Feeling confused

Hi , this is really interesting. I'm glad you have found something that helps you but I can see how confusing it is when your symptoms return. I'm hopeful others in the community will jump in if they have had similar experiences. Have you mentioned this to your doctor? I'd be curious why they think about your response to taking this supplement. Please keep us posted on your diagnosis. Best, Lauren (ParkinsonsDisease.net Team)

@GeorgeW301, You posed an interesting question. I agree that it certainly is/can be confusing. I found myself drawn to read several research articles that addressed the distinction between PD and FND. There is also a diagnosis called PD with FND. I had a friend diagnosed initially with PD “fail” the levodopa challenge test. The med had zero effect on his symptoms. A movement disorder specialist of renown saw him for two or three days of assessments and diagnosed him with multiple system atrophy. All of that to say, there are so many facets to Parkinsonism, PD, and more. I hate that it is confusing but hope you continue to ask questions of your physician and/or add another movement disorder specialist to your health care team to keep finding the best information to help you. Kind regards, Lorraine, parkinsonsdisease.net moderator

I have experiences much like you described "once it’s gone it’s like the come down from a sugar Rush and everything comes back to normal and hits me hard." I have this experience nearly every time my current dose of carb/levo runs its course and I do not take the next dose in time to have an effect before the prior does is completely spent.


I describe this effect as "falling off a cliff." The impact on me is rapid and with severe pain in my stomach, a massive sensation of bloating,and almost complete loss of strength and orientation, and whatever I am doing I have to stop and sit or lay down for fear of collapsing. It takes about an hour before I return to a "normal" state.


A few days ago I stumbled onto something that stopped this impact and returned me to normalcy almost instantly. I don't yet know whether this will be a permanent fix or something you can do to help you. I remembered that on a prior occasion of "falling off the cliff" I took a drink of V8 juice and my recovery was quicker than before. The thought then came to me that V8 also is acidic, so I put a teaspoon of regular apple cider vinegar in about a 6" glass of water, drank it, and the stomach pain and sensation of bloating disappeared almost immediately, my strength returned and my orientation became stable. If you try this and find it help you, I recommend using raw, unfiltered apple cider vinegar because of other health benefits,

Sounds very interesting, I will definitely need to try it out, and thank you considering I'm getting the same effects as you with these medications it does help me believe and come closer to confirming I have Parkinson's instead of FND