There are two reliable methods to size a walking cane. This checklist makes it easy to measure so you end up with a perfect fit — and a cane that does the job correctly and comfortably.

Read it: How to Measure for a Walking Cane

One thing is clear — life with multiple sclerosis is anything but predictable. MS doesn’t come with a road map, a GPS system, or a set of directions. There is no forgone conclusion — and despite the uncertainty, that is good news.

Plenty of people will tell you horror stories of life with MS (…more)

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Read: 3 Things You Can Do to Simplify Life with Chronic Illness

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They are common enough that before the introduction of MRI and other modern testing, the ‘hot bath test’ was sometimes used to diagnose MS. Doctors would observe people who were immersed in hot water and watch for neurological impairment that improved after cooling.

Read this post in its entirety:

Surviving Summer with MS

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• Walking helps you manage your weight, lowering your risk of heart disease, stroke, and type 2 diabetes.
• It is a gentle, low-impact exercise and easy on the joints.
• Walking improves circulation; increases your energy level; improves sleep, mood, and sense of well-being.
• It is free. You don’t need a health club membership or special equipment. A good pair of walking shoes will do the trick.
• Walking with family, friends, or neighbors can be a social outlet.
• You don’t have to go anywhere in particular, although that’s certainly efficient; it is more about the journey.
• It is a good way to calm and declutter your mind. It will get you out of the house and into the great outdoors, where you can let your thoughts roam freely. (Turn off that cell phone!)

Read this post in its entirety:

Walking Your Way to a Healthier Mind, Body, and Soul

Photo: http://www.sxc.hu/photo/974922

The L.A. Times reports that an initiative to legalize marijuana will appear on the November ballot. The initiative calls for allowing adults 21 or older to possess up to one ounce for personal use, or to grow up to 25 square feet of marijuana per residence or parcel, and allows cities and counties to raise revenue through taxation of cultivation, transportation, and sale of marijuana. Budgetary concerns in California make this particularly appealing, but it is certainly not without opposition. Between now and November we can expect to hear interesting cases made both pro and con.

While it remains a federal crime to possess or sell marijuana…

Read this post in its entirety, and check out the poll and the petition:

Puffing the Pain Away or Just Puffing… Legally

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National MS Education & Awareness Month

Coping with MS: Breaking the Cycle of Defeat Life isn’t fair. Much like a board game, we pick a card… roll the dice… spin the spinner… and we get what we get. Unlike a simple child’s game, though, there are a myriad of choices to be made that directly affect the outcome of those random events.

Your Choice: Exist with It or Live with It What wife asks her husband to stop doing the dishes? I can almost hear the collective groan from wives the world over, but there was a method to my madness.

Longing for Liberation All around the world people with multiple sclerosis have been clamoring for action, ever since cardiovascular surgeon Dr. Paolo Zamboni released his controversial findings, challenging everything we thought we knew about MS.

Diagnosis, Denial, Due Diligence What do you do when everything you know about yourself changes just as you are hitting midlife? How do you plan for life’s second half with a body you’ve never met before?

MS: Who Gets It and Why The who, what, where, when, why, and how of multiple sclerosis.

A Diagnosis Odyssey It began with a seemingly benign but persistent tingly feeling in my upper right arm. It was the kind of thing you tend to dismiss and certainly not the kind of thing that makes you rush out to see a doctor… but there was more to come.

In the years following the diagnosis, changes came in small doses for me, some changes more obvious than others. No matter how I look at it, everything is different than it was before, though not in an entirely negative way. Perhaps some of the changes that I casually attribute to MS would have come regardless.

Unlike the neat chapters in a book or the tidy absolutes of episodic television, life’s ups and downs tumble around in no particular order or regard for what else is going on. New episodes begin even while old ones are in mid-stream and unresolved.

Most of us understand and accept that life isn’t fair. Much like…

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Coping with MS: Breaking the Cycle of Defeat

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Well that actually does sound like an insanely ridiculous thing for a wife to say to her husband, but I said it nonetheless. It was another baby step in my overall plan to take back the life that MS would destroy if I allowed it.

After the diagnosis of multiple sclerosis, physicians, pharmaceutical companies, hospitals, and MS patient-advocacy groups unleashed a mountain of printed material and videos upon us, and we set about the task of learning all we could. Even prior to diagnosis, our suspicions of MS lead us to online research. We began with well-known and well-respected medical sites, then gravitated toward something less formal but slightly more tangible — other people with MS.

Read this post in its entirety:

Your Choice: Exist with It or Live with It

Multiple Sclerosis Education & Awareness Month

A Diagnosis Odyssey: Learn why a diagnosis of MS may take years.

Who Gets It and Why: Get the who, what, where, when, why, and how of it.

Diagnosis, Denial, Due Diligence: After the diagnosis there may be a period of denial. Then the real work begins.

Longing for Liberation: Controversial new Liberation Treatment turns conventional MS wisdom on its head.

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Last December, my eye was irresistibly drawn to a passerby with a cane. Not just any cane, mind you, but a ladies’ cane, all decked out in holiday glam and glitter. It was a bit over the top, but I admired the owner’s sense of individuality and playfulness.

My own red paisley cane makes a fairly bold statement, but decorative canes have risen to a whole new level. Whether you need a cane as a mobility aid, or are an enthusiastic collector of walking canes, Valentine’s Day walking canes are functional and fun… pinks, reds, and even an imported hand crafted red rose adorn these beauties.

Fashionable Canes offers a gorgeous selection of decorative canes to suit every taste or occasion. Browse their online store and you’ll see what I mean. You’ve got style — show it off!

Related Reading :

Fashionable Canes on the Front Lines

Cop an Attitude with a Fashionable Cane

“If You’re Going to Use a Cane, Use a CANE!”

More Information:

FashionableCanes.com

Fashionable Walking Canes on Facebook

Disclosure of Material Connection: This is a sponsored post. The company who sponsored it compensated me via a cash payment, gift, or something else of value to write it. Regardless, I am, in fact, a satisfied customer of FashionableCanes.com and personally use and recommend their products. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission 16 CFR, Part 255.