Are Your Holidays Happy With MS

The Holidays are on us and for the first time since my daughter was born, we are not spending Christmas with our extended family.  Honestly, it's a little weird but we are enjoying the family time together.  Also for the first time since our daughter was born my wife is working a regular 30 hr a week job.  She's struggled a lot with the job because her heart wants to be home with our daughter helping her as she is homeschooled, but she knows that a part of our moving was she would have to work for a bit until we increased our income.  So, she's really torn right now which has caused some emotional stress during the Holidays. 

Today, she's having to work a half day which is really frustrating her.  Work, health and other issues can cause a lot of stress over the Holidays which can just make the MS cycle worse.  For my wife, stress is enemy number #1 through the Holidays so we do everything we can to eliminate stressful situations.  Even when we travel to our extended family we make sure we stay in a hotel so she can get away and rest if needed, and also to make sure that she goes to bed at a decent time instead of staying up all night talking with family.  Yes, she will miss a few things, but when she is present she is feeling good and is able to be fully there.  Does that make sense?

So, are you planning ahead for the Holidays?  Are you making sure that you have times of rest built in and that you have done what you can to eliminate stressful situations?  We have learned through the years that we can tweak things a little and it makes a huge difference for my wife's health.  Don't let the Holidays get the best of you, and especially if you're struggling with MS issues don't let your MS define your Holidays.  This year we have a special Holiday meal planned, sledding in the mountains, and we are going to serve someone else in need to remind us of how blessed we truly are.  Merry Christmas from our whole family, and this Holiday season, choose to be full of joy in spite of any issues you may be having with MS and plan ahead to take full advantage of everything the Holiday's have to offer!

Making The Most Out Of Life

It's been awhile since I've posted, so I thought I would write about our recent change in life.  Over the past few years I've ran a children's home while my wife helped to develop programs for the home along with handling donor relations.  After 2 and a half years of 24/7 work we decided to make a drastic change and move to Colorado to work more normal hours and have more time to spend with our daughter.  This has been a big change for me and for the whole family, but it has been a good one.

Life has slowed down, even with us still pushing and unsure of how to slow life down. :)  We've learned that the general culture of Colorado is much slower than we're used to, and it's been healthy for our whole family to not be in a rush all the time.  It took a few weeks for my wife to become acclimated to the climate, and she had a few MS issues during the first month here.  It never ceases to amaze me how sensitive her body is to climate changes and different elevations.  After a month or so her body has acclimated and she isn't having those issues anymore, and of course we used and continue to use Pro Adjuster Chiropractic when she has issues and it continues to stop any MS issues.  

Our recent move is another natural step in our minds to live life in a way that will help our family.  We've made many moves and changes through the years to create a better life for ourselves and also to create the best life choices for my wife's MS.  We've learned that climate, stress, chiropractic care, sleep patterns, climate control in our home, and a host of other things can make our lives easier or harder and we try to control as many of those as possible.  With this new change I should have more time to update the blog and some new thoughts on MS.

Tingly Feeling All Over With MS

I couldn't help but write today about my wife's experience at the Chiropractor.  We have been using Chiropractic for years to help with my wife's MS, and have seen miraculous results using it.  Yesterday she was struggling with stomach issues which she has struggled with off and on for years.  What's hard is knowing whether it has something to do with Multiple Sclerosis or it's just bad food.  She can become violently sick from a meal she eats regularly so we feel like it has something to do with the digestive problems that seem to be associated with her MS.  I say all of this to share something that happened today after her Chiropractic visit.

During her adjustment she began to tingle all over her body.  It's not unusual for an arm or leg or part of her body to tingle, but this was much more than usual.  She also had burning in her stomach immediately after the adjustment.  We exclusively use Pro Adjuster Chiropractic because it's the best Chiropractic treatment we have found for my wife.  After the adjustment was over she continued to tingle and her stomach burned for a bit and then it quit.  Sometimes after a visit she feels tired and needs to sleep and other times she has a spurt of energy and feels great.  Today she felt wonderful after the adjustment and the tingling left her body not long after she left the office. 

The odd thing with the visit today was her stomach burning.  I don't remember that happening before, but it always amazes me how our bodies are made so that everything is interconnected.  By adjusting her spine and aligning her body, her stomach was affected along with nerves all over her body.  Today was confirmation once again that using Chiropractic is vitally important for my wife's health, and we feel it is one of the core treatments we can count on every time she has Multiple Sclerosis symptoms or issues.

Stomach Problems With Multiple Sclerosis

For years my wife has struggled with stomach issues.  Some days she can eat a certain meal and have no issues, then eat the same thing for a meal the next day and become nauseous and vomit.  Today is one of those days.  Yesterday she was fine and having no stomach issues, but today she ate a meal that she eats often and has been vomiting all afternoon and evening.  Once all of the food is gone she starts to feel better and can go days or weeks until she has issues again.  Not only does she have nausea but the stomach pain can be very intense.

My wife's MS symptoms have come and gone through the years, but the stomach issues seem to be something that sticks around.  Sometimes she's gone weeks or months without having issues then out of the blue she can't seem to eat anything without becoming sick immediately.  I know it's quite frustrating for her when she knows that no matter what she eats she becomes sick, and so far we haven't found anyway to stop it other than just waiting it out.  Multiple Sclerosis can definitely be frustrating at times, and we will keep looking for patterns of why her stomach is having issues.  Until we figure it out, we will continue to make sure she is eating right, drinking plenty of water and doing the other things we know to treat her MS symptoms.

It's Been Awhile

I didn't realize it had been so long time since I've written anything so I wanted to give everyone an update.  My wife is doing really well with her MS.  We've been living life and taking care of the Children's Home that I run.  She's had a few minor issues here and there and it usually has to do with her not doing the things she knows she needs to do like resting, eating right and making sure she drinks plenty of water.  Recently we spent a few days at the Rocky Mountain National Park and she hiked over a mile up to Dream Lake and did great.  It always surprises me how well she can do and how far she still continues to push herself.  Here's a picture of the lake that she took while I fished. 

We've met many people lately that have MS, and it always surprises them when we tell them my wife has MS.  They are also amazed that she's not on any MS meds or other drugs.  We are still treating all of her MS with natural treatments and she is still doing great.  We do have a change coming.  We are moving to Colorado to work at another Children's Home, and we are looking forward to the cooler weather and low humidity.  When we lived in Albuquerque, she had fewer problems than anywhere else we have lived so we feel like it will be the same where we are moving.  And, we will live 30 minutes from Estes Park where we can hike, bike, fish and continue to become healthier.  Life is good, and life can be good even with MS.  My wife was diagnosed over 22 years ago and she is still living life on her terms.  I'll try to write more often when we move because I'll have more time.  I have some thoughts I want to share on a few things that we've learned lately that I think could help others struggling with MS.  How are you doing with your MS?