I haven't been able to post in awhile because of some major changes in our lives. For the last year and a half my wife has struggled with numbness on her whole left side along with other extremities being numb including both hands and feet. She's struggled with what we've come to call "Frankenstein legs", where her legs will literally stiffen up due to major changes in the temperature causing her to not be able to walk well. She's had brain fog, struggled with short term and long term memory, struggled to remember words to carry on a conversation, fatigue, eye sight issues, tingling, bladder issues, struggled to walk at times and more. This whole time we suspected it was just her MS causing issues, but a week long Cruise changed everything!
At the beginning of July we went on a Graduation Cruise for our daughter. We worried about my wife's health and ability to participate in all of the outings we had planned, especially her balance on the Cruise Ship because of all of the walking required. The first few days were exactly as we expected. We took our time, walked slow and made it up and down the elevator and stairs to the different decks on the Ship. The first few days we were just travelling across the Gulf heading towards our first Destination Port, and spent the 3rd day in Cozumel riding Segways along the coastline. During our Segway ride we had a small accident and my wife ended up falling off of her Segway due to another Segway crashing into her. Luckily she was stopped when she fell, but I was extremely concerned because with the other issues she was having I wondered if she would even be able to walk the next day.
Not only was she able to walk, but we spent the next day swimming with the Dolphins and Sting Rays in the Cayman Islands. She was walking OK, was able to swim with minimal issues and seemed to be doing good. By the next day she began to notice that she could lift her left leg all the way up, which she hadn't been able to do in over a year. She also noticed that she could feel the cold on the bottom of her feet which she hadn't been able to do in over a year. Over the next few days her body started to feel better and better, and her walking and feeling in her left side slowly started to improve. Again, this was after 5 or 6 days of being on the Cruise and honestly, this was a bright spotlight in a very dark time for my wife. I knew she had become very discouraged and even had depression from the struggles over the last year and a half because we had done everything we normally did to treat her MS and nothing was helping. Little did we know that it wasn't MS causing the issues!
We arrived back in Galveston to leave and go Home to Dallas on Sunday. By this point, my wife felt better than she had in over a year and I could tell that even more important than that, she had hope in a very dark time. So, we loaded up and headed home really not sure what had caused her recovery or what we were going to do about it when got home. We arrived back in Dallas that afternoon and took naps, enjoyed some down time and headed to bed early. At this point my wife still felt fine and was doing well, but that wouldn't last. By the next morning the numbness had returned and she felt totally defeated. This time the brain fog, numbness, tingling, dizziness, stiffness in her legs all came back with a fury! We started to process what was different and went thru every step including trying the dizziness patches we wore, rest and diet on the ship, swimming, and anything else we could think of from our Cruise.
That's when it hit us! We had seen a little mold spot in our Bathroom before we left on the Cruise so we wondered if that was the culprit. Years ago we had to move out of a Home and City because we weren't sure if it was the environment, house or what. We packed up and moved less than 2 hours away and all of her symptoms went away. This time we wanted to test our theory and had the Company that was renting the House to us come and remove the mold. Their employee came to the house and cut out the moldy piece of sheetrock, and since we wanted to keep it for testing my wife carried it to the garage. She immediately called me because as soon as she touched the moldy sheetrock her body stiffened, she struggled to breath, her legs started hurting and the symptoms continued. Within an hour or so her fingers started to feel like she had fiberglass in them, poking and hurting. She wondered if she had fiberglass on her fingers from maybe handling the sheetrock and used tape to see if she could pull it out.
The problem wasn't fiberglass, the problem was her nerves. The mold had literally made her fingers feel like she had things sticking in her fingers for hours. We tried all sorts of things but couldn't figure out what to do. The next day a friend suggested we try Essential Oils on her hands and feet to see if it would help with the mold toxicity. Within minutes of applying the Essential Oil to her hands the stinging went away and never came back. Figuring out that the mold was causing her immediate issues set us on a whole different path. I want to write more about what we've already done, and plan to do, but I've written a long enough post for today. I'll share more in another post about what Treatments we have already tried, where we live now, and what our plans are, but for now I hope this will help some of you that may be struggling with mold issues and don't even realize it.
If you aren't sure if you have mold, there are tests available at Home Improvement stores that you can test the air in your home along with dust and other particles from vents or other areas of your home. I would highly suggest testing your home if you've ever thought mold may be an issue in your home. I know that we will be testing every home we live in from this point forward. Over the next few weeks I want to share more about our recent Mold journey, but for now I hope our recent experience helps someone. To be continued...
Showing posts with label tingling. Show all posts
Showing posts with label tingling. Show all posts
Tuesday, August 11, 2015
Tuesday, June 17, 2014
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!
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!
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
First Years With Multiple Sclerosis
The first MS attack my wife remembers was her left arm going numb from her shoulder to her finger tips. During that time, she was going to paralegal school and had recently moved to the Dallas area. She was 20 yrs old at the time. She went to see the doctors and they felt she had carpal tunnel syndrome. They gave her a wrist support and sent her home, diagnosing her with a pinched nerve. For weeks she was numb, then the feeling started to come back. Everyone felt as if this was an isolated incident and not a big deal. Almost a year later, at Thanksgiving, my wife started to have fuzziness in her left eye. This was after a busy day and it came on without warning. She noticed the problem as she tried to drive home and couldn't see well when she was passing cars. She went to bed that night not knowing what the issue was, then woke up the next day blind in that eye.
She immediately went to see the eye doctor and he gave my wife the diagnosis of MS. He explained that he had only seen this issue with patients that had Multiple Sclerosis. My wife's biological mom had been in contact with her adoptive father at the time so he knew that she could have MS. At that time, the doctors were still teaching that MS was not hereditary and my wife was one of the first cases of a mother/daughter with MS. Her eye doctor gave her steroids for the blindness and she was able to regain her sight after a few weeks. My wife was completely blind for a full week this first time before the sight began to come back. About the time that she had regained her sight completely back, her right eye went blind.
This happened the day after Christmas, and seemed to coincide with her menstrual cycle. This time my wife was hospitalized and put through testing for MS. She had an MRI done and a spinal tap. Neither one of these came back positive for MS. The MRI showed no lesions but her parents felt like it was definitely MS. Her father chose at this point to not continue any testing because as a pharmacist, he felt like it was futile. He felt like it was a waste because it wasn't like they could cure or really even help with the drugs that were available then. The doctors started her on steroids and her eyesight began to come back just like it had before.
About that same time my wife's mother attended a Yanni concert. During the concert he spoke about how his daughter was about to give birth, and about how she had MS. My wife's mother approached him after the concert and he took her aside and told her about Dr Roy L Swank. My in-laws called Dr. Swank's office and was lucky enough to get an appointment within a month due to a cancellation and her age. Because she was only 21 at the time, Dr. Swank wanted to see her as quickly as possible. My wife moved back home and went to see Dr. Swank. Dr. Swank confirmed the MS diagnosis and had her start the Swank MS diet. My wife moved back home and began the diet immediately.
For nine months my wife slept and kept a strict diet according to Dr. Swank's book. Right after the blindness issues, my wife had tingling in her legs and problems walking. She also started to have epileptic seizures in her left arm. She had the seizures for about a month, and the doctors had her take seizure medication. The seizures stopped after that month and she has not had any since. The leg issues continued off and on for the first six months after starting the diet. My wife's main memories of that first year of MS were sleeping all the time and being stuck at the house. She remembers how strict the diet was and how worried she was about breaking the diet. She has commented many times about how she was worried about eating a french fry, or potato chip, because it might make her blind. Even when I met her a few years later, she was still strict with her diet and wouldn't cheat due to fear that it would hurt her and cause an MS attack.
After the nine months of sleeping, my wife slowly began to go back to work and continue with her schooling. She continued to have mild MS issues, including fatigue, tingling in her legs/feet, tingling in her arms/hands and headaches. About two years after starting the diet, she went blind for her third time. This time the eye issues started right after rock climbing and hiking all day. About a year later, my wife and I met. I know there are many, many things I am leaving out about those first few years, but maybe this will give a big picture view of my wife's experience. I will try to get into more detail in later posts.
She immediately went to see the eye doctor and he gave my wife the diagnosis of MS. He explained that he had only seen this issue with patients that had Multiple Sclerosis. My wife's biological mom had been in contact with her adoptive father at the time so he knew that she could have MS. At that time, the doctors were still teaching that MS was not hereditary and my wife was one of the first cases of a mother/daughter with MS. Her eye doctor gave her steroids for the blindness and she was able to regain her sight after a few weeks. My wife was completely blind for a full week this first time before the sight began to come back. About the time that she had regained her sight completely back, her right eye went blind.
This happened the day after Christmas, and seemed to coincide with her menstrual cycle. This time my wife was hospitalized and put through testing for MS. She had an MRI done and a spinal tap. Neither one of these came back positive for MS. The MRI showed no lesions but her parents felt like it was definitely MS. Her father chose at this point to not continue any testing because as a pharmacist, he felt like it was futile. He felt like it was a waste because it wasn't like they could cure or really even help with the drugs that were available then. The doctors started her on steroids and her eyesight began to come back just like it had before.
About that same time my wife's mother attended a Yanni concert. During the concert he spoke about how his daughter was about to give birth, and about how she had MS. My wife's mother approached him after the concert and he took her aside and told her about Dr Roy L Swank. My in-laws called Dr. Swank's office and was lucky enough to get an appointment within a month due to a cancellation and her age. Because she was only 21 at the time, Dr. Swank wanted to see her as quickly as possible. My wife moved back home and went to see Dr. Swank. Dr. Swank confirmed the MS diagnosis and had her start the Swank MS diet. My wife moved back home and began the diet immediately.
For nine months my wife slept and kept a strict diet according to Dr. Swank's book. Right after the blindness issues, my wife had tingling in her legs and problems walking. She also started to have epileptic seizures in her left arm. She had the seizures for about a month, and the doctors had her take seizure medication. The seizures stopped after that month and she has not had any since. The leg issues continued off and on for the first six months after starting the diet. My wife's main memories of that first year of MS were sleeping all the time and being stuck at the house. She remembers how strict the diet was and how worried she was about breaking the diet. She has commented many times about how she was worried about eating a french fry, or potato chip, because it might make her blind. Even when I met her a few years later, she was still strict with her diet and wouldn't cheat due to fear that it would hurt her and cause an MS attack.
After the nine months of sleeping, my wife slowly began to go back to work and continue with her schooling. She continued to have mild MS issues, including fatigue, tingling in her legs/feet, tingling in her arms/hands and headaches. About two years after starting the diet, she went blind for her third time. This time the eye issues started right after rock climbing and hiking all day. About a year later, my wife and I met. I know there are many, many things I am leaving out about those first few years, but maybe this will give a big picture view of my wife's experience. I will try to get into more detail in later posts.
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Tingling Comes And Goes With MS
Toes tingling, feet tingling, leg tingling, arm tingling and that's just been in the last few days. My wife's MS seems to be acting up since she has completely worn herself out the last few weeks. Even with extra sleep during the mornings, she is still struggling to finish the day without having some tingling or pain in her legs or feet. Tonight she even had an odd pain in her ankle area right above the ankle bone. By the end of the day she has been limping and dragging one of her legs most of this last week. Tonight was no different, she came home dragging her left leg and having pain issues up and down her thigh. She just took a hot bath to relax her legs and it seems to have helped.
The tingling has come and gone with the amount of stress she has put on herself this last week. The more rest she gets, the less tingling and issues. The more stress, whether it is physical or emotional, the more tingling and issues she has. Yesterday was probably the worst I have seen her in a while. Her eyes showed it all. I have always been able to look at her eyes and tell how she is doing. Yesterday they looked bad and I immediately setup and appointment for a massage to try and relax her to see if that would help. It did help, and she was doing better last night. We have noticed that after a massage she can have some odd reactions. We are not sure if it the toxins that are stirred up during the massage or something else, but last night she was having chest pain which is usually a sign of low Potassium. By this morning she felt really great and her eyes looked much better.
One difference my wife commented about tonight was that her eyesight was very good when we were driving home. Normally she has problems seeing clearly at night and making out things in the distance. Tonight she was very excited about how well she could see and commented that she wishes it was like that all the time. I guess we will see if it is the same tomorrow. We feel like some of this may be from the massage and just relaxing. Yesterday was the first time we tried this particular massage therapist and we both feel like her massage technique has really helped. Her massage style was different than anything we have done, so we are very excited to find a method that seems to help. For tonight my wife is dealing with a little bit of pain and some tingling, but nothing major. After a good night's sleep I am sure she will be off to another day of overdoing and stress. I wouldn't expect anything else from her after fourteen years of marriage.
The tingling has come and gone with the amount of stress she has put on herself this last week. The more rest she gets, the less tingling and issues. The more stress, whether it is physical or emotional, the more tingling and issues she has. Yesterday was probably the worst I have seen her in a while. Her eyes showed it all. I have always been able to look at her eyes and tell how she is doing. Yesterday they looked bad and I immediately setup and appointment for a massage to try and relax her to see if that would help. It did help, and she was doing better last night. We have noticed that after a massage she can have some odd reactions. We are not sure if it the toxins that are stirred up during the massage or something else, but last night she was having chest pain which is usually a sign of low Potassium. By this morning she felt really great and her eyes looked much better.
One difference my wife commented about tonight was that her eyesight was very good when we were driving home. Normally she has problems seeing clearly at night and making out things in the distance. Tonight she was very excited about how well she could see and commented that she wishes it was like that all the time. I guess we will see if it is the same tomorrow. We feel like some of this may be from the massage and just relaxing. Yesterday was the first time we tried this particular massage therapist and we both feel like her massage technique has really helped. Her massage style was different than anything we have done, so we are very excited to find a method that seems to help. For tonight my wife is dealing with a little bit of pain and some tingling, but nothing major. After a good night's sleep I am sure she will be off to another day of overdoing and stress. I wouldn't expect anything else from her after fourteen years of marriage.
Friday, September 11, 2009
Legs Tingling With MS
This last week has been pretty tough on my wife. Lots of emotional stress and physical stress just wore her body out. She has had fatigue, overheating, headaches, pain in different parts of her body and tingling in her legs and feet. Last night she told me that her legs were tingling in a different place than normal. They were tingling along the outsides of her thighs, which she has had before but it is usually in conjunction with the top of her thighs. She said it felt very funny for just the outside of her thighs to tingle. She knew she needed to rest so she took a bath to relax and went to bed early.
Leg issues and Multiple Sclerosis seem to go hand in hand. It seems like most people I meet with MS have experienced tingling, pain and other issues with their legs. My wife's legs have always been a part of her MS symptoms, and we have always been able to reverse the problem with rest, chiropractic and nutrition. She just walked into my office a moment ago and the tingling is gone for now. She is walking and moving fine today, but it is another reminder that stress can bring about an MS issue. We have already had to change our plans this weekend so that we don't stress her body anymore than we have to. For now we will both have to be aware of what all she is doing and how much walking etc. she has to do. She will have to rest this coming week because she is going to be on her feet the following week at a Display for our Children's Home. Just another "normal" week with MS.
Leg issues and Multiple Sclerosis seem to go hand in hand. It seems like most people I meet with MS have experienced tingling, pain and other issues with their legs. My wife's legs have always been a part of her MS symptoms, and we have always been able to reverse the problem with rest, chiropractic and nutrition. She just walked into my office a moment ago and the tingling is gone for now. She is walking and moving fine today, but it is another reminder that stress can bring about an MS issue. We have already had to change our plans this weekend so that we don't stress her body anymore than we have to. For now we will both have to be aware of what all she is doing and how much walking etc. she has to do. She will have to rest this coming week because she is going to be on her feet the following week at a Display for our Children's Home. Just another "normal" week with MS.
Monday, September 7, 2009
Tingling Feet With Multiple Sclerosis
Today my wife came home with tingling feet. She wore herself out earlier this week and her legs have felt "tired". She has also had some tingling on and off in her feet, but today it seemed to be aggravated by her shoes as much as anything else. She came home earlier and immediately took off her tennis shoes and explained that they felt tight today and were making her feet tingle. Once the shoes were off, her feet weren't tingling so much and felt better. The tightness of the shoes rubbing on her feet seemed to make the issue worse. After sitting for awhile her feet felt better and she knew she needed to rest or have more issues.
After overheating earlier this week my wife slept and tried to rest and stay off her feet and legs. Her legs seem to be the first thing to have issues when she is tired and over exerting herself. We felt like it was important to see a chiropractor quickly so we went and visited a new chiropractor that we have been trying since we moved. This new Dr. has been practicing for awhile but has no experience with MS patients and uses a little different technique than we are used to. After the adjustment my wife was very sleepy and felt OK, but still wasn't doing great. It showed us once again that not all chiropractors are equal even if they use similar techniques. We are on the hunt for another chiropractor and will continue to make sure she rests. Through experience we know that it is very important for her to rest as much as possible over the next few days or this will become worse. There's never a dull moment when dealing with Multiple Sclerosis.
After overheating earlier this week my wife slept and tried to rest and stay off her feet and legs. Her legs seem to be the first thing to have issues when she is tired and over exerting herself. We felt like it was important to see a chiropractor quickly so we went and visited a new chiropractor that we have been trying since we moved. This new Dr. has been practicing for awhile but has no experience with MS patients and uses a little different technique than we are used to. After the adjustment my wife was very sleepy and felt OK, but still wasn't doing great. It showed us once again that not all chiropractors are equal even if they use similar techniques. We are on the hunt for another chiropractor and will continue to make sure she rests. Through experience we know that it is very important for her to rest as much as possible over the next few days or this will become worse. There's never a dull moment when dealing with Multiple Sclerosis.
Saturday, December 27, 2008
Multiple Sclerosis Attacks Fast
Within an hour my wife's right side had gone tingley and numb. She awoke to a normal Sunday and showered and dressed as usual. There was nothing out of the norm happening to her body that morning. She did have a slight headache when she woke up, but it was gone after she was awake for awhile. We drove to church as usual and sat in our normal seats. About half way through the service, my wife said she felt an odd feeling in her back along the right side. By the end of the church service, her right ear tingled, her right leg was numb, her right arm ached and the right side of her back was tingling, aching and some parts were already numb.
We were set to leave out of town the next day so we had to figure something out fast. Her right side became worse as the day went on and her arm ached badly. We felt like a chiropractic visit would reverse the issue, but it was not a day our chiropractor was open. We called him anyway, and he felt like it was urgent enough to meet us at the office and adjust her on Sunday. When we met him at his office, the chiropractor checked her alignment and adjusted her spine using his Pro Adjuster equipment. Her neck was way out of alignment and her lower back needed adjustment and some muscle work. While being adjusted, she could feel the feeling come back into her right side. Within minutes, her right side began to return to normal and she could feel the difference.
We left the chiropracter's office and my wife was quite sore. Her lower back ached for a few days but all symptoms were gone by the next day. She had all feeling back and there was no aching in her arm. We drove for 8 hours the next day and she had no problems. It is amazing to me how her body can react so quickly to something when it seems like things are only going to get worse. Just 7 years ago, we would have let the attack run it's course and she probably would have been completely numb from the chest down. I am so glad we chose to learn and search out our own treatment path. She is doing fine now and was great all through the Christmas week. We owe a HUGE thanks to Dr. Kevin Atchley in Albuquerque for coming to his office on his day off to help my wife. THANKS!!!
We were set to leave out of town the next day so we had to figure something out fast. Her right side became worse as the day went on and her arm ached badly. We felt like a chiropractic visit would reverse the issue, but it was not a day our chiropractor was open. We called him anyway, and he felt like it was urgent enough to meet us at the office and adjust her on Sunday. When we met him at his office, the chiropractor checked her alignment and adjusted her spine using his Pro Adjuster equipment. Her neck was way out of alignment and her lower back needed adjustment and some muscle work. While being adjusted, she could feel the feeling come back into her right side. Within minutes, her right side began to return to normal and she could feel the difference.
We left the chiropracter's office and my wife was quite sore. Her lower back ached for a few days but all symptoms were gone by the next day. She had all feeling back and there was no aching in her arm. We drove for 8 hours the next day and she had no problems. It is amazing to me how her body can react so quickly to something when it seems like things are only going to get worse. Just 7 years ago, we would have let the attack run it's course and she probably would have been completely numb from the chest down. I am so glad we chose to learn and search out our own treatment path. She is doing fine now and was great all through the Christmas week. We owe a HUGE thanks to Dr. Kevin Atchley in Albuquerque for coming to his office on his day off to help my wife. THANKS!!!
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Multiple Sclerosis and Chiropractic
After our move to Albuquerque, my wife's health continually improved. She was bike riding, walking, working with rambunctious kiddos and all the while just enjoying her new found energy. A few weeks ago we travelled to a College to promote our children's home and found ourselves staying up late, getting up early and working all day long. Once we arrived back home, we had a few days to rest, then our children's home kids came home. The first few days were rough, and my wife knew she was out of alignment. We immediately went to see the chiropractor and sure enough she was way out bad. She had started to feel numbness creeping up her neck to the side of her face, and also some numbness in her toes. This wasn't anything new, and we knew we had pushed it too far and were paying for those long days.
After the chiropractor adjusted her with his Pro Adjuster machine, we left the office to go eat. At first, we weren't sure if the adjustment worked, but within an hour, all feeling was back in her neck and face. Overnight, she started getting the feeling back in her toes, and by the next day all numbness was gone. If this would have been 5 or 6 years ago, we would have weathered the numbness hoping that there wouldn't be any residual effects. Who knows how long the numbness would have lasted, or how many days my wife would have been sleeping to try to counter the tingling. Now, we immediately go to the chiropractor and usually see results within minutes if not hours after the visit.
I truly believe that chiropractic can help Multiple Sclerosis, and it is sad that more of our MS friends won't try it. She went back to the chiropractor two more times that week to make sure everything took, and she hasn't had anymore numbness since. We have made it a habit to schedule a chiropractic appointment regularly and also to schedule a massage regularly. We have learned that specific types of massage seem to compliment the chiropractic and that my wife's MS can be controlled better with the regular visits. We are still looking for the type of massage therapist we want in ABQ, but we know there is one that will be perfect for our wants and needs. Multiple Sclerosis and chiropractic can be a great team when you find the right Chiropractor with the right skills and knowledge.
After the chiropractor adjusted her with his Pro Adjuster machine, we left the office to go eat. At first, we weren't sure if the adjustment worked, but within an hour, all feeling was back in her neck and face. Overnight, she started getting the feeling back in her toes, and by the next day all numbness was gone. If this would have been 5 or 6 years ago, we would have weathered the numbness hoping that there wouldn't be any residual effects. Who knows how long the numbness would have lasted, or how many days my wife would have been sleeping to try to counter the tingling. Now, we immediately go to the chiropractor and usually see results within minutes if not hours after the visit.
I truly believe that chiropractic can help Multiple Sclerosis, and it is sad that more of our MS friends won't try it. She went back to the chiropractor two more times that week to make sure everything took, and she hasn't had anymore numbness since. We have made it a habit to schedule a chiropractic appointment regularly and also to schedule a massage regularly. We have learned that specific types of massage seem to compliment the chiropractic and that my wife's MS can be controlled better with the regular visits. We are still looking for the type of massage therapist we want in ABQ, but we know there is one that will be perfect for our wants and needs. Multiple Sclerosis and chiropractic can be a great team when you find the right Chiropractor with the right skills and knowledge.
Monday, April 7, 2008
Chiropractic Care for Multiple Sclerosis
Chiropractic care has been blasted by some as useless or harmful, and others have praised it's success for patients. I can only give a testament about how it has affected my family and others around us, but I think it may be helpful to anyone considering chiropractic care. Until seven years ago my wife had never stepped foot in a chiropractor's office. She didn't grow up in a family that went to a chiropractor and she was very nervous about the cracking and popping she had seen on TV. When she was numb from her chest down we were asked to see a chiropractor near the clinic we were being treated at. He was a typical pop and crack type chiropractor and took the time to completely examine my wife's issues and adjust her. The first time my wife's neck was adjusted, she began to cry uncontrollably. I knew that her MS seemed to have an affect on her pain tolerance, and this was no different. It hurt, and she didn't want to ever have that done again.
I had been to a chiropractor many times for low back issues, and had no problems with their adjusting techniques, but her body just couldn't handle it. So, we decided that chiropractic wasn't for us and headed home after the treatments were done at the clinic. Once we were back home my wife kept having numbness in her legs even though she could feel her legs and walk normally. It was in what she described as stripes that circled around her legs all the way down to her feet. Since it wasn't going away, we asked our doctor what to do. He recommended a different kind of chiropractor in our area that he felt could help us. That was the first time we met Dr. Darci Stotts. She is a board certified Atlas Orthogonal chiropractor that uses instruments to adjust instead of popping and cracking.
Our first visit really impressed us. Once my wife described the numbness, Dr. Stotts immediately knew what was going on. She explained how the nerves spiraled around the legs and that a damaged nerve could cause the feelings of numbness. After a thorough examination and x-rays, she showed us the problems. She then took us into a room with a special AO device that would adjust my wife's neck. It only applied 8 pounds of pressure and didn't hurt at all, so my wife was never in any pain. Dr. Stotts told us not to expect much after the first few visits because the nerve would need time to heal and it could take up to 6 weeks to start to notice a difference. What surprised us was the fact that my wife felt so much better after the first visit. She immediately had more feeling in her legs, and also felt better physically. Within a few weeks her numbness was completely gone in her legs and she was feeling great.
Since then, we have continued to use Dr. Stotts services on a regular basis and it has worked wonderfully. My wife can now tell when she is out of alignment and will immediately go see Dr. Stotts and get adjusted. If my wife is feeling an attack coming on, like numbness in an extremity etc., she immediately sees Dr. Stotts and we have found that it stops the attack as soon as she is adjusted. It may take a few adjustments to go away, but the attack will not continue to spread and cause issues. Since the first time we visited Dr. Stotts, she has started treating with a new technology. It is a machine that gives real time graphs to show your alignment and she adjusts you with a device attached to the computer. There is no pain and my wife is still getting great results from her adjustments. We know that this has helped with my wife's health and we will continue to see a AO chiropractor. We moved off once where we couldn't visit Dr. Stotts easily, and we saw what could happen when we didn't have access to a AO chiropractor. My wife would have numbness or tingling and it would continue to get worse until we made the trip to see Dr. Stotts. Chiropractic for us has been a life saver. We will never go back to a pop and crack chiropractor, but we will find a BCAO chiropractor in our area to continue to receive treatments.
I had been to a chiropractor many times for low back issues, and had no problems with their adjusting techniques, but her body just couldn't handle it. So, we decided that chiropractic wasn't for us and headed home after the treatments were done at the clinic. Once we were back home my wife kept having numbness in her legs even though she could feel her legs and walk normally. It was in what she described as stripes that circled around her legs all the way down to her feet. Since it wasn't going away, we asked our doctor what to do. He recommended a different kind of chiropractor in our area that he felt could help us. That was the first time we met Dr. Darci Stotts. She is a board certified Atlas Orthogonal chiropractor that uses instruments to adjust instead of popping and cracking.
Our first visit really impressed us. Once my wife described the numbness, Dr. Stotts immediately knew what was going on. She explained how the nerves spiraled around the legs and that a damaged nerve could cause the feelings of numbness. After a thorough examination and x-rays, she showed us the problems. She then took us into a room with a special AO device that would adjust my wife's neck. It only applied 8 pounds of pressure and didn't hurt at all, so my wife was never in any pain. Dr. Stotts told us not to expect much after the first few visits because the nerve would need time to heal and it could take up to 6 weeks to start to notice a difference. What surprised us was the fact that my wife felt so much better after the first visit. She immediately had more feeling in her legs, and also felt better physically. Within a few weeks her numbness was completely gone in her legs and she was feeling great.
Since then, we have continued to use Dr. Stotts services on a regular basis and it has worked wonderfully. My wife can now tell when she is out of alignment and will immediately go see Dr. Stotts and get adjusted. If my wife is feeling an attack coming on, like numbness in an extremity etc., she immediately sees Dr. Stotts and we have found that it stops the attack as soon as she is adjusted. It may take a few adjustments to go away, but the attack will not continue to spread and cause issues. Since the first time we visited Dr. Stotts, she has started treating with a new technology. It is a machine that gives real time graphs to show your alignment and she adjusts you with a device attached to the computer. There is no pain and my wife is still getting great results from her adjustments. We know that this has helped with my wife's health and we will continue to see a AO chiropractor. We moved off once where we couldn't visit Dr. Stotts easily, and we saw what could happen when we didn't have access to a AO chiropractor. My wife would have numbness or tingling and it would continue to get worse until we made the trip to see Dr. Stotts. Chiropractic for us has been a life saver. We will never go back to a pop and crack chiropractor, but we will find a BCAO chiropractor in our area to continue to receive treatments.
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