Chain Reaction: Meds

Sunday, September 14, 2008

Can you tell when a flare ends?

Can you tell when a flare ends? I am experiencing my first real bad flare and I feel like I am getting better or the meds are finally working. I still can't walk far. But I don't have to use my cane this past week. I still get leg pains and weakness, but, I've had more good days than bad this week. I feel like I am healing, but, according to my new Neuro - Once you get spasms in your legs & bladder from MS you'll always have them. Okay, so I will always have them, but, can they be controlled with these meds (Neurontin, Vesicare and Baclofen) to the point I can strengthen my legs and actually exercise?

Right now I still get times my legs feel like Jello, so, I wonder if exercising them is the right thing to do. They are weak, he even said so when I saw him last Monday. And Stiff. He told me to get more limber. Well getting limber is difficult to do when you can't walk very far. I can still stretch and do yoga - but how do I get stronger?

He also wants me to start Rebif which has proven more beneficial for spinal MS...lovely....

I will get the report from the MRI I had on Thursday this week. I've seen the CD - there are lesions...lesions in my spine...yeah, that's not good I have a feeling...

***The exciting news is my Philadelphia Eagles play Dallas on Monday Night Football this week!***

Tuesday, September 2, 2008

DMD's, Swank Diet, Yoga, Chiropractic...What Else?

Hey Everyone:

Since I am in the middle of a Flare I am thinking of everything I can do to get through it and not have any lasting side effects (like keeping my ability to walk without a cane). I have to decide by next week what DMD to start upon again. And here's my thing...I don't have a preference, I don't care if I have to shoot myself daily, weekly, if I have flu like symptoms or something else from the shots. I just want the drug that will best fight my MS and I have no way of knowing what that is...

So I ask you...what DMD do you use and What makes it the BEST?

And I also wonder if anyone can speak to diet changes, exercise, yoga and chiropractic or other lifestyle changes to get healthy. I am open to all suggestions and opinions here...please comment away!

Thanks ~ Lanette

For those who don't know MS first hand - An Important Excerpt from Wikipedia on MS:

The person with MS can suffer almost any neurological symptom or sign, including changes in sensation (hypoesthesias and paraesthesias), muscle weakness, muscle spasms, or difficulty in moving;^[15] difficulties with coordination and balance (ataxia);^[15] problems in speech (dysarthria) or swallowing (dysphagia),^[16] visual problems (nystagmus, optic neuritis, or diplopia),^[17] fatigue, acute or chronic pain,^[18]^[19] and bladder and bowel difficulties.^[19]^[20] Cognitive impairment of varying degrees and emotional symptoms of depression or unstable mood are also common.^[21]^[22] The main clinical measure of disability progression and symptom severity is the Expanded Disability Status Scale or EDSS.^[23]

Multiple sclerosis relapses are often unpredictable, occurring without warning and without obvious inciting factors. Some attacks, however, are preceded by common triggers. Relapses occur more frequently during spring and summer.^[24] Infections such as the common cold, influenza, or gastroenteritis increase the risk of relapse.^[25]^[26] Stress may also trigger an attack.