Physically Fit in 6 minutes per Week

When information is presented to you which is the information you need right now, it can be nothing but proof that the Universe is connected to you in a personal and unique way.  Yesterday, a Sunday, a day for not doing too much, the telly was on while I attempted Technique #2 Wet on Wet with water soluble coloured pencils.  The ABC's Catalyst was on.  And the information it had was a showstopper.  Richard was doing the after lunch dishes.  I called him in to watch it. 

You can find the transcript or video here :  http://www.abc.net.au/catalyst/stories/4319131.htm 

The program was about the benefits of doing six minutes of flat chat cardio a week.  Not six minutes all at once but twelve 30 second sprints.  Sprints on the bike or running up hill or whatever.  It all has to do with improving mitochondrial function in the cells.

Narration
"In fact, in all of us, mitochondrial function gradually declines as time wears on."

Professor Mark Tarnopolsky
"Although they're very efficient at repairing themselves, eventually we can't keep up and the cells start to drop off in energy. When they drop off in energy, they lose their resilience and the cells end up dying and we can't replace our cells."


Professor Mark Tarnopolsky
"More recently, we've discovered that there can be acquired mitochondrial dysfunction that can occur in the presence of more common diseases such as Alzheimer's, obesity, type 2 diabetes and, in fact, human ageing has even been linked to mitochondrial dysfunction."

But, happily, research has shown that going flat out, to quote one of the researchers, as though you are running for your life, can reduce or reverse many of the effects of aging. 

This is huge.  Enormous.  Literally life changing.  And Richard watched it with me.  We are going to the gym 3 times a week so the basis is already there.  Now to convince him that he needs to start going hard at it.

He just came in and I outlined a plan.  If he tries to go flat chat for 30 seconds four times tomorrow he won't.  It will be too hard and the experiment will be over before we've started.  We've worked out that he will try to go 5 seconds as hard as he can four times.  Then on Friday, he'll try for 7 seconds (or 10 if the 5 second attempt wasn't that hard).  At any rate, build up to the 30 second interval. 

This is so exciting.  Kept giving thanks for the information, that we were there at the right time to catch this episode of Catalyst.

There was another bit of information which was interesting.  I've wondered why I have this spare tyre around my middle that I can't shake.  I'm pretty active, my weight is ok (55kg for 5'4") yet this ring of fat sits around my waist.  Catalyst explained that it is because of menopause.  It's common in menopausal women to have 'visceral fat', bad fat because it coats my internal organs.  And it doesn't look good either and makes fitting clothes that bit more difficult.  This explains much for it seemed to appear out of nowhere and my basic shape, that I've lived with all my adult life, had significantly changed without  the changes in my eating/exercise habits to account for it.

I'd already started, not knowing what I was doing, 15 second 'sprints' on the cross trainer, first legs, then next 15 seconds, arms, with 15 seconds of light exercise in between.  Yesterday, before watching the program, I upped it to 20 second sprints with 20 second rest in between.  Tomorrow I may go for 30 seconds - although I'm not sure I'm fit enough to go as hard as I can for a full 30 seconds.  Maybe, like Richard, I'll build up to it and try for 25 seconds.  At any rate I'll try.

I am so excited about this as I suspect this will really help allay the effects of Parkinsons in Richard and if I'm correct in thinking he has the beginning of Alzheimers, it will help that too.  There is hope for us after all.  Our future is looking much brighter.  Thank you Universe.

The Gym and Parkinsons Disease

Richard has been going to gym about twice a week for over a month.  It has made a difference but I noticed he was stuck on 3 machines, two machines which work the arms and the bike.  Stopped in one day with him, not dressed in gym gear, but had a go on lots of machines and got hi to try a machine which would really open up his chest.  (One of the effects of Parkinsons is the closing in, the physical curling up, rounding over of the body.  The other day while walking, his arm kept lifting until his fist was in his sternum.  That's the position he takes with both arms when at rest.  Parkinsons is a disease which requires vigilance and mindfulness - the very things it erodes). 

Discussed at length whether I should join or not as I didn't want to cramp his style or intrude in a place that was his own but he was pretty clear.  It would be nice if I joined.  So I did.  

The second time I went with him I got him to try the cross trainer.  What a perfect machine for Parkinsons!  The first time I realized something was wrong with Richard is when I heard him shuffling on the way to the loo one night.  Parkinsons causes shuffling.  On the cross trainer one must lift the weight and press down to make it go, even though the foot doesn't actually come off the plate.  Took Richard a bit of effort to get it going (there is also the benefit of having both sides of the body/brain exercised).

The follow on effect was noticeable.  Our afternoon walk was almost brisk and he walked with more authority in his stride. 

I think we're on the right track and it's all due to Wilma who told me about a woman with Parkinsons at her local gym (Wilma is in her 70's) who has been transformed with the help of exercise.

Richard is also getting some muscle tone back.   And it won't hurt me either.  I don't get any cardio with yoga and walking so getting on the bike or cross trainer and going like the clackers gets my heart rate up without hurting my joints.

I won't make the same mistake as before when I went to the gym by lifting too much and hurting my neck.  It's really quite exciting as it will benefit us both while giving us something we can do together.   Instead of twice a week I'll try for three times. 

Parkinsons Disease.  That's what R has.  What a relief.  Of course it's not good and it would be better if he didn't  have it but the alternative is dire.  Because naturally, despite best intentions, I sometimes thought the worst; alzheimers, dementia, wheelchairs, aged care, death.  But Parkinsons?  Parkinsons we can live with.  Even R is relieved. 

It was all getting so depressing.  R was aging before my eyes; shuffling along eyes down, stooped, his right hand convulsively opening and closing, his rich deep voice reduced to a whispery old man's voice.  I broke down once in front of him, my fears for the future overwhelming my usual good sense (and I usually do have good sense about things that aren't here yet).  And that breakdown, standing with the dogs in the causeway where R turns for home and I carry on with the dogs for another kilometre or so, was so unfair.  He pretended nothing was happening but he was frightened too.  Who wouldn't be?  We'd done quite well being strong for one another and I let the side down.

But that was then.  This is now.  He's on medication, the weakest dose to start which has made little difference so far - but a difference nevertheless.  On Saturday he gets to double it and that should make a discernible difference.  He's also taking St. John's Wort.  We've read that helps.  So we'll see.  At least the waiting, the ignorance, the fear is over. 

I spend alot of time vacillating between calm acceptance bordering on a simmering joy and a low grade anxiety bordering on fear.  On the one hand I know that I will never be given something I can't handle.  Even death.  Death has only one outcome and you can't fail.  On the other hand, I am afraid, just afraid.  I suspect Richard not only has Parkinsons but the beginnings of Alzheimers.  There, I've said it.  I've made manifest my deepest fear.  By saying it do I make it true?  Of give it more of a reality than it has now?  Conversely, to pretend I don't notice how he has changed isn't very smart either. 

The changes are little.  Forgetting to close the feedroom gate so that the horses have a real feast.  I furtively check that he's closed it now.  Not rinsing his toothbrush so food debris is stuck not only in the bristles but on the handle.  Asking questions he has always known the answer to, that he hasn't even had to question before.  Asking the same question several times.  Needing reassurance, lots of reassurance, about little things.  Also, a kind of turning inwards.  When we walked yesterday (he's coming part of the way now, just past the Pedersens's) I pointed out a sun dog.  Did you see it, I asked.  No.  Did you look?  No.  Do you know what one is?  No.  So I explained (again) what a sun dog was and pointed it out to him.  Richard wasn't really interested. 

On the plus side, he is building an aviary.  That require math and measuring and accuracy and he's doing a brilliant job.  No major mistakes, it's coming together beautifully.  Since he's started it he's napping less.  He complains about chores and jobs and projects but I suspect he needs them.  He needs to be needed.  So, I'm going to keep giving him projects.  There are lots of them.  They aren't as major as the aviary but anything to keep him involved with life. 

He's very chuffed because on Sunday it's Grandfather's Day at Marnie's school.  He's going.  What do I have to do, he asked.  Just be there and love them.  He does get anxious about things that didn't used to bother him. 

It's odd because sometimes he's so engaged and energized, he is as he always was.  Other times I want to shake him and shout, "Wake up!"

We will make a final decision about the house on July 31.  Shanahan is putting the quarry up for sale.  That would be good news but if someone with lots of $$ buys it meeting the imposed conditions won't be an impediment.  The inheritance is coming through (the timing of that seems to indicate it's time to move on) so we will have a few more options of where and what kind of house we live in.  Moving may be the best thing to do for Richard too.  Out of a rut with new sights and sounds and people.  Might make a huge difference.

I know I'm up to it.  When I'm tired I don't feel as optimistic.  Usually, however I trust that the Universe provides me with everything I need, including strength. 

Parkinson's Disease.  There.  I've hardly dared think the words, much less write them.  Writing them makes it real somehow and I don't want it to be real. 

I suspect Richard has PD.  Haven't spoken to anyone about it, not even him.  But I have to talk to someone and the journal has always been my confidante of choice.  Worried about putting such a private matter in the public domain but as no one reads my blog it is as private as the many written journals lying about the house. 

Talking to Richard about it is, at this point, not happening.  The closest I've come is to say we'll buy more fish oil and eat more legumes as that is good for the dopamine in his brain and that is good to help allay the tremors.  Interestingly Richard didn't question.  He changed the subject.  He knows something is wrong and is as reluctant as I to bring it out in the open.  But we must I'm afraid.  The symptoms which seem to have come on suddenly are classic PD.  There is no clear cut test for PD, perhaps the closest being if the symptoms are alleviated by medication, but the symptoms do tell a clear story.  I noticed the tremors last year.  At rest his head, hand and leg shake.  Once they are put into use, once the muscle is actively engaged, the tremor disappears.  When he is completely relaxed, as in asleep, I don't notice them either.  Richard often dozes off on the couch.  His head drops to his chest and perhaps the heaviness of the weight negates the possibility of a tremor.  There are other signs however.  Shuffling.  He shuffles his feet.  This is a fairly new occurrence, becoming apparent in the past 6 to 8 months.  One thing he hasn't done for a very long time is swing his arms when he walks.  I remember chiding him about it a couple of years ago.  Has he always walked like that or is it too another symptom?   I have also noticed his increasing difficulty with small things; buttoning a shirt, doing up a zipper, putting the collar on Jamaica.  He is also getting forgetful, leaving the water on in the trough, leaving gates open, forgetting peoples names or the names of objects.  Of course we all forget things but it is more common with Richard than it used to be.  He also has more difficulyt getting out of a chair.  That could just be attributed to age but it is, unfortunately, yet another symptom of PD. 

I'm not sure what to do.  He is my best friend as well as my husband.  Anything he finds uncomfortable he avoids, as we all do I suppose.  Subjects that are difficult are not spoken of.  Or if I insist that we talk, he gets angry.  If I push he'll cave and it can be discussed and usually solved.  But this is different.  This is his health. And it can't be solved.  He has been proud of reaching 65 without being on medication for high blood pressure or cholesterol or any of the other things people of his age normally take.  He's put on 20 pounds since we quit smoking three months ago.  I know he has pain in his hip joints but after I said something about the almost nightly huge bowls of ice cream, the handfuls of salted peanuts and the weight gain he is starting to walk more again.  He was averaging two times a week (the 6km walk) which was just enough to keep him sore without making him fit.  Now he is going (at least this past week) every other day which is brilliant.  Continuous exercise is another arrow in our sling of things to do to keep PD under control. 

If that is what he has.  The thing to do is sit him down I guess, put forward everything I've noticed and ask him what he wants to do.  Does he want to see a neurologist or motor specialist to have my suspicions confirmed or just go on as we are?  If there comes a point where his life is being impacted by the symptoms we can act then.  Perhaps that's the best option.  For today and next week and next month he can still do all that he has done before, just a bit slower.

Another reason, and a very good one, for not discussing my suspicions with Richard is his propensity to become overly anxious and depressed about things he cannot control.  This, I've read, can be a side effect of the disease, but it can also arise when being diagnosed.  Richard fixates on things and goes into an emotional tailspin with little provocation.   Being told you could have Parkinson's Disease would be an enormous blow.  Do I really want to take that risk?  No, now that I've written all this out (thanks again, Journal, for being such a good sounding board) I think the best plan at this time is to get him on the good food and supplements, most of which he is already on as we eat extremely well already, to keep him exercising if I can without alienating him, get him to yoga (he says he'll go but he hasn't made a move yet), to keep out of his way while he struggles with the buttoning and zippering and other vexing tasks and be there in any other way.

If and when we reach a point where he is unable to do the things he normally does or he complains about the symptoms then we'll talk about it and decide what to do.  

I was looking forward to taking a yoga retreat (as a reward of quitting the smokes) in September.  I still might go but if I do I think it will be the last time I will leave him to cope on his own.  Perhaps that's why I should take that little break away.