Okay. So I tend to the dramatic and occasionally
use a little hyperbole. No, I am not likely to start a lawsuit over some of my
prior doctors failing to advise me on the importance of exercise as a Parkinson’s
Disease treatment. (Although I do reserve the right to change my mind. Just piss
me off and find out.) I’d rather use my
energy to focus on containment of my PD. As I get older, and PD continues to
chase me, I need all the energy I can muster.
I just received a package of info from the Michael J. Fox Foundation for
Parkinson’s Research (MJF). MJF is good
at providing encouraging news on advancements in research on curing PD. Coincidentally,
MJF recommends that Parkinson’s patients see doctors specially trained in
movement disorders like PD and, in conjunction with the Edmond J. Safra
Fellowship in Movement Disorders, provides financial support to medical schools
to help build a network of more qualified Parkinson’s doctors and other
specialists.
There are so many advances in the
treatment options available or soon to be available, too many to list here. If
a neurologist is not a specialist in Parkinson’s disease, he or she is not
going to be up to date with he latest available options for treatment of PD. Just to mention one: Deep
Brain Stimulation. This has been around since 1997, but In 2016, the FDA
approved a Deep Brain Stimulation for patients with lighter, less than severe
symptoms. And today there are three devices on the market from just one
available just recently. This may be the most promising development in
controlling symptoms in the immediate future. That would be like tomorrow. Why wait?
I have a session scheduled with a DBS specialist at my new doctor group to see
if I qualify for this treatment. My last doc never even mentioned that as an
explorable option. If left to him, I might have never even been presented with this
opportunity.
Which brings me to today’s message to
doctors who are not specialists in Parkinson’s disease. Please. DO NOT ATTEMPT
TO TREAT PARKINSON’S PATIENTS. You are not contributing to a solution and you may be doing your Parkinson’s patients a disservice, plus you may even be acting
in an unethical manner. Please get out of the way. All you have to do is find
the nearest center of excellence in the treatment of Parkinson’s and refer your
PD patients there. Better yet, follow up with this Foundation and see if you
can become a PD specialist.. If you do not know where to look, contact The
Parkinson’s Foundation. (1- 800-473-4636 or helpline@parkinson.org ) I'm sure they will be happy to help.
Meanwhile, I am happy to show you a photo I shot in Manhattan for my photography business. Hope you like it.
 |
| Manhattan |
No comments:
Post a Comment