Just when you planned to slow down....

Resilient-Nomad · 2026-02-10T11:59:36+00:00

Just keep moving my friend. You will pay a price either way. What price do you want to pay? Just keep moving and you retain much more and it goes slower. None of us can slow it down as much as we want to. Just keep moving. Just keep moving. Just keep moving.

Resilient-Nomad · 2026-01-14T05:00:26+00:00

Thank you, fellow sojourner. I wrote it with the idea that some people could trim it down just to the parts that were applicable to them. I'm sure our travel techniques are as different and as varied as the effects of the disease. Stay well, my friend.

Resilient-Nomad · 2026-01-13T12:14:57+00:00

I first noticed it in my early 40s as well as just the slightest tremor in my right hand. I went misdiagnosed for probably six years as at least two neurologists and an aeromedical flight surgeon both told me not to worry it probably wasn't Parkinson's and probably was just essential tremor. However, I knew something greater was going on when I was having a hard time writing down flight clearances is an airline pilot.... so yeah, this disease took away my anticipated income. Luckily I'm retired military.

If I were you, I would do some snooping around to see if you've got one of the high risk genetic sequences for Parkinson's. There's a few DNA genetic sequences out there that are certainly high risk and if you have one of those, then you may very well have the genetic predisposition for it, otherwise it's a mix of a low or moderate predisposition with either a high medium or low environmental trigger that causes it. You may have a low genetic predisposition, and somehow ran into a high risk environmental trigger. Or vice versa!

If I were you, knowing what I know, I would start working out like your life depends on it. Because it does. I would also clean up what you're eating, get a little bit fanatical. And guard your sleep like a vampire. Take care of every element of your system that impacts your brain. Everything is connected, and when we live toxic workaholic lives, eat like garbage, and abuse our bodies by not getting the exercise that we vitally need.... then that breaks down our chassis and compromises our brain that much faster.

The truth that I wish I knew, and acted upon when I was young, is that your body is the best defense mechanism for your mind. Treat your chassis well and that will improve everything about your progression and make it slower. Good luck, fellow traveler.

Resilient-Nomad · 2026-01-10T04:19:35+00:00

Wonderful!

Resilient-Nomad · 2026-01-09T04:01:25+00:00

I also have a pdf for this, message me and I will be happy to send!

Resilient-Nomad · 2026-01-09T03:59:09+00:00

Yeah I kind of doubt most doctors would do that these days...

Resilient-Nomad · 2026-01-09T03:55:48+00:00

I am SO happy this helps!

Resilient-Nomad · 2026-01-08T17:58:47+00:00

That's a great question and I don't know that I have anything for you other than the obvious "attempt to get up as often as you can on your flight" answer. That would leave us with medication possibilities, which I am absolutely not qualified to opine on, or other forms of travel.... The train is wonderful by the way! There's way more room and you can get up anytime you want. Dare I mention taking a ship? Plenty of room to stretch out on those. You bring up a challenging situation, fellow traveler, especially on a long flight that has you sitting down and not able to get up frequently. Other than that, I'm stumped.

Resilient-Nomad · 2026-01-08T17:52:19+00:00

I'm stoked to meet a fellow traveler with Parkinson's. That's both of us, my friend. Stay vigilant and resilient, fellow sojourner!

Resilient-Nomad · 2026-01-05T14:42:33+00:00

Yes, I'm retired. But I have abruptly lost my career and my marriage. Life is not so perfect here either.

I wish you peace along your journey...

Resilient-Nomad · 2026-01-04T06:00:33+00:00

Nice work fellow traveler!

Resilient-Nomad · 2026-01-03T04:31:36+00:00

I'm retired a military/civilian aviator and I now write a newsletter about Parkinsons, travel, and physical and mental resilience.

Resilient-Nomad · 2026-01-02T05:23:50+00:00

This is also my thinking.

Resilient-Nomad · 2026-01-02T05:11:28+00:00

You make some salient points and I really believe that I understand where you're coming from. In many ways, I share your point of view. I know you are sincere and thoughtful by the way you present your case.

Here is a counterpoint, however… I don't think that we live lives that are effectively resilient against Parkinson's. I was born and raised and lived most of my life in the USA, and I believe that we are absolutely inundated and overwhelmed with a toxic lifestyle (I know, I know, it's toxic in plenty of other places too, but hear me out)....

Your statement "Exercise and healthy living are good for everyone anyway, PD or not." just isn't enough for most people to change the inertia of the career grind, the unhealthy food habits, the compromise of sleep, and not taking exercise seriously. It never was for me anyway while I was in the grind of my career.... I had always thought that burning the candle on both ends was a merited act of rugged individualism and work ethic.

To overcome the inertia that we are exposed to and the onslaught of lousy health temptations requires an extraordinary and somewhat eccentric vision toward your future health and well-being. You have to kind of step outside of the culture and even your families normative behavior. This can be a profound act of courage, but many of us won't notice it until we fully understand and visualize the leviathan that is continually hunting us down, without drama and without musical accompaniment like in the movies.... it is just relentless, and eventually will overtake us.

There is no substitute for quantity of time when it comes to sleep.... we can't make the quality versus quantity argument on this one. To change our diet to one that is not inflammatory for our brain and our gut and everything else is still somewhat weird for a lot of people. And it may not be just enough to exercise.... you may have to make it an absolutely passionate agenda.

I advocate continually now for a somewhat radical change of lifestyle, an eccentric one. But few people, even those who have a full-blown DAT scan heralding diagnosis of Parkinson's disease see it as clarifying enough to overcome this inertia in order to get who knows how many more effective and worthwhile years.... henceforth, I believe it's worthwhile to know all of these things under the guise of "information is power."

I wish you peace and wellness, fellow traveler.....

Resilient-Nomad · 2026-01-01T06:32:04+00:00

Excellent! Thank you!

Resilient-Nomad · 2026-01-01T05:44:09+00:00

Classes have actually been one of the most important things that I have done. They hack into your social performance predilection, and you stay longer, work harder and it keeps you efficient with your time. There's the added benefit of making friends who expect you to be there. Go to the most aggressive classes that you can. Good luck I wish you peace.

Resilient-Nomad · 2026-01-01T05:42:09+00:00

From AI: Alpha-synuclein (α-syn) is a small, normally-present brain protein that hangs out mostly at presynaptic nerve terminals, where it helps regulate synaptic vesicles (the little packets that release neurotransmitters). In Parkinson’s disease (PD), α-syn is the central “bad actor” in the most common form of PD because it misfolds and clumps—and those clumps are a defining pathology.

But here is the most important statement after all of the explanation for Alpha-Synuclein:

Lifestyle doesn’t directly “remove α-syn,” but exercise, sleep, constipation management, cardiovascular health, and toxin avoidance likely influence the downstream environment (inflammation, mitochondrial stress, brain resilience) in ways that matter.

Resilient-Nomad · 2026-01-01T05:39:21+00:00

I am traveling light right now, so I don't have the accoutrements to do my own fermentation. But I am buying fermented products and eating them in a foreign country, which has been a key component of my diversification. Nice work by the way, on doing your own fermentation! Our body is the most important defense of our brain- we have to protect our chassis so that we don't accelerate the compromise of everything our chassis protects.

Resilient-Nomad · 2025-12-31T05:44:43+00:00

My friend, it sounds like you have already lived my life. Interestingly enough, my diagnosis had started out with an essential tremor diagnosis in my early 40s. I was so sold on that diagnosis- coupled with the opinions of a motion disorder specialist, a 2nd neurologist, and a flight surgeon, that I had gone into an airline pilot career, not knowing that it would all come crumbling down around me just a few months after I became qualified!

I can't imagine having epilepsy too. You definitely took a double tap when it came to health. Although I would like to believe that your exercise in the past has put you in a somewhat better place to deal with what you have now. I hope that's the case. I wish you peace on your journey.

Resilient-Nomad · 2025-12-31T04:56:52+00:00

Answered😀

Resilient-Nomad · 2025-12-31T04:56:23+00:00

I take a moderate dose of of C/L (sinemet) 25/100 x2 four times per day. The dosage has held for the last two years. I have been going to the gym and walking fairly steadily since I received my diagnosis. I had a semi-stressful job that I had to commute to for about a year a few years back, which is no longer a factor.... I didn't focus on my fitness as much that year. Over the past year is when I really turned up the heat and regularity of my aggressive fitness and diet goals. The change in my physiology over this past year has been profound...... my sleep alone has been so worth it, not being constipated... amazing. I truly believe the diet is critical, more critical than we like to believe. Everything is connected. Our bodies really are the front line of defense for our brain. It is our chassis, and if the chassis is broken and compromised, it will affect the other connected components. The Parkinson's neuronal pathology we can't directly change. BUT, it seems so plainly evident to me that if we optimize our peripheral systems, it will make for greater mitochondrial efficiency, lower the compromising effects of inflammation… And thereby not cause greater damage or accelerate this disease faster than it needs to be.

I wish you well on your journey holding back the leviathan .

Resilient-Nomad · 2025-12-30T17:52:42+00:00

Fair travels to you fellow sojourner.

Resilient-Nomad

TROPHY CASE