Waking Up With Tingly Toes and Fingers

Does Multiple Sclerosis cause you to wake up with tingly fingers and toes?  That's what has been happening with my wife for a few months now.  Sometimes they are really tingly and other times it only lasts for a few minutes.  Sometimes it's only one foot or hand or even one side of her body instead of both.  Most of the time the feeling comes back within a short time after waking up and she doesn't have any other issues during the daytime.  The frustrating thing about this is that we know why she's having these issues.

We know what it is because the problems started when my wife's pillow started breaking down and she ordered a new one.  She tried super expensive Sleep Number Pillows and other pillows that were supposed to be good for your spine and neck like the water filled pillows.  All of these pillows caused the same issues and some were worse than others.  We've found one style of pillow that doesn't cause my wife to have these issues.  Years ago this style of pillow was recommended by one of our Chiropractors and we've both used them ever since.

The style of Pillow is a Contoured Pillow.  I tried to find it online so you would know which one it is but they apparently are only available through a Chiropractors office.  The closest pillow I found you can see by Clicking Here.  When we started using these pillows it took a few days for both of us to get used to them.  It wasn't the most comfortable at first, but after we became used to them we don't leave the house without them.  I take my pillow with me everywhere we go, and so does my wife.  I can't sleep now without it or I get headaches and struggle to sleep. 

For my wife, her pillow provides more than a good night of sleep, it actually helps her to stay in alignment.  It amazes both of us how simple things like her pillow can totally change the way she feels on a daily basis.  My wife recently re-ordered 2 pillows so that we would have a backup for later and she wouldn't have to do without the right one.  After months of tingly fingers and toes, she can't wait to have her favorite pillow so she can have a great night's sleep!  We know for sure after years and years of adjustments and how she has MS issues when she's out of alignment that it is very important for her to be intentional about everything including her pillow.  If you're waking up with tingly body parts, maybe it's time to take a look at your pillow.  If you have any questions please shoot them to us, and as always we really appreciate your comments!

Article on the Vascular System and Multiple Sclerosis

I came across a post today from one of the Facebook pages I follow, and I thought you might be able to get something not only out of the article but also out of ways the article suggests to help with Vascular health.  CCSVI has been a hot topic for a few years now and the link between our Vascular system and Multiple Sclerosis is heating up as more and more Research is done.  There is a lot of information out now about CCSVI and MS, and to be honest I haven't had the time until recently to start really looking at it again but I will try to get more information on here about the newest findings. 

Here is the article about Endothelial Health and MS, and the authors recommendations to have a Healthy Vascular System - http://ccsvi.org/index.php/helping-myself/endothelial-health.  Hope this helps!

Planning Ahead For Heat And MS

Does heat bother your MS?  My wife has gone through times when she can take hot baths and not have any issues, and at other times she overheats very easily.  Now that we are back in Texas we are dealing with hotter and hotter days, and my wife does a few things to make sure she doesn't overheat during the day or night.  If she doesn't plan ahead, things can go south in a hurry so we make sure that we are prepared if she is going to be outside for lengths of time or it's a particularly hot day.

Recently we stopped off at Turner Falls in Oklahoma on our way back from Kansas.  It was a hot day but we wanted to hike some so we could see the Falls and also see the different Camping areas just in case we decided to camp there.  It has become habit now for me to reach out my arm for my wife to either hold my arm or hand while we are walking.  It's pretty normal for her to be walking along and not lift her foot enough to clear something and trip.  Luckily we've been together a long time and I'm always ready to catch her if need be.

So, we did a little hiking that day and she did great.  We took plenty of water and made sure and didn't push too hard.  On that day she didn't have heat issues and was able to handle all the walking and hiking we did.  She didn't even trip, much. ;)  That was a good day without issues, but there have been other days that have not gone so well.  We've been traveling at times when she would just get out of the car after riding for hours and if it was extremely hot outside, she would just wilt.  Those are the times she freezes me out of the car because she has the A/C on high trying to get cooled off. 

If it's hot at night she really struggles to sleep.  It's kinda funny because during the winter she has a heated blanket on all night long, but as soon as it starts warming up she struggles to find a happy medium and sheds the covers fast.  One thing she recently did to help at night was to chill a homemade Heat/Cold bag our daughter made for her.  It's super simple to make, and we even put fresh lavender in it so it would smell great.  She takes the bag and puts it in a ziplock bag and freezes it.  At night she can take it out and use it as a cold bag to cool off.  There are tons of DIY rice bags on Pinterest, and it's a fun project to do with your kids.

I guess the main thing we do to keep my wife from overheating is just being prepared with water, access to A/C and having other things available if possible like the cold rice bags.  Before MS my wife could camp out and stay in the heat outside without any issues, but we know now that she has to have access to A/C if needed so we just adjust as needed.  We choose to make tweaks in our plans that we know will make things easier and less stressful for her and all of us.  She knows her boundaries and we do too, and that helps to alleviate issues before they become major problems.  If you're going to be out in the heat this summer, plan ahead and make sure you have a Plan B.  It makes things so much easier and keeps Multiple Sclerosis from stopping the fun.

Big Things To Come For My Wife Has MS Blog

Well, my wife and I have been talking a lot about our goals and our future.  We are currently building a new Brick and Mortar business but have been building an Online Passive Income for the past few years.  With our Passive Income growing we are excited about a new phase for our My Wife Has MS blog.  Over the years I've told our story and wrote when I could, but I haven't been able to focus on sharing as much as I would like.  So, we are in the beginning phases of something we are both very excited about!

In the near future we will be able to share more about our struggles, joys and life with MS, and my wife will take a bigger role in our new endeavors.  For awhile she wanted to share more about how she feels and what's going through her mind and heart while fighting MS.  With her writing more and sharing more, we feel like you will be able to get a more balanced view of what our lives are like and how we go about treating her MS.  One of our main goals will be to continue to offer a real view of what life is like with MS, and provide Hope for those that are struggling.

So make sure and check back often because we will be announcing new additions to our Blog and will be giving everything a fresh look and feel.  For now, I just want to say THANK YOU to all of you that have followed our Journey and commented on our Blog.  We have laughed with you and cried with you as you've sent us emails and shared your journeys.  Our hope is that our new efforts will help, encourage and provide information for anyone looking for information on MS, and continue to provide a raw look at the ups and downs of Multiple Sclerosis.