Sleep disorders are the disorders in sleep pattern. Sleep is a complex neurological state. Its primary function is rest and restoring the body's energy levels. Repeated interruption of sleep by breathing abnormalities such as cessation of breathing (apnea) or heavy snoring, leads to fragmented sleep and abnormal oxygen and carbon dioxide levels in the blood, all these things lead to sleep disorders.
Sleep consists of a rhythmic combination of changes in physiological, biochemical, neurophysiological and psychological processes. When the circadian rhythm is disturbed or the individual processes are abnormal during sleep, a variety of sleep disorders may result.
Two types of sleep occur with distinct physiological patterns, rapid eye movement sleep (REM), and non-rapid-eye-movement sleep (NREM) or deep sleep. In normal sleep, REM occurs about 90 minutes after a person falls asleep.
The REM and NREM recur in cycles of about 90 minutes each, with four non-REM stages (light to deep slumber) at the beginning and REM towards the end. The amount of sleep needed by each person is usually constant although there is a wide variation among some individuals.
Some sleep disturbances are simply temporary inconveniences while others are potentially more serious. Sleep apnea is the most common sleep disorder. Other serious sleep disorders are narcolepsy and clinical insomnia.
"Jet lag syndrome," caused by rapid shifts in the biological sleep-wake cycle, is also an example of a temporary sleep disorder. So do the sleep disorders experienced by shift workers.
Prone People for Sleep Disorders :
Some of the people most likely to have or to develop a sleep problems include:
People who are overweight, or have some physical abnormality in the nose, throat, or other parts of the upper airway.
People who habitually drink too much alcohol.
People with depression and other psychotic disorders.
Elderly men and women.
Adults who fall asleep at inappropriate times and places (e.g., during conversation, lecturing, driving) and who exhibit nighttime snoring
Night-shift workers.
Postmenopausal women.
Blind individuals who tend to develop impaired perception of light and darkness and have disturbed circadian rhythms, the cycles of biologic activities that occur at the same time during each 24 hours.
Tips to overcome Sleep Disorders and have a nice sleep:
You can overcome the sleep disorders and have a good sleep using these tips:
Regular exercise is known to be good for helping people sleep properly
Avoid caffeine, found in tea, coffee, colas and chocolate
As alcohol acts like a diuretic, avoid for good nights’ sleep
Some medications cause sleep disorder; notice the drug, which affects your sleep and avoid it.
Eliminating stress and depression
<--Sleep Disorders Introduction
Sleep Disorders-->
Saturday, December 15, 2007
Friday, December 14, 2007
Physical and mental exercises
Physical exercise and learning (mental exercise) slow PD progression.
For myself I spend three hours daily on exercises at the gym . I take part yoga, body pump, combat and spinning classes daily. I have two trainers for myself and learn how to stretching, balance and flexibilities, I do Box and kick exercises too.Besides medication exercises relieve me from movement slowness. I have to fight and manage my Parkinson's. My doctor told me I do not like parkinson's patient as I am now normal. He was surprised for my progress
The key to fight the Parkinson's disease are as follow: Understand the symptoms of PD as knowledge is a power. Physical exercises to stretching the slowness of movement and relieve the stiffness of your muscle
Medication is to help you to slowdown the diseases. Prayer is to comfort your mental uncertainiesion to normal.
For myself I spend three hours daily on exercises at the gym . I take part yoga, body pump, combat and spinning classes daily. I have two trainers for myself and learn how to stretching, balance and flexibilities, I do Box and kick exercises too.Besides medication exercises relieve me from movement slowness. I have to fight and manage my Parkinson's. My doctor told me I do not like parkinson's patient as I am now normal. He was surprised for my progress
The key to fight the Parkinson's disease are as follow: Understand the symptoms of PD as knowledge is a power. Physical exercises to stretching the slowness of movement and relieve the stiffness of your muscle
Medication is to help you to slowdown the diseases. Prayer is to comfort your mental uncertainiesion to normal.
Thursday, December 13, 2007
Slowness
A feeling of slowness of "bradykinesia" is one of the cardinal symptoms of Parkinson's disease. People may have to concentrate very hard to carry out physical movements, or they may react more slowly to things going on in their environment
Parkinson's patient find difficulties to coordinate his body work together well.
There are exercises that the patient has to coordinate together with his body..
The slowness of movement contribute the incoordination to carry out physical exercise.
Some people also have trouble initiating movement.
Therefore they have to concentrate very hard to carry out their movement exercises. Thus it slowdown the movement when you carry out your exercises.
Hi Teo, I remember you from PDF. Yes, I agree, movement exercises are very helpful.
Jack
Parkinson's patient find difficulties to coordinate his body work together well.
There are exercises that the patient has to coordinate together with his body..
The slowness of movement contribute the incoordination to carry out physical exercise.
Some people also have trouble initiating movement.
Therefore they have to concentrate very hard to carry out their movement exercises. Thus it slowdown the movement when you carry out your exercises.
Hi Teo, I remember you from PDF. Yes, I agree, movement exercises are very helpful.
Jack
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
Parkinson's patient with deficient sodium
What are the symptoms for parkinson's patient with deficient sodium?
What are the signs of sodium deficiency for parkinson's patient?
What are the function of sodium in our body?
What are the causes of deficiency?
Teokimhoe, I suggest you go to the PDF forums and "ask the dietician", or "ask the doctor"
.Sodium is an electrolyte that is important for cell health, all cells. Cell walls act as a membrane for osmosis that maintains the proper comcentration of sodium and potassium within the cells. I am familiar with the problem of too much sodium, it raises blood pressure. And too little potassium may result i
n a lazy heart. But I don't know about sodium depletion, except it is not good for your cells. I think it would be a stretch to try and connect that to the particular cells in the substantia nigra. These metabolites effect all cells, thay are not particular.One major cause of sodium deficiency is excess sweating.That probably does not answer you, so go to NPF.
What are the signs of sodium deficiency for parkinson's patient?
What are the function of sodium in our body?
What are the causes of deficiency?
Teokimhoe, I suggest you go to the PDF forums and "ask the dietician", or "ask the doctor"
.Sodium is an electrolyte that is important for cell health, all cells. Cell walls act as a membrane for osmosis that maintains the proper comcentration of sodium and potassium within the cells. I am familiar with the problem of too much sodium, it raises blood pressure. And too little potassium may result i
n a lazy heart. But I don't know about sodium depletion, except it is not good for your cells. I think it would be a stretch to try and connect that to the particular cells in the substantia nigra. These metabolites effect all cells, thay are not particular.One major cause of sodium deficiency is excess sweating.That probably does not answer you, so go to NPF.
Monday, December 10, 2007
Introduction to Parkinson's Disease
Introduction to Parkinson's Disease (PD)
Dr Chew Nee Kong
Consultant Neurologist
Pantai Cheras Medical Centre
Kuala Lumpur.
8th October 2007.
Email: nkchew33@hotmail.com
What is PD?
PD is a progressive, nervous disorder characterized by a deficiency of dopamine, a biochemical substance in the brain that is important for coordination of body movement. PD is named after Dr James Parkinson, a British general physician who wrote the first comprehensive report on this illness in 1817.
What is the cause of PD?
PD is a mysterious illness - to date the cause of PD is generally unknown. There is also no cure yet. As such the symptoms of PD deteriorate with time despite medications. Despite this, the available treatment (medications and brain surgery) are effective in improving the quality of life of PD patients.
What are the symptoms of PD?
The commonest symptoms are tremor (uncontrollable trembling of hands), slowness of movement and body stiffness. These symptoms result in difficulty in getting out of a chair, starting to walk, writing and turning over in bed.
However, it is important to note that the symptoms of PD start very slowly and can be so subtle that sometimes patients themselves do not realize they have the disease until at least several years after its onset.
Occasionally, the observant spouses and immediate family members are the first ones who notice the early symptoms. Quite often, it is the slowness of movement rather than tremor that brings a patient to see a doctor. This is because tremor by itself is usually not as disabling as slowness of movement especially in carrying out basic daily activities such as bathing, walking and eating.
Who are at risk for getting PD?
PD does not spare any race or ethnic group - it is seen in any country in this world. PD can affect any age group but it is most common in elderly people. It is known to affect even children and teenagers (hereditary parkinsonism) but this is very rare.
Age is an important risk factor for PD, with the incidence rising with age. Thus, PD is generally an illness of elderly people. However, a small percentage of PD patients are relatively young. A study which was carried out at University Malaya Medical Centre, Kuala Lumpur (1998) on 153 PD patients showed that the onset of symptoms was at age 20-45 in 20.9% of patients (one patient had onset of symptoms at age 24).
How is PD diagnosed?
This is carried out based on typical history and bed-side examination. A good response to medications further support the diagnosis of PD. Brain scans and blood tests are generally not necessary.
What are the treatment options for PD?
During the early to moderate stage of PD (first 10-15 years), most patients are on medications alone. However, as the physical disability of PD patients become more severe with time, after 10-15 years of illness, many PD patients have difficulty carrying out daily activities despite taking maximal medications.
At the advanced stage of PD (after 10-15 years), brain surgery is effective in relieving the main symptoms of PD such as slowness of movement and tremor. Currently, surgical treatment is available in Malaysia.
Supportive treatment involves counseling, dietary advice, physiotherapy (exercise) and rehabilitation (social and occupational therapy while specific treatment employs drugs and brain surgery.
Conclusions
Even though there is no cure for PD, it is important to recognize the existence of PD because the rapid improvement in the treatment has resulted in much better quality of life. PD patients should not be made to suffer as they used to be. Generally, PD patients do not require wheelchair anymore. There are so many new and effective medications for PD.
With the increase in the proportion of elderly people in the society, there will be more and more PD patients in the near future. PD will become a major health burden in the near future.
Parkinson's Disease Discussion Corner
All of you are welcomed to join Mr Teo Kim Hoe, a Parkinson's patient, in discussing any issue or problems regarding Parkinson's Disease.
Share your experiences and knowledge so that all Parkinsons patients will have a better life.
Join Mr Teo in his blog spot - http://www.movementdisorder.blogspot.com
Dr Chew Nee Kong
Consultant Neurologist
Pantai Cheras Medical Centre
Kuala Lumpur.
8th October 2007.
Email: nkchew33@hotmail.com
What is PD?
PD is a progressive, nervous disorder characterized by a deficiency of dopamine, a biochemical substance in the brain that is important for coordination of body movement. PD is named after Dr James Parkinson, a British general physician who wrote the first comprehensive report on this illness in 1817.
What is the cause of PD?
PD is a mysterious illness - to date the cause of PD is generally unknown. There is also no cure yet. As such the symptoms of PD deteriorate with time despite medications. Despite this, the available treatment (medications and brain surgery) are effective in improving the quality of life of PD patients.
What are the symptoms of PD?
The commonest symptoms are tremor (uncontrollable trembling of hands), slowness of movement and body stiffness. These symptoms result in difficulty in getting out of a chair, starting to walk, writing and turning over in bed.
However, it is important to note that the symptoms of PD start very slowly and can be so subtle that sometimes patients themselves do not realize they have the disease until at least several years after its onset.
Occasionally, the observant spouses and immediate family members are the first ones who notice the early symptoms. Quite often, it is the slowness of movement rather than tremor that brings a patient to see a doctor. This is because tremor by itself is usually not as disabling as slowness of movement especially in carrying out basic daily activities such as bathing, walking and eating.
Who are at risk for getting PD?
PD does not spare any race or ethnic group - it is seen in any country in this world. PD can affect any age group but it is most common in elderly people. It is known to affect even children and teenagers (hereditary parkinsonism) but this is very rare.
Age is an important risk factor for PD, with the incidence rising with age. Thus, PD is generally an illness of elderly people. However, a small percentage of PD patients are relatively young. A study which was carried out at University Malaya Medical Centre, Kuala Lumpur (1998) on 153 PD patients showed that the onset of symptoms was at age 20-45 in 20.9% of patients (one patient had onset of symptoms at age 24).
How is PD diagnosed?
This is carried out based on typical history and bed-side examination. A good response to medications further support the diagnosis of PD. Brain scans and blood tests are generally not necessary.
What are the treatment options for PD?
During the early to moderate stage of PD (first 10-15 years), most patients are on medications alone. However, as the physical disability of PD patients become more severe with time, after 10-15 years of illness, many PD patients have difficulty carrying out daily activities despite taking maximal medications.
At the advanced stage of PD (after 10-15 years), brain surgery is effective in relieving the main symptoms of PD such as slowness of movement and tremor. Currently, surgical treatment is available in Malaysia.
Supportive treatment involves counseling, dietary advice, physiotherapy (exercise) and rehabilitation (social and occupational therapy while specific treatment employs drugs and brain surgery.
Conclusions
Even though there is no cure for PD, it is important to recognize the existence of PD because the rapid improvement in the treatment has resulted in much better quality of life. PD patients should not be made to suffer as they used to be. Generally, PD patients do not require wheelchair anymore. There are so many new and effective medications for PD.
With the increase in the proportion of elderly people in the society, there will be more and more PD patients in the near future. PD will become a major health burden in the near future.
Parkinson's Disease Discussion Corner
All of you are welcomed to join Mr Teo Kim Hoe, a Parkinson's patient, in discussing any issue or problems regarding Parkinson's Disease.
Share your experiences and knowledge so that all Parkinsons patients will have a better life.
Join Mr Teo in his blog spot - http://www.movementdisorder.blogspot.com
How do you do if you are an early PD patient?
teokimhoeJoined: 03 Mar 2007Posts: 28Location: Malaysia
Posted: Thu Apr 12, 2007 3:11 am Post subject: How do you do if you are an early PD patient?
Posted: Sun Apr 08, 2007 10:21 am Post subject: Q: What is the behaviours of early PD Patient? -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The behaviours of early PD patient as follows: When do I tell others, and what do I say? Whether to tell " is a question posed by many people in the early stage of PD disease. 1. Is it jeopardize my job? Don't let other people feel sorry for me and for my children? 2. Keep it yourself as secret and privacy and once it reveals you feel sorry as you cannot take it back. 3. I feel relieve as I tell out and I could get some support. 4. It is hard to keep it secret as PD is a' going on disease ' and the tension of hiding it. 5. It helps more people to aware the diseases and encourage more support group i.e fund raising for the fund and learn to manage the disease and feel you are not alone. TEO KIM HOE
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wolfJoined: 08 Apr 2007Posts: 50
Posted: Thu Apr 12, 2007 7:54 am Post subject:
Hello, I noticed you come from Malyasia, To answer your questions I would need to know the customs and culture of your society. Only you can judge whether to open up or not. Here in America it is good to tell people of our PD, but not to overwhelm them or cry our troubles. There is always a balance between what is appropriate to tell and what to keep to yourself, and this is depending on the culture. Peace Jack
Posted: Thu Apr 12, 2007 3:11 am Post subject: How do you do if you are an early PD patient?
Posted: Sun Apr 08, 2007 10:21 am Post subject: Q: What is the behaviours of early PD Patient? -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The behaviours of early PD patient as follows: When do I tell others, and what do I say? Whether to tell " is a question posed by many people in the early stage of PD disease. 1. Is it jeopardize my job? Don't let other people feel sorry for me and for my children? 2. Keep it yourself as secret and privacy and once it reveals you feel sorry as you cannot take it back. 3. I feel relieve as I tell out and I could get some support. 4. It is hard to keep it secret as PD is a' going on disease ' and the tension of hiding it. 5. It helps more people to aware the diseases and encourage more support group i.e fund raising for the fund and learn to manage the disease and feel you are not alone. TEO KIM HOE
Back to top
wolfJoined: 08 Apr 2007Posts: 50
Posted: Thu Apr 12, 2007 7:54 am Post subject:
Hello, I noticed you come from Malyasia, To answer your questions I would need to know the customs and culture of your society. Only you can judge whether to open up or not. Here in America it is good to tell people of our PD, but not to overwhelm them or cry our troubles. There is always a balance between what is appropriate to tell and what to keep to yourself, and this is depending on the culture. Peace Jack
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