Tonight my daughter asked me a really off the wall question. She had driven with me to pickup a donation for the children's home and we were heading back home when she asked, "dad, is mom going to die soon?" Now, my daughter is 14 years old and my wife was diagnosed years before she was even born, so she hasn't ever known a time before my wife had ms. She totally took me off guard when she asked because we weren't even talking about my wife or anything to do with MS.
This is a question I had asked Dr. Swank when we used to visit him yearly. When we visited with him, I would bombard him with questions because I wanted to know as much as possible about Multiple Sclerosis. When I asked Dr. Swank about life expectancy he quickly told me that most MS patients lived a long life. He even said that in his research, 85% of his patients that were following the MS diet lived a full life with limited MS issues. What I've personally seen is MS doesn't lessen the amount of years you live, but it can lessen your ability to live those years.
I quickly answered my daughter and let her know that her mom wasn't going to die soon from her MS, and that is not the way Multiple Sclerosis affected the body. Then she asked me what we would do if my wife went completely numb, and I assured her that we would do everything possible for my wife to live a long, healthy life. It reminded me today that we need to be discussing MS with my daughter as she gets older so she understands it and doesn't fear it. It is so important to discuss MS with your family and especially with your children, and to understand the effects of MS well enough to discuss it. If you have any questions I can answer please let me know.
Showing posts with label Swank MS Diet. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Swank MS Diet. Show all posts
Monday, March 12, 2012
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Dr. Pepper, Not What The Doctor Ordered For MS
I have posted before about how much my wife loves her Dr. Pepper. This has been an ongoing battle for her to break the addiction, but the other day she had a totally different issue. She has been watching her diet and controlling her fat intake, just like when she was on the Swank diet, but she still drinks a Dr. Pepper occasionally. She went to the coke machine a few days ago to get a drink for me and for her. She set her Dr. Pepper on the top of the coke machine and when she reached down to get my drink out of the machine, the can fell off the top and onto the side of her head. It really stung her and the area immediately bumped up and hurt. Within 30 minutes not only was it hurting but the whole side of her head was going numb. Within another 30 minutes or so, the side of her face was loosing feeling.
All of this over a Dr. Pepper! We both knew that she needed to do something or the numbness would continue to spread and cause more issues. She called a new massage therapist she is trying and went to see her that afternoon. After the massage, she had all her feeling back and was doing much better. It still amazes both of us that something as simple as a soda can falling on your head would start her body to reacting, but we have seen so many weird things through the years that we aren't surprised, just amazed. She has been more careful with the soda machine now, but it was just another reminder that something simple can create bigger issues if left untreated.
All of this over a Dr. Pepper! We both knew that she needed to do something or the numbness would continue to spread and cause more issues. She called a new massage therapist she is trying and went to see her that afternoon. After the massage, she had all her feeling back and was doing much better. It still amazes both of us that something as simple as a soda can falling on your head would start her body to reacting, but we have seen so many weird things through the years that we aren't surprised, just amazed. She has been more careful with the soda machine now, but it was just another reminder that something simple can create bigger issues if left untreated.
Saturday, January 3, 2009
Diet for MS
Quite a few years ago a man from Big Lake, TX was featured on the national news after overcoming Multiple Sclerosis using natural treatment. He was wheelchair bound and couldn't use his legs very well, and had tried conventional treatment and had limited results. After quite a few years he decided to try a Naturopathic Doctor in San Angelo, TX to see if he could help. The Naturopath used supplements, vitamins and diet to treat the disease and within a few months the man was walking and playing golf regularly. The news media ate it up and loved the fact that this man was walking after being wheelchair bound.
I have spent the last few years purchasing books and online material that claims to have the cure or treatment for MS. I have purchased online books from individuals in other countries and from MS sufferers. Through reading all of these, there is a few things that you will find that are contained in every one. They almost all talk about fish oils and the use of Omega's in your diet. They almost all talk about stress and anxiety and the need to control the stress in your life. They almost all talk about the use of a good multi vitamin and other specific vitamins that have shown to help MS patients. Many of the MS sufferers refer to a diet they followed and other treatments they used to remedy their problem. It is interesting that so many of these articles, books and materials all refer to the same things.
The very interesting thing about the man from Big Lake was he drank diet sodas everyday. He was addicted to them and once he began natural treatments and quit drinking the sodas, the feeling in his legs came back. If there is one thing I have learned through all of the years of research and talking with patients and doctors, it is that you have to eat well to get well. Every book and article I have read has contained some form of diet. Dr. Swank's MS diet seems to be one of the first diets out there specifically for MS, and his success rate with patients was astounding. Eating healthy is a common thread that can't be ignored when approaching MS. It affects your gut, nutrition, nerves, hormones and a host of other things that directly affect Multiple Sclerosis.
When my wife first started seeing our Naturopath, he found out that she had a leaky gut. In lay terms, she had feces in her blood. I still have the video from that first dark field microscopy of her blood. You could actually see the parasites, fungus, cells and yes, feces, in her blood. We immediately started a diet that included Mastica Gum and L Glutamine to repair the stomach lining and intestinal lining. We also tested her stomach acid and started using acid pills to create the right ph in her stomach. We learned that acid reflux isn't always too much acid, sometimes it is too little. When the ph is thrown off in the stomach, it really messes up the rest of your digestive system. My wife wasn't getting the nutrients or digesting her food properly because her digestive system was so out of whack.
The doctor immediately cut out the wheat and sugar in her diet and within a few weeks she saw her energy levels go up and her fatigue start to go away. She also had less pain and just felt all around better. She had also had issues with bowel movements before this. Once we were utilizing the diet and supplements she started to have bowel movements regularly. To this day, if she is not feeling well we go back to the basics and start to look at bowel movements and nutrition. We also started to treat for parasites and fungus in the blood. We also have the tape from the second dark field microscopy and it showed a huge improvement from the first visit. The feces were gone and the cells weren't clumped together. The parasites and fungus were showing up less and my wife could definitely tell that her health was improving.
When we worked at the Naturopath's office, this seemed to be the first thing he did with all of his patients. The gut seems to be the core of nutrition and health. When the digestive process isn't working properly, it really messes with the rest of your health. I have personally watched patients come in and just by fixing their gut, they feel 100X better. Two books that we have used over the years to help with a starting point are "Swank's MS Diet" and "Breaking the Vicious Cycle". They are both pretty hard to follow, but well worth the effort.
I have spent the last few years purchasing books and online material that claims to have the cure or treatment for MS. I have purchased online books from individuals in other countries and from MS sufferers. Through reading all of these, there is a few things that you will find that are contained in every one. They almost all talk about fish oils and the use of Omega's in your diet. They almost all talk about stress and anxiety and the need to control the stress in your life. They almost all talk about the use of a good multi vitamin and other specific vitamins that have shown to help MS patients. Many of the MS sufferers refer to a diet they followed and other treatments they used to remedy their problem. It is interesting that so many of these articles, books and materials all refer to the same things.
The very interesting thing about the man from Big Lake was he drank diet sodas everyday. He was addicted to them and once he began natural treatments and quit drinking the sodas, the feeling in his legs came back. If there is one thing I have learned through all of the years of research and talking with patients and doctors, it is that you have to eat well to get well. Every book and article I have read has contained some form of diet. Dr. Swank's MS diet seems to be one of the first diets out there specifically for MS, and his success rate with patients was astounding. Eating healthy is a common thread that can't be ignored when approaching MS. It affects your gut, nutrition, nerves, hormones and a host of other things that directly affect Multiple Sclerosis.
When my wife first started seeing our Naturopath, he found out that she had a leaky gut. In lay terms, she had feces in her blood. I still have the video from that first dark field microscopy of her blood. You could actually see the parasites, fungus, cells and yes, feces, in her blood. We immediately started a diet that included Mastica Gum and L Glutamine to repair the stomach lining and intestinal lining. We also tested her stomach acid and started using acid pills to create the right ph in her stomach. We learned that acid reflux isn't always too much acid, sometimes it is too little. When the ph is thrown off in the stomach, it really messes up the rest of your digestive system. My wife wasn't getting the nutrients or digesting her food properly because her digestive system was so out of whack.
The doctor immediately cut out the wheat and sugar in her diet and within a few weeks she saw her energy levels go up and her fatigue start to go away. She also had less pain and just felt all around better. She had also had issues with bowel movements before this. Once we were utilizing the diet and supplements she started to have bowel movements regularly. To this day, if she is not feeling well we go back to the basics and start to look at bowel movements and nutrition. We also started to treat for parasites and fungus in the blood. We also have the tape from the second dark field microscopy and it showed a huge improvement from the first visit. The feces were gone and the cells weren't clumped together. The parasites and fungus were showing up less and my wife could definitely tell that her health was improving.
When we worked at the Naturopath's office, this seemed to be the first thing he did with all of his patients. The gut seems to be the core of nutrition and health. When the digestive process isn't working properly, it really messes with the rest of your health. I have personally watched patients come in and just by fixing their gut, they feel 100X better. Two books that we have used over the years to help with a starting point are "Swank's MS Diet" and "Breaking the Vicious Cycle". They are both pretty hard to follow, but well worth the effort.
Wednesday, November 28, 2007
Normal MS, if there is such a thing.
The last few weeks have been pretty calm. My wife has been dealing with the usual fatigue and small issues, but nothing too major. It is pretty sad that fatigue and small issues are the norm, but we aren't giving up on those being gone someday too. I have been studying up on a new doctor and his treatments, and hopefully we will be able to go see him next year. He doesn't take insurance, and everything is cash up front so we are going to have to prepare for the expense. So far I have found exceptional results from his treatments, and personally know a few doctors that have been treated by him. I am also looking into a few other treatments that have shown promise, and I know that 2008 is going to be another year of milestones and learning. Right now, we are just trying to make it through the holidays in one piece and with our health intact. This time of year is always a struggle, with all of the hoopla and energy you have to expend. So, we will go into holiday mode and my wife will start resting more and making sure she is not overdoing it. Just as an example, she rarely shops this time of year. The crowds and the hassle and the long lines just cause more issues than any of the shopping specials are worth. We shop ahead of time or go to the stores for specific things so that she is not exhausted from it. We also try to pay attention to our eating habits a little more. After my wife was first diagnosed, she started on the Swank MS Diet. We would travel to Oregon once a year to spend a day at Dr. Roy L Swank's office and my wife followed the diet as best she could. Everything Dr. Swank said would happen, happened. She did great as long as she was on it, but we moved to a Children's home as house parents in 1999 and she just wasn't able to focus on her meals. Dr. Swank had always told her that once you get off the diet you probably wouldn't see the effects for about 2 years. He was exactly right. After two years of being off of the diet, she started having more issues, and she has struggled to get back on it since. We know that food choices affect MS. It is so obvious that our eating habits play a huge role in our everyday life, with or without MS. We make excuses and eat unhealthy and we reap exactly what we have sown. We have been working on our families eating habits, but we have a long way to go. If you're interested in Swank's diet, there are a multitude of sites online that explain the diet and give helpful advice about recipes and eating out. Dr. Swank is no longer in practice, but I know that we owe a lot to him and to his staff for the great job they did in truly taking an interest in the needs of MS patients. So, if you have MS or have a family member with MS, please take the extra time over the holidays to rest and recover. A short nap everyday or a little extra rest can go so far in helping with the holiday stress.
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