Walterboro man has new lease on life after new Parkinson’s treatment | News | The Press and Standard – Walterboro Live

by The Press and Standard | May 18, 2017 5:00 pm

Last Updated: May 17, 2017 at 12:49 pm

Vic Still is wired literally.

The 62-year-old Walterboro man recently had a brain pacemaker implanted to help control his symptoms of Parkinsons disease. The procedure involves implanting a stimulator in his chest, which is attached to an electrode in his brain. A handheld programmer controls the current to the electrode, which stimulates the thalamus, which produces dopamine, serotonin and endorphins, Still said.

Still was diagnosed with Parkinsons eight years ago, shortly after moving back to Walterboro (where he grew up) from Charleston, where he was in sales with William Scotsman modular buildings in Summerville for 20 years.

Parkinsons interferes with the ability to move, talk and has other neurologic symptoms. Its awful not to be able to move and thats what it is, a movement disorder, and its depressing severely depressing, the former runner said. Before committing to the procedure, Still asked his father, Ryan Still, for his opinion. He told him, Youve got to do it. You can hardly move.

Dad was right. So far, Stills results have been very positive. Before the implant, he was taking 20-23 pills a day to control his symptoms. Now, hes down to eight in the two months since his surgery, which can take up to six months to show full results. Thats a great thing, he said, because the pills have some pretty bad side effects. You have to drink ungodly amounts of water or they will burn up your bladder, he said. And the body only processes about 33-percent of the medication, thus the high dosage.

This was Stills second round with the procedure, called Deep Brain Stimulus (DBS). The first chest implant became infected and had to be removed. However, doctors left the electrode in that side of his brain and plan to replace the stimulator when the site heals. Still hopes when that happens, he can cease taking the medications altogether.

The worst part of the actual operation, Still said, is that they put whats called a halo on your head. The halo is screwed into the skull to immobilize the head during surgery. The catch is its done while the patient is semi-awake. Thats freaky. You cant get it off. Youre not supposed to try and get it off. But I freaked out, he said. He was sedated, but the drugs began to wear off and they had to give him more. After that, he doesnt remember anything until he woke up in recovery.

His doctor, Dr. Istvan Takacs, at the Medical University of S.C. has done nearly 2,000 of the DBS procedures, Still said. When he asked about the success rate prior to making the decision, he said, Dr. Takacs said 95-percent of the people were satisfied with the results, and some had the DBS in place and working for as long as 30 years.

Ironically, Still believes he contracted the disease while serving his country. After graduating Walterboro High School in 1974, he joined the Marines, serving as a combat engineer. He was stationed at Camp Lejeune, N.C. for six months in 1976. In recent years, many veterans stationed there in that time period began having Parkinsons symptoms. An investigation determined that the water serving the military base was contaminated with toxic waste and more than 1.5 million claims have been filed, Still said. Just before President Barack Obama left office, he approved $2.2 billion to research the problem and compensate Parkinsons patients who are veterans. Since Still is 100-percent disabled, that settlement will greatly help but hes still waiting on the Veterans Administration.

In the meantime, he remains hopeful. You cant cure Parkinsons, but you can trick the heck out of it, he said. Its not the that glass is half empty, its half full. What are you going to do? It beats the alternative and Im not ready to die yet.

Here is the original post:
Walterboro man has new lease on life after new Parkinson's treatment | News | The Press and Standard - Walterboro Live