Over the last few weeks, my wife has worked tons of hours at our Children's Home, along with keeping up with our 14 yr old daughter. Too many hours and not enough rest turned into my wife dragging her right foot. This is a fairly common issue when she is tired and her body is worn out. Normally she would rest more along with seeing our Chiropractor, but time didn't allow those things and she fell hard last week.
We were heading to get a smoothie for our daughter and my wife caught her foot on the curb while hurrying up to the door. By the time I realized what was happening, she had already fell hard, rolled a few times and hopped up. I could see the look of pain in her eyes as she started heading back to the car. She banged up her knee along with tearing up her hands, and feeling very embarrassed after someone in the store came out and asked her if she needed help.
She was OK, but pretty beat up and we knew that if we didn't have her adjusted by the Chiropractor she would be headed to a lot of issues. Within hours her foot was already numb and her fingertips were numb. She was exhausted and slept for a few days to try to catch up and keep her body from spiraling downward. She went to the Chiropractor on Monday and immediately started getting feeling back into her foot and hands. By the end of the day the feeling was completely back and her body was recovering quickly. She also found a new massage therapist that she was very happy with this week which has also helped in the past.
It still amazes me how the warning signs are always there when her body is starting to get tired and her MS is starting to flair. If we ignore it, we ask for the problems to come and if we will just do what we know to do, we can create the environment for her to stay healthy. My wife commented that tonight she overdid it and that nothing was worth wearing her body out, so I have a feeling that this was a wake up call for her to take better care of herself. This last week she started the Swank MS diet again, and has been very focused on taking back control of her diet and health. The last four months have been very hard with both of us having to work long hours but the light at the end of the tunnel can be seen now. She is already doing better from her fall the other day, and I know she will continue to get stronger and healthier.
Sunday, October 23, 2011
Friday, July 29, 2011
MS in Wichita
It's been a while since I posted, and we are now living in Wichita KS where I work as the CEO of an all girl's children's home. My wife's MS has been pretty good since we have been in Wichita and I think she is finally acclimating to the heat and humidity. Over the last week she has dealt with some headache issues where it hurts in her eye, and had some fatigue and stomach issues. These issues are more annoying than anything, and she has done very well with the stresses that have come from moving and taking over a children's home. This last week has really brought the emotional stresses as we have dealt with some girls that we took off the streets and gave homes on our campus.
Overall we have been very blessed and her MS hasn't reared it's ugly head much. Over the next months we are hoping that we are able to settle in and increase my wife's health. We will be searching for a natural doctor and continuing to along the path of natural health. We are excited to be plugged in and back in a city with healthcare options, and I know that my wife is excited that her health has continued to be good.
Overall we have been very blessed and her MS hasn't reared it's ugly head much. Over the next months we are hoping that we are able to settle in and increase my wife's health. We will be searching for a natural doctor and continuing to along the path of natural health. We are excited to be plugged in and back in a city with healthcare options, and I know that my wife is excited that her health has continued to be good.
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
One of the Three Deadly Sins of MS
Dr. Swank used to always tell us that there are three main life stresses that really seem to impact Multiple Sclerosis - Moving, Death and Marriage. Well, we have made it through all of these, and are in the middle of moving once again. I have taken a CEO position with a Children's Home in Kansas, so we are loading up this Friday and moving to Wichita. We have been packing for over a week now, and the stress load is weighing on my whole family, and especially my wife.
She has been very fatigued lately anyway, and with the added moving stress, she has been sick after every meal, had bad headaches, struggled with tight muscles in her neck and shoulders, and just had to push through all of it to pack and get ready to move. It amazes me what she can push through and how willing she is to work even when she feels like she's been hit by a Mack truck. She is finishing our kitchen today, and I am so proud of how hard she works and how positive she is even during these times.
One of the reasons we even looked at this job was because of the health care available in Wichita. We have been two hours from our Chiropractor which has been a pain, and I really think it has caused her to have more issues. When she is seeing the Chiropractor regularly, she is a different person. And if we have a good massage therapist to work her shoulders and back, it multiplies the effects and she does even that much better. We have learned how important it is to live somewhere that we can have easy, quick access to natural Doctors and a good Chiropractor. We are excited for the move and will be seeking a new Naturopathic Doctor as soon as we get there.
So, we won't be able to avoid one of the big three stresses on MS this time, but we know that this will be a better place in the long term. Controlling stress in your life is vital for MS patients, and I know for us it is probably one of the most challenging things we manage. When stress is minimized, we've noticed that life is so much easier, and my wife's MS begins to take a more back seat to daily living.
She has been very fatigued lately anyway, and with the added moving stress, she has been sick after every meal, had bad headaches, struggled with tight muscles in her neck and shoulders, and just had to push through all of it to pack and get ready to move. It amazes me what she can push through and how willing she is to work even when she feels like she's been hit by a Mack truck. She is finishing our kitchen today, and I am so proud of how hard she works and how positive she is even during these times.
One of the reasons we even looked at this job was because of the health care available in Wichita. We have been two hours from our Chiropractor which has been a pain, and I really think it has caused her to have more issues. When she is seeing the Chiropractor regularly, she is a different person. And if we have a good massage therapist to work her shoulders and back, it multiplies the effects and she does even that much better. We have learned how important it is to live somewhere that we can have easy, quick access to natural Doctors and a good Chiropractor. We are excited for the move and will be seeking a new Naturopathic Doctor as soon as we get there.
So, we won't be able to avoid one of the big three stresses on MS this time, but we know that this will be a better place in the long term. Controlling stress in your life is vital for MS patients, and I know for us it is probably one of the most challenging things we manage. When stress is minimized, we've noticed that life is so much easier, and my wife's MS begins to take a more back seat to daily living.
Friday, April 15, 2011
How Many Weird MS Symptoms Can There Be?
Ok, so we've seen a lot of weird stuff through the years of my wife's MS. She has lost control of her throat and couldn't swallow, lost color and complete eyesight, felt weird pains and tingling, been numb all over or just in little spots, felt like her nerves were on fire, and a whole slew of other symptoms. This past week we were introduced to a couple of new ones for us. Now, we have been under a lot of stress lately. Life changes are happening and we are stressing, and hopefully we will have some kind of direction soon.
With all of the stress, I expect my wife to have issues. This time is no different, and she is having some weird stuff going on. The other day she woke up and had a pain shooting from her chest to the middle of her stomach. It was a piercing pain that would let up for awhile, and then come on full force. The pain stopped her in her tracks, and she wasn't able to do anything that day, but try to get in a position to stop the pain. This lasted a full day and even caused her discomfort when she was trying to go to bed. After a full night of sleep, the pain was gone, and there were no signs it had ever happened.
If it would have stopped there, I wouldn't have thought a whole lot about it. A few days later, she began to have severe stomach pain. If she laid completely still, the pain would subside for a bit, but as soon as she moved the pain would hit full blast and she would be bent over in agony. Again, the pain went all day and didn't subside until a full night of rest. The next day, the pain was gone, and her stomach was sore but it wasn't anything major.
On top of those issues, she has had shoulder issues for the past couple of weeks. Her shoulder catches when she raises it and she isn't able to raise her arm fully over her head. I know this, and maybe the other symptoms, are not all MS, but I do know that the stress the MS puts on the body seems to fatigue it to the point where she is more susceptible to other issues. This catch in her shoulder has been going on for awhile, and we are going to see the Chiropractor today to see if he can help.
It seems like through the years of writing this blog, I have repeated the mantra of stress and MS more than I would like. It truly amazes me how stress impacts the body, and how MS just magnifies that. We hope to find out some very important news over the next few days about our future, which should help to alleviate some of the stress, but until then we have to find ways to relax. Tonight we are going on a date, to relax and spend time just enjoying each other. It almost scares me to think of all the weird ways MS affects the body, and I would just as soon not find out. Stress, please go away!
With all of the stress, I expect my wife to have issues. This time is no different, and she is having some weird stuff going on. The other day she woke up and had a pain shooting from her chest to the middle of her stomach. It was a piercing pain that would let up for awhile, and then come on full force. The pain stopped her in her tracks, and she wasn't able to do anything that day, but try to get in a position to stop the pain. This lasted a full day and even caused her discomfort when she was trying to go to bed. After a full night of sleep, the pain was gone, and there were no signs it had ever happened.
If it would have stopped there, I wouldn't have thought a whole lot about it. A few days later, she began to have severe stomach pain. If she laid completely still, the pain would subside for a bit, but as soon as she moved the pain would hit full blast and she would be bent over in agony. Again, the pain went all day and didn't subside until a full night of rest. The next day, the pain was gone, and her stomach was sore but it wasn't anything major.
On top of those issues, she has had shoulder issues for the past couple of weeks. Her shoulder catches when she raises it and she isn't able to raise her arm fully over her head. I know this, and maybe the other symptoms, are not all MS, but I do know that the stress the MS puts on the body seems to fatigue it to the point where she is more susceptible to other issues. This catch in her shoulder has been going on for awhile, and we are going to see the Chiropractor today to see if he can help.
It seems like through the years of writing this blog, I have repeated the mantra of stress and MS more than I would like. It truly amazes me how stress impacts the body, and how MS just magnifies that. We hope to find out some very important news over the next few days about our future, which should help to alleviate some of the stress, but until then we have to find ways to relax. Tonight we are going on a date, to relax and spend time just enjoying each other. It almost scares me to think of all the weird ways MS affects the body, and I would just as soon not find out. Stress, please go away!
Friday, April 8, 2011
Daughter Asking Hard Questions About MS
The other day me and my daughter went to the gym to shoot baskets. While at the gym, she and I were talking about how my wife has been struggling some and how she wasn't able to go with us that night due to her leg's being tired. So, during our conversation I really didn't think about any of it too much, but just tried to be as open and honest as possible with her. She asks questions periodically, but usually it is short lived and she doesn't dwell much on it. After we made it back to the house, she made an off hand comment that really got my attention.
She walked by me and told me to never let her get paralyzed. She had been thinking about how my wife has been numb a few times and how she didn't want to be that way. I talked to her for a minute about it, and she asked me if I thought she was going to have MS. We had talked about this before, but for some reason it was really on her mind that night. We talked for a short time about the chances that she had it, and she went on and didn't talk about it again. I know she is concerned about it, but I also know that she doesn't think about it much until my wife has been having issues.
I guess I feel a little more comfort right now in talking to her about all of it since there are some strides being made with CCSVI and the testing for vein issues. If and when we get to the point of testing my wife for vein issues, we will go ahead and test my daughter to see if she has any blood flow problems. I guess I'm pretty paranoid because lately she has been talking about being light headed and having some black out spells where she says everything goes dark. I pray that she doesn't have Multiple Sclerosis, but I have to be real and know that there is a chance. That's the last thing I would want for my little girl, to have to struggle with this dreaded disease like my wife has. I am sure she will talk to me about it again, and I'm sure I will have to answer some hard questions, but for now she just needs to be a teenage girl loving life.
She walked by me and told me to never let her get paralyzed. She had been thinking about how my wife has been numb a few times and how she didn't want to be that way. I talked to her for a minute about it, and she asked me if I thought she was going to have MS. We had talked about this before, but for some reason it was really on her mind that night. We talked for a short time about the chances that she had it, and she went on and didn't talk about it again. I know she is concerned about it, but I also know that she doesn't think about it much until my wife has been having issues.
I guess I feel a little more comfort right now in talking to her about all of it since there are some strides being made with CCSVI and the testing for vein issues. If and when we get to the point of testing my wife for vein issues, we will go ahead and test my daughter to see if she has any blood flow problems. I guess I'm pretty paranoid because lately she has been talking about being light headed and having some black out spells where she says everything goes dark. I pray that she doesn't have Multiple Sclerosis, but I have to be real and know that there is a chance. That's the last thing I would want for my little girl, to have to struggle with this dreaded disease like my wife has. I am sure she will talk to me about it again, and I'm sure I will have to answer some hard questions, but for now she just needs to be a teenage girl loving life.
Thursday, March 17, 2011
New CCSVI Detection Technique from Dr Zamboni
Wow, Dr Zamboni just keeps pushing forward with ways to help the MS community. One of the issues with CCSVI detection to the point has been the detection of a blockage by neurologists. So, you have many MS patients being misdiagnosed because of a flawed detection process. Now, Dr Zamboni has figured out a way to take the user error out of the equation. He has come up with a process that records blood flow through a plethysmography machine to see if you have blockage. This method eliminates the operator's special training dependency, and makes detection so much quicker and easier.
Here are the details I have right now. The patient wears a collar that measures the volume of fluids in the neck. At first, the patient sits upright in a chair. When the volume stabilizes, the chair is aggessively tilted and the patient is in the supine position. The volume is continuously measured, and this position increases the volume in the neck. Again, the patient is agressively tilted back into an upright position and whamo, an MS patients blood flow takes a long time to decrease again. A normal subjects blood flow decreases almost instantly.
This is so much simpler and more accurate to see if a patient has CCSVI present or not. After they get a positive that the patient has blockage, then they can use doppler and see what extent the blood flow is impeded. This is going to be so much simpler and more effective in diagnosing since it will remove the user error. This is literally a push button method of testing, which should in turn make the whole diagnostic process easier and more reliable. Thank you Dr Zamboni for continuing to find new and creative ways to help MS sufferers. I am so grateful for men like Dr Zamboni and Dr Swank for not giving up when the medical community pushed back on them and tried to disprove their theories. I will keep my eyes open for a diagnostic center that begins to use this technique, and have my wife and daughter tested.
Here are the details I have right now. The patient wears a collar that measures the volume of fluids in the neck. At first, the patient sits upright in a chair. When the volume stabilizes, the chair is aggessively tilted and the patient is in the supine position. The volume is continuously measured, and this position increases the volume in the neck. Again, the patient is agressively tilted back into an upright position and whamo, an MS patients blood flow takes a long time to decrease again. A normal subjects blood flow decreases almost instantly.
This is so much simpler and more accurate to see if a patient has CCSVI present or not. After they get a positive that the patient has blockage, then they can use doppler and see what extent the blood flow is impeded. This is going to be so much simpler and more effective in diagnosing since it will remove the user error. This is literally a push button method of testing, which should in turn make the whole diagnostic process easier and more reliable. Thank you Dr Zamboni for continuing to find new and creative ways to help MS sufferers. I am so grateful for men like Dr Zamboni and Dr Swank for not giving up when the medical community pushed back on them and tried to disprove their theories. I will keep my eyes open for a diagnostic center that begins to use this technique, and have my wife and daughter tested.
Thursday, March 3, 2011
Lasting Effects of Being Blind with Multiple Sclerosis
This last week my wife went in to get her eyes checked for the first time in a while. The poor Optometrist really didn't have a clue about MS or the condition of her eyes. When we explained to him that she had been blind four times, had a retina detachment with a buckle, and how one of her eyes is dim, he seemed a little overwhelmed. It is almost humorous to see doctors that don't have any kind of background in MS. He looked her eyes over and started the process of getting her a prescription, and we were happy that her eye sight hasn't changed much from the last time she had her eyes checked.
With the damage that has been done to her eyes, it is no wonder he couldn't get 20/20 vision in both eyes. Her left eye he was able to get to 20/20 even though she has gone blind in that eye, and we know that there was damage. She sees pretty well out of that eye, with full peripheral and good depth perception. The right eye is a different story. With the times she's gone blind in it, her optic nerve has apparently been damaged. She can see, but it is half the brightness. He was able to get her to 20/60 in that eye, and I know she has some issues with night blindness and peripheral in her right eye. She is still blessed to be able to see out of that eye as well as she does, and we are hoping her new prescription will help even more with some issues she is having.
In both eyes, she has gone completely blind for days, and then the eye sight came back through using steroid drips. This is one of the few times that we use any type of drugs to treat her MS, and we both feel it has saved her eyesight. I have had a few questions about whether you can get your eyesight back if you've been blind with MS, and my wife is a living testimonial to that. She doesn't see great out of her right eye, but her left eye is still normal. We also found out that she has some issues seeing colors. The doctor ran a few simple color tests, where they have letters or numbers in color on a page with other dots or designs, and she had a hard time seeing very many of them. Yes, the MS has affected her vision, but she is so happy that she can still see and enjoy her eye sight. Her few bouts with going blind have damaged her eyesight some, but overall we are very pleased with how well she can still see.
With the damage that has been done to her eyes, it is no wonder he couldn't get 20/20 vision in both eyes. Her left eye he was able to get to 20/20 even though she has gone blind in that eye, and we know that there was damage. She sees pretty well out of that eye, with full peripheral and good depth perception. The right eye is a different story. With the times she's gone blind in it, her optic nerve has apparently been damaged. She can see, but it is half the brightness. He was able to get her to 20/60 in that eye, and I know she has some issues with night blindness and peripheral in her right eye. She is still blessed to be able to see out of that eye as well as she does, and we are hoping her new prescription will help even more with some issues she is having.
In both eyes, she has gone completely blind for days, and then the eye sight came back through using steroid drips. This is one of the few times that we use any type of drugs to treat her MS, and we both feel it has saved her eyesight. I have had a few questions about whether you can get your eyesight back if you've been blind with MS, and my wife is a living testimonial to that. She doesn't see great out of her right eye, but her left eye is still normal. We also found out that she has some issues seeing colors. The doctor ran a few simple color tests, where they have letters or numbers in color on a page with other dots or designs, and she had a hard time seeing very many of them. Yes, the MS has affected her vision, but she is so happy that she can still see and enjoy her eye sight. Her few bouts with going blind have damaged her eyesight some, but overall we are very pleased with how well she can still see.
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