MS Maze

The summer of 2010 began with a sweltering heat wave in much of the U.S., with temperatures hitting triple digits, coupled with high humidity.

Young children, the elderly, and people with serious health conditions are at particular risk of heat stroke. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC), heat-related illness occurs when your body cannot properly cool itself by sweating. Very high body temperatures can damage the brain and other vital organs. Risk factors include age, obesity, fever, dehydration, heart disease, mental illness, poor circulation, sunburn, and prescription drug and alcohol use.

At least one person on the east coast has died due to excessive heat exposure this month.

How to avoid heat-related illness…

Read this post in its entirety:

We’re Havin’ a Heat Wave… 7 Tips to Avoid Heat Stroke

Related Reading: Surviving Summer with Multiple Sclerosis

Photo: CDC

Spring is in full bloom and summer is beckoning. It’s a lovely and uplifting time of year, but for people with multiple sclerosis, summer’s heat and humidity can cause symptoms to become more extreme. These temporary flare-ups are called pseudo-exacerbations and they pack a powerful punch.

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

Photo: http://www.sxc.hu/photo/1244029

You can walk the dog, walk with the kids, or just take a stroll by yourself. However you do it, walking is good for the mind, body, and soul, and here’s why:

• 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

Shock and awe. That about describes the feeling when multiple sclerosis entered my life.

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…

Read this post in its entirety:

Coping with MS: Breaking the Cycle of Defeat

Photo Copyright: WebCamp One LLC

“I know this is going to sound like an insanely ridiculous thing for a wife to say, but I would appreciate it if you would stop doing the dinner dishes.”

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.

Photo Copyright WebCamp One LLC

Multiple Sclerosis (MS)… some call it the MonSter, or the Beast. It is a demyelinating disease, an invisible illness, a mysterious ailment subject to many misconceptions. Who, what, where, when, why, how… all good questions.

That’s why the Multiple Sclerosis Foundation recognizes March as National MS Education & Awareness Month, and the National MS Society designated March 8-14 as MS Awareness Week.

WHO gets MS? About 2.5 million people worldwide…

WHAT is MS? MS is a neurological disease in which…

WHERE is MS most prevalent? Northern latitudes farther…

WHEN do people get MS? It is difficult to pinpoint when MS begins, but diagnosis usually…

WHY do people get MS? That’s the big question! The cause…

HOW is MS treated? There are several…

Throughout the month of March, I will offer glimpses into my own life with MS in Care2 Healthy & Green Living. While there is no such thing as a typical case, those who are familiar with MS will nod in recognition. If you are not familiar with MS, please allow us a few moments of your time during MS Education and Awareness Month, and check back here in Care2 Causes in the weeks to come.

Read this post in its entirety:

Who Gets MS and Why

Photo: U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Multiple sclerosis. Is that the disease that puts you in a wheelchair or leads to a nursing home? Montel Williams… Richard Pryor… Annette Funicello… all names associated with MS, and isn’t there a mountain climber or two that have it?

Confused? You are not alone. That’s why the Multiple Sclerosis Foundation recognizes March as National MS Education & Awareness Month, and the National MS Society designated March 8-14 as MS Awareness Week.

Throughout the month of March, I will offer glimpses into my own life with MS. While there is no such thing as a typical case, those who are familiar with MS will nod in recognition. If you are not familiar with MS, please allow us a few moments of your time during MS Awareness Month.

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.

Read this post in its entirety:

Multiple Sclerosis Awareness Month: A Diagnosis Odyssey

Photo: copyright WebCamp One LLC

“If you’re going to use a cane, use a CANE!” I heeded that advice and never regretted it.

I was in my early 40s and my multiple sclerosis was as yet undiagnosed, but walking was becoming a problem, especially in public settings. My awkward gait and lack of confidence made me feel rather conspicuous, but I was not thrilled about the prospect of using a cane at my age.

We’d picked up a cheap metal cane at a drugstore for a trial run, soon realizing that I would actually look and feel more confident and natural with a cane than without. But that cheap metal cane was not exactly the image I wanted to project.

So the online search for a more presentable cane began. Still somewhat self-conscious about the prospect, I sought out canes that would blend into the scenery. I thought that my cane should be useful, but not particularly noticeable. I wanted a boring, fade-into-the-background look.

That’s when my husband stepped in. “You’re looking at this thing all wrong. If you’re going to use a cane, use a CANE! Don’t be embarrassed by it… make a statement with it. Own it.” Wise man, my husband.

That’s how I ended up at a website called Fashionable Walking Canes. The assortment of walking canes and walking sticks for men and women evoke the style of a bygone era, the cane not only a mobility aid, but a fashion statement.

My search for the perfect ladies’ cane ended when I spotted a red paisley adjustable folding cane. That’s right — red paisley. I knew I could forget about fading into the background with that one, but like the man said, “get a CANE!”

That cane is still my favorite, although I’ve since added others to my collection. And I do get noticed — not because poor pitiful me has to use a cane, but because people stop to compliment me and want to know where they can get one.

Visit the Fashionable Walking Canes website: www.fashionablecanes.com or on Facebook.

Disclosure: This is a compensated post — but a 100 percent true story.

Multiple sclerosis is the ultimate player. First you see it, then you don’t. If you are confused about MS, you are far from alone.

First, what it is not: multiple sclerosis is not the same as muscular dystrophy or cerebral palsy. All people with MS are not in wheelchairs. It’s not a psychological problem.

So what is it?

MS is a neurological disease in which lesions form in the central nervous system, interrupting the transmission of signals to the rest of the body…

Read this post in its entirety:

11 Basics to Understanding Multiple Sclerosis

What is a typical case of multiple sclerosis like? The newly diagnosed usually ask what they should expect from a life with MS but typical, when it comes to MS, is hard to define.

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, or of folks with MS who climb mountains and run marathons. There is truth in all of it, but none of it necessarily will reflect your experiences or point to your own future.

Trying to pin down the typical person with MS is like trying to pin down, well, the typical person with MS. We are as varied in our physical condition and our outlook on life as the rest of the human population.

Read this post in its entirety:

A Typical Life with Multiple Sclerosis

The word “pseudo” can be very misleading. The dictionary defines pseudo as “pretend; false or spurious; fake, artificial, sham; not actually, but having the appearance of.”

In the case of MS, you can disregard the words pretend, false, spurious, fake, artificial, and sham. A pseudo-exacerbation is not an imaginary event or a psychological disorder. It is not a cry for attention, and most assuredly is not fake.

It is not actually, but has the appearance of an exacerbation — along with all the very real physical symptoms…

What’s the difference between a “true exacerbation” and a pseudo-exacerbation?” Read this post in its entirety:

Pseudo-Exacerbations in MS: Grounded in Reality

Multiple sclerosis is a complex condition that can involve dozens of symptoms. Because MS takes different forms and varies so greatly from person to person, even those of us who live with MS have trouble with the terminology.

Understanding frequently used terms is helpful not only to us, but to the people who care about us and want to understand. These are some of the basic terms that we’re apt to hear on a regular basis…

Deciphering MS Speak

Some of the most common complaints of people with M.S. are fatigue, numbness, and weakness – things that cannot be seen and often cannot be understood by those who have not experienced them at high levels. These seemingly benign symptoms can necessitate missing work, school, or social obligations, causing chores to pile up and misunderstandings to arise.

That’s enough to contend with, but what if your family, friends, and co-workers don’t really believe you? What if they think you are faking, or taking advantage of your diagnosis?

Read this post in its entirety:

Dealing with Invisible Symptoms of M.S.

Summer is in full swing, and along with it comes backyard barbecues, outdoor recreation, and long sunny days.

The joys of summer are many, but for some people with multiple sclerosis, summer’s heat and humidity can make it even more difficult for already damaged nerve fibers to transmit electrical impulses, resulting in an exaggeration of symptoms, which may include fatigue, dizziness, and extreme weakness.

This kind of temporary flare-up of symptoms is called a pseudo exacerbation because, although the symptoms are uncomfortable and frightening, there is no true neurological damage taking place.

Read this post in its entirety at Care2.com’s Healthy and Green Living: 

Staying Cool with M.S.

Suddenly you feel an intense tightening around your chest, along with pain and a burning sensation. You clutch your chest, awash in fear.

If you have never had this experience before, you wonder… is this a heart attack… a panic attack… an asthma attack… and you will definitely want to contact your physician.

But if you have multiple sclerosis and been through this before, you’ll recognize this as the mysterious MS Hug… the Chest Hug… the Girdle… otherwise known as dysesthesias.

Read this post in its entirety:

The “MS Hug” Demystified