different ways of looking at the body and how to treat it can have amazing results. The way the body and the mind work together to bring about healing fascinates me. You can really see the dualism in this book….how the mental goes with the physical. Clearing your mind of negative paths of thinking and opening up your body pathways to encourage your body to work the way it should… it stimulates the thinking that perhaps another way will work.
I look at the routines outlined in this memoir and can’t help but think… if you know you have Parkinson’s and that you will over time deteriorate despite the meds a doctor can give you…what harm would it be to try it and see. To throw yourself into this methodology with everything you have in you to see if it would work. To work past the skepticism of trying medical care a different way. Wouldn’t it be amazing if it worked for you as well as it did for the author? Wouldn’t that be a risk worth trying?
I admittedly had a hard time picturing the exercises and how to do that so would dearly love to have some images to go along with the descriptions of the qigong exercises. If I were to try them I’m afraid my lack of understanding would get in the way of doing them correctly. I did find this video to help me get some idea. They don’t seem quite the same as what is written in the book so I don’t know for sure how accurate the video is.
Fighting Parkinson’s and Winning
– my memoir of my recovery from Parkinson’s Disease
Written by Howard Shifke
CreateSpace
268 pages, softcover
Memoir, Chinese Medicine, Parkinson’s Disease
My husband was diagnosed with early onset Parkinson’s disease at 67. His symptoms were shuffling of feet, slurred speech, low volume speech, degradation of handwriting, horrible driving skills, and his right arm is held at 45 degree angle. He was placed on Sinemet for 7 months and then Sifrol and rotigotine were introduced which replaced the Sinemet but he had to stop due to side effects. We tried every shot available but nothing was working. There has been little if any progress in finding a reliable treatment, I quit my meds due to side effects. Our care provider introduced us to Kycuyu Health Clinic Parkinson’s herbal treatment. The treatment is a miracle. My husband has recovered significantly!
i am so glad that you found a treatment plan that works well!
I was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease a year ago at the age of 67. For several months I had noticed tremors in my right hand and the shaking of my right foot when I was sitting. My normally beautiful cursive writing was now small cramped printing. And I tended to lose my balance. Neurologist had me walk down the hall and said I didn’t swing my right arm. I had never noticed! I was in denial for a while as there is no history in my family of parents and five older siblings, but I had to accept I had classic symptoms. I was taking amantadine and carbidopa/levodopa and was about to start physical therapy to strengthen muscles. Finally, I was introduced to Kycuyu Health Clinic and their effective Parkinson’s herbal protocol. This protocol relieved symptoms significantly, even better than the medications I was given. After First month on treatment, my tremors mysterious stopped, had improvement walking. After I completed the treatment, all symptoms were gone. I live a more productive life. I was fortunate to have the loving support of my husband and family. I make it a point to appreciate every day!
that’s great to hear!
My husband had PD-5 programme about 4 months ago. Tremors in his hands and jaw are gone. It doesn’t make the Parkinson’s go away but it did give him better quality of life. we got the treatment from ability health centre
that’s good to hear
My Partner, who is 66 years old, was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease last year. We noticed that he was experiencing hallucinations, slow movement, disturbed sleep, and twitchy hands and legs when at rest. He had to stop taking pramipexole (Sifrol), carbidopa/levodopa, and 2 mg of biperiden because of side effects. Our family doctor recommended a PD-5 treatment from natural herbs centre , which my husband has been undergoing for several months now. Exercise has been very beneficial. He has shown great improvement with the treatment thus far. He is more active now, does more, and feels less apathetic. He has more energy and can do more activities in a day than he did before. As far as tremors I observe a progress, he improved drastically. I thought I would share my husband’s story in case it could be helpful, but ultimately you have to figure out what works best for you. Salutations and well wishes
I’m delighted you are finding some improvement. From what I’ve read exercise is a critical element in battling parkinson’s.
My wife was diagnosed of Parkinson’s Disease at age 61. She had severe calf pain, muscle pain, tremors, slurred speech, frequent falls, loss of balance, difficulty in getting up from sitting position. She was put on Senemet for 6 months and then Siferol was introduced and replaced the Senemet. During this time span she was also diagnosed with dementia. She started having hallucinations and lost touch with reality. Last year, our family doctor started her on Uine Health Centre PD-5 formula, 2 months into treatment she improved dramatically. At the end of the full treatment course, the disease is totally under control. No case of dementia, hallucination, weakness, muscle pain or tremors. My wife is strong again and has gone on with her daily activities as I share this experience. I’m surprised a lot of PWP haven’t heard of PD-5 formula. we got the treatment from uinehealth centre . co m on google
that is fantastic to hear.
My partner has Parkinson’s disease, adding PD-5 to her nighttime Parkinson’s meds has completely changed his sleep issues. He slept all day and up all night, we had to hire care nurses. Now using this PD-5 medicine for the last six months and a normal routine he sleeps almost completely through the night, and may get up once to use the restroom. It’s improved so much we were able to let go of the night nurses. This medicine also helps a ton with memory. we got the treatment from Uineheath centre. c om
I’m glad you are finding some solutions.
I was diagnosed 2018 with Parkinson’s disease. My symptoms progressed quickly. Soon i was having difficulty sleeping, speech and even walking short distances. With the help of the PD-5 treatment I have been able to reverse my symptoms using diet, herbs, which i feel has made the most difference. The PD-5 treatment has immensely help overturn my symptoms, since I started the PD-5 treatment my slurred speech and especially the tremors gradually disappeared. it’s has done me a lot of good in terms of balance and ability to walk and get up from chairs. Google Uine health centre DON’T GIVE UP HOPE!!!
I was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, but I’ve been following a treatment plan with the World Rehabilitate Clinic that focuses on real improvement and renewed strength. The first two months involved daily sessions, and now I go three times a week. The difference has been remarkable. Fatigue no longer controls my days, and even when I push myself, I don’t feel weak anymore. After three months, I’m finally living free from MS symptoms.