What happens when a very public author and journalist decides to tell their audience that they now have Parkinson's? In this powerful episode we meet Annmarie O'Connor, long time fashion editor of the Irish Examiner. Diagnosed in her 40's, join us as Annmarie looks back at the decision to go very public about her journey with Parkinson's.

To learn more about Annmarie and her new book, Twitch, click here (https://annmarieoconnor.me/)

Back in 2020, as the Covid pandemic began, a few of us got together and started a company called Coach Me Strong, an individualized exercise coaching program for people with Parkinson's. One of the first things we said to anyone who called to learn more about Coach Me Strong was, "No matter what you previous career was, now that you are diagnosed with Parkinson's your new career is as a professional athlete."

This was not meant to be off-putting but rather to impress that, with Parkinson's, exercise is not an option...the same as with any professional athlete.

In this episode Sasha Graham, host of the podcast, Sports Will Save Us All, joins us to reflect on the hundreds of interviews she has done with professional and amateur athletes and coaches about the professional athlete's mindset.

Check out her show, Sports Will Save Us All

And check out Coach Me Strong

Dr. Michael Okun, a neurologist at University of Florida, has spent almost 25 years researching Parkinson's and treating people with Parkinson's. Now, in one of the best written and most accessible books ever written on Parkinson's, Dr. Okun and Dr. Ray Dorsey lay out the plan:

1. What causes Parkinson's?
2. What can be done to prevent it?
3. What do you do once you have it?

Listen in as we look at the history and the rapid rise of Parkinson's to a point where it is often being considered a pandemic.

For more information on The Parkinson's Plan and to purchase the book, click here: https://pdplan.org/

How do you prepare for your visit with your movement disorders specialist – your doctor, nurse practitioner, or PA? In this episode filled with practical guidance, Sherrie Gould, NP, CMRD, continues with her series about working with your medical care team.

Bring your care partner, write everything down, have your questions ready. Sherrie looks at this and much more as you get ready for your Parkinson's appointment. 

We recently crossed the threshold of 100 podcasts and it's become an amazing collection of information related to living a better life with Parkinson's. However, it's always been difficult to find specific information in a specific episode...you had to scroll through all the titles.

We solved that this week with our new PASD Microcast Directory. Search by category, search by keyword, including the name of the guest, and quickly find the episodes that interest you. And you can still go right to the latest episodes.

Check it out. And if you have questions about the podcasts, or an idea for an episode, please let us know.

Podcast Directory: https://parkinsonsassociation.org/pasd-microcasts/

Contact us here: https://parkinsonsassociation.org/contact-pasd/

In this episode we continue our series with Sherrie Gould, NP, CMRD on the relationship between you and your care team. Sherrie looks at the benefits and value of seeing an advanced practice provider – a nurse practitioner or physician's assistant and provides some insight on the training, education, and experiences APPs have in the care of Parkinson's and other movement disorders.

If you have Parkinson's, should you see a neurologist who is a movement disorders specialist? A general neurologist? An advanced practice provider –  nurse practitioner or PA? Or your primary care physician.

Although this may seem like an obvious series of questions, in this episode nurse practitioner Sherrie Gould unpacks some of the differences between these medical professionals and some of your options if you are facing a long wait to get an appointment to see a clinician.

When we conceived the topic for this microcast the idea was to talk about the differences for a coach working wth older athletes and younger athletes, or older people with Parkinson's who have to exercise and younger people, with or without Parkinson's, who want to exercise. 

However, as the conversation developed, the apparent differences became less and less obvious. 

Join Coach Tracey Jacobs, a cyclist having won world and national championships, and Jeff Seckendorf, age 70, coach and world record holder on the bike and Director of Operations at the Parkinson's Association of San Diego, as they unpack this seemingly simple topic.

For more information on Coach Tracey, click here: https://traceyjacobscoaching.com/

For Coach Me Strong, click here: https://coachmestrong.com/

For exercise opportunities at the Parkinson's Association of San Diego, click here: https://parkinsonsassociation.org/exercise-opportunities/

We hear occasionally that our website is so full of useful and important information about Parkinson's and each person's journey with Parkinson's that sometimes it can be overwhelming. Where to start? Where to look? What do I need today to help me?

To help ease that information-overload, we just created a series of "Quick Link" pages, basically landing pages to streamline your entry into the website. The first three are online now: Newly diagnosed, young onset, and care partners.

In this short microcast, Director of Operations Jeff Seckendorf gives you a bit more information about the pages and our thought process leading to their development.

Questions? Contact us here.

In episode #93 in June of 2024 we met Dr. Vamsi Chavakula for a discussion on MR-Guided Focused Ultrasound. Now we're back with part 2. 

Dr. Chavakula, affiliated with Sharp Healthcare, has recently completed his 50th MR-Guided Focused Ultrasound procedure for people with Parkinson's disease and essential tremor. In this episode we look at recent advancements in the technology, discuss some of the differences between focused ultrasound and deep brain stimulation, and talk about some of the history of these treatments.

Click here for more information on treating movement disorders at Sharp.

For more information about the Parkinson's Association of San Diego, click here.

In this episode we meet Dr. Anna Halbeisen, a Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine board-certified in emergency medicine, sports medicine as well as neuromusculoskeletal/osteopathic manual medicine. We talk with Dr. Halbeisen about exercise and how that impacts your body from a medical perspective, particularly in people diagnosed with Parkinson's.

For more information about Dr. Halbeisen and her group medical visits, check out her website, https://drhalbeisen.com/

June 11, 2025. Mark your calendars. PASD's Director of Operations, Jeff Seckendorf, will attempt to break four world cycling records to support the Parkinson's Association of San Diego. In this episode Jeff switched roles from interviewer to interviewee as Sherrie Gould, NP asked Jeff about the ride, the bike, the velodrome, and what it's like to do an massively difficult event like this, but with purpose. 

This ride is a fundraiser for the Parkinson's Association of San Diego. Please donate a fixed amount or pledge an amount per kilometer. Here's the link:

https://parkinsonsassociation.org/200km-challenge/

Click the link to learn more about Jeff, the ride, the bike, and to donate or pledge.

In this slightly longer episode, I was invited to speak to the North County Parkinson's Support Group in Oceanside, CA on the topic of mindfulness. In this half hour we look at rest and recovery for the body and for the mind, the difference between meditation and meditative, and we do a short, three minute guided meditation (if you are listening to this while driving, please do not close your eyes and meditate while hurtling down the freeway).

Thoughts or comments, please contact us by clicking here. https://parkinsonsassociation.org/contact-pasd/

Jeff Seckendorf

In this "sleepy" episode we are joined by Dr. Kevin McGehrin, a neurologist at the Neuron Clinic, to discuss issues of sleep in people with Parkinson's. Dr. McGehrin looks at some of the causes of trouble sleeping, discusses REM sleep behavior disorder, and talks about some of the things we can do to help facilitate good sleep.

For more information on the Parkinson's Association of San Diego, click here.

In this short microcast PASD's Director of Operations Jeff Seckendorf takes a look at some of the upcoming programs from the Parkinson's Association of San Diego. Listen and hear Jeff talk about our Mentor Program, or new education program for mental health professionals, our newly update free mobility device program, Empowerment Day, and much more.

For more information on these programs and much more, check out the website: https://parkinsonsassociation.org/

In this episode we get a primer on mail order pharmacies. Dave Randall has been a pharmacist for 30+ years and gives us the ins and outs, benefits and drawbacks to receiving your medications from a mail order pharmacy.

Have questions for us or for Dave? Contact the Parkinson's Association of San Diego here:
https://parkinsonsassociation.org/contact-pasd/

MR-Guided Focused Ultrasound is an alternative treatment for Parkinson's disease and essential tremor. In this fascinating episode, Dr. Vamsi Chavakula, affiliated with Sharp Healthcare, looks at the pros, cons, history, and future of HIFU.

Click here for more information on treating movement disorders at Sharp.

For more information about the Parkinson's Association of San Diego, click here.

"Power Over Parkinson's" international trek number six! Nurse Practitioner Sherrie Gould has, over the past 14 years, led people with Parkinson's on fundraising treks to Kilimanjaro, Mt. Everest Base Camp, Machu Picchu, The Camino de Santiago, the Dolomites, and now, coming up in May 2024, the Kumano Kodo in Japan. Funds raised on this trip support the Parkinson's Association of San Diego along with research for stem cell transplant therapies.

In today's episode we catch up with Sherrie in the car on her way to the first training hike for Japan, this one in Poway, California. Stay tuned for many more episodes from the training and the trek.

To support a hiker on this amazing journey, click here:
https://parkinsonsassociation.org/japan-trek-sponsorship/

In this episode Phil Goodrich, Parkinson's Association of San Diego Board member, continues his story of his journey with DBS. Today Phil looks back on his Parkinons's diagnosis and some of the physical, emotional, and family issues that surrounded it.

In this episode Parkinson's Association of San Diego board member Phil Goodrich continues his story about his journey with DBS. Still a few weeks before surgery, Phil explores more about his personal journey with the decision, and the process, of getting deep brain stimulation implanted.

https://parkinsonsassociation.org/

In this episode of our Microcast Series, PASD Board member Phil Goodrich continues his story of his journey with DBS. Today Phil looks a bit more at what led him to DBS and what his process will look like.

Watch for future episodes as Phil takes us with him through his prep, surgery, recover, and outcome.

Beginning January 1, 2024 Scripps Clinic and Scripps Coastal will stop accepting Medicare Advantage plans. This leaves all Scripps patients on Medicare Advantage are facing some kind of change, and that change must be decided on by December 7, 2023.

This 30-minute interview is with Sophie Exdell of HICAP – Health Insurance Counseling and Advocacy Program, a division of Elder Law & Advocacy, a non-profit organization. Sophie explains some of the ins and outs of Medicare Advantage and some options for people wishing to stay with their Scripps doctors or willing to move to another health plan.

Scroll down to see links for more information from Elder Law & Advocacy – webinars and resources specific to the situation with Scripps and Medicare Advantage.

For links to more infomation about Medicare and Scripps, and the video version of this podcast, please click here:
https://parkinsonsassociation.org/medicare-advantage-and-scripps/

Phil Goodrich, Parkinson's Association of San Diego board member, is about to undergo deep brain stimulation surgery. What makes Phil's DBS journey unique is that he is going to take us along with him. Phil will be recording short microcast episodes as he prepares for surgery, goes through the surgery, then goes through the programming process.

In this first episode Phil talks about how he came to the conclusion that DBS is the best option for him.

Have comments or questions for Phil? Post them here and we'll pass them along:
https://parkinsonsassociation.org/contact-pasd/

The Parkinson's Association of San Diego has just released an education program for mental health professionals – social workers, clinical psychologists, and marriage and family therapists. As we recorded the interviews for this program we asked each person why they work with the Parkinson's community – what makes it rewarding.

In this short episode Adriana Gonzales, a social worker at the UCSD Parkinson's & Other Movement Disorders Center, tells us the rewards she sees working with People with Parkinson's and their families.

Contact the Parkinson's Association of San Diego here: https://parkinsonsassociation.org/contact-pasd/

Deep brain stimulation is becoming a more and more popular treatment for some of the symptoms of Parkinson's disease. In this episode we speak with Anna Manor of Boston Scientific. Boston Scientific is one of the three companies providing most of the DBS equipment to Parkinson's patients. Anna talks about the new technologies Boston Scientific has to offer and what it's like to be in a patient's first programming session after the deep brain stimulation surgery.

For more on Boston Scientific's DBS program, click here:
https://www.dbsandme.com/en.html