My wife has MS

Stomach Pain with Multiple Sclerosis

2012-02-21T23:18:00.004-06:00

Well, we had a rough few weeks after our juice cleanse. My wife became sick with bronchitis and struggled getting over it for weeks so we weren't as constant with the juice as we would have liked after the initial 6 days. Now we are trying to juice once or twice each day and then eat healthy meals. There are days like today that we just couldn't make that happen, but for many days we have been able to juice and eat well.

One thing we did notice when we started juicing is that my wife's stomach issues went away. She didn't have a single upset stomach or any issues at all when we were juicing, or even after we were juicing until yesterday. Last night we went out to eat and we are not exactly sure what caused it, but she was sick for about an hour after we came home. She was extremely frustrated because it had been weeks since she had dealt with any kind of stomach issues, and it had been a nice break from the nausea and pain.

We know the juicing was good for both of us, but we didn't expect the stomach issues to end while we were doing it. I know we both felt better, had more energy, and were able to sleep better at night when we were juicing everyday, all day. So, this is one more opportunity for us to learn and grow in our knowledge of how our bodies work. My wife is trying to incorporate more juice into her diet to see if that will keep the stomach issues from ruining more meals. It can be so frustrating to eat a great meal and within minutes or hours, she will get sick and have to run to the bathroom multiple times before her stomach will finally feel better. This was just another reminder of how important it is to eat healthy and put nutritious food into our bodies. This is something we can control that directly affects daily living with MS.

Day 6 Juice Cleanse with Multiple Sclerosis

2012-01-28T14:07:00.003-06:00

Overall, Day 5 was really rough for my wife. Day 6 started out much better and my wife had a much better night of sleep. Today my wife decided to add a little more solid food into her diet. She ate some celery and peanut butter, and then had a small salad in the evening. She felt a lot better today, and everything was good other than not being able to go to sleep tonight. She was up till 3 in the morning, and I'm pretty sure it was the salad that energized her a little too much. :) I also had a small evening meal, but only juice the rest of the day. I am feeling very energetic and it is getting easier to pass up foods that normally I would be craving all day long.

Today we mixed it up with a few different juices, and have found a Pear juice mixture that is one of our favorites. We have also added other items to the juice like sweet potato's, strawberries, and blueberries. Both of us are feeling much better today with less cravings, more energy and we are both getting a lot done. This whole experience has had it's ups and downs, but we are both very happy we started on this path to better health. Over the next weeks we are going to juice until dinner, and then eat a healthy meal. Up till today, I have lost almost 10 lbs, and my wife has lost 6 lbs. For more information on what we did and the recipes we used, you can follow my wife on her blog at http://myhusbandswifehasms.blogspot.com/. She started the blog recently to show her perspective, and it has been fun to see how we see some things differently and some the same. Check it out and make sure and comment on her posts.

Day 5 Juice Cleanse with Multiple Sclerosis

2012-01-28T13:28:00.003-06:00

Day 5 started pretty rough for my wife. This seems to be the day that my wife's body has gone into major detox. She felt fatigued, light headed, and had flu like symptoms. I had felt this way the first few days but she hadn't really had the yucky feeling until today. For me, I felt pretty good all day. I am noticing more energy, and more desire to get things done than I have in a while. I still have times through the day that I get pretty drained, but I'm noticing I just need to drink juice more often to keep my energy up and stomach full. So, for me this has been an eye opening experience with how much my life revolves around food and how I overeat regularly.

Luckily, my wife juiced like crazy yesterday and we had juice to last most of the day today. I made it the whole day with just juice, but my wife ate a few celery sticks with organic peanut butter in the evening to add some protein and fiber because she knew she needed to do something different to rid her body of the toxins. I think she realized today that she needed to get her bowels moving or have bigger issues. So, as much as she didn't want to, she used an enema to move things along and felt much better afterwards. She rested a lot today, and was better by nighttime, but we are worried about getting her body detoxed so we setup a massage to help and are trying a few other things.

Day 4 Juice Cleanse with Multiple Sclerosis

2012-01-25T21:38:00.003-06:00

My wife woke up this morning without any leg pain, so that is a blessing. She is feeling pretty good today, and is sticking with the juice extremely well. She hasn't had a single piece of solid food since beginning on day one, and has been very good about being consistent with drinking juice every few hours. So far, she has done much better than me, and doesn't seem to be struggling much with just drinking juice. I can't personally say that since I had another breakfast meeting this morning. I ate the healthiest thing on the menu, but paid for it all morning. I was bloated and felt awful all morning, and was very surprised how overly full I felt because I didn't even eat all the food. This was a great learning lesson for me to see how big of portions I normally ate, and how that affected me.

Things got a little tricky for the evening because our daughter had an out of town basketball game. We took a large cup of juice with us but knew we wouldn't be back home till after 8 or so. The popcorn, hotdogs and other snacks looked really good at the game, but we both held strong and made it home without eating any solid food. We drank our evening tea and almond milk and were fine for the evening. My wife did struggle to get to sleep tonight, which she hasn't had an issue with through the other days. She normally has issues with her sleeping pattern but has fell asleep easily the other nights of the cleanse. She wasn't able to fall asleep until 1 or so in the morning so we will see how she pays for the lack of sleep tomorrow.

Day 3 Juice Cleanse with Multiple Sclerosis

2012-01-24T22:47:00.004-06:00

Day 3 saw both of us back to our normal routines. The challenge for me was a business lunch that I had to attend, but luckily I was at a restaurant with a salad bar and was able to eat all fresh veggies. Eating a salad after two days of just juice was quite interesting on my body. Lots of gurgling and noise from my stomach as I dealt with digesting solid food, and I felt really full after not having that much solid food in my stomach for the last two days. My wife on the other hand was full of energy and had a very productive day.

One thing that we have been drinking every night is Yogi Detox tea. The tea is supposed to help move the toxins out of our bodies, and one of the issues of doing a juice cleanse is bowel movements can stop and the toxins can be re-absorbed. The tea doesn't taste too bad, and has seemed to help, but I am a little worried about getting the toxins out of our bodies. One of the reasons this is a concern is my wife started having major leg/knee pain tonight. It became severe enough that she had to take some pain meds to help, and ended up going to bed early. This is the first odd thing that has happened since we started the cleanse.

Day 2 Juice Cleanse with Multiple Sclerosis

2012-01-23T09:17:00.003-06:00

I have to say day 2 was pretty rough for me, and my wife. We drank a couple of different juices today, and made it to church, but other than that we were both pretty wiped out. My wife had allergy issues all day, and we aren't sure if this is a part of the detox or not. She has had allergy issues since we moved to Wichita, KS, which is not the norm for her. Normally I am the one suffering from allergy issues, but she has been fighting the sneezing, stuffy nose and sinus issues for months. So, we are hoping the juicing helps with this along with other issues as we cleanse our bodies.

I think one of the biggest challenges today was not having any energy. With my wife's allergies, and my general lack of energy, we accomplished a whole lot of nothing. We spent most of the day laying around our house trying to relax and feel better. We still drank the green juice today, and added a carrot juice. The carrot juice is much sweeter and is really great. Even with the juice, I have to say that I was starving by the evening. I finally caved when I was falling asleep around 7:15 and ate an apple with a little natural peanut butter. Once I had eaten a little, I was great the rest of the night. After one full day, we both showed to have lost 3 lbs.

Day 1 Juice Cleanse with Multiple Sclerosis

2012-01-22T16:30:00.002-06:00

Our first full day of our juice cleanse is done and over. We started the day with a large glass of green juice that included kale, celery, ginger, carrots and cucumbers. I wondered how this would taste since I am not a fan of celery or real veggie tasting drinks. The smell wasn't too bad and the taste was actually pretty good. We both drank about 60 oz of juice yesterday, along with a cup of detox tea and some coconut water. We aren't huge fans of the taste of coconut water, but it is rich in Potassium and electrolytes and was suggested as a great supplement for hydration. I was pretty hungry most of the day but my wife was actually full enough that she didn't drink all of her juice.

She felt great all day and had plenty of energy. She is dealing with some allergy issues right now, but other than that she felt really good. For me, it was a rough day. I was dragging all day with hunger pains and a dull headache. I was even light headed but it didn't seem to affect my wife in that way. By the evening, I was feeling so bad that I decided to eat a salad and see if that helped. My wife didn't give in but ended the evening with some homemade almond milk to hold her through the night. We both found ourselves running to the bathroom often with all of the extra liquid in our systems. :)

This is a learning lesson for both of us as we try to listen to our bodies and detox. We know from past experience that when my wife's body was full of parasites and wasn't eliminating properly, she was having MS issues. This year we hope to create our own plan to keep our bodies detoxed and our systems clean. Day 1 wasn't great for me, but if this is what needs to be done to find some healing for our bodies, then it is well worth it. We talk all the time about the things we can control, and this is one of them. If we feed our bodies properly then we will see the results of that, and we will be healthier.

Juicing for Health with Multiple Sclerosis

2012-01-21T09:26:00.003-06:00

Well, my wife and I were introduced to the documentary Sick, Fat and Nearly Dead a few weeks ago and it really made an impact on us. We had been discussing juicing for health and had talked about a juice fast to "reboot" our bodies. Both of us know that our bodies are full of toxins, waste and other things that are causing our bodies to not work properly. So, today is the first day of the beginning of incorporating juice into our diet. We have tried this before but not with the research, information and support we have now. Over the past week my wife has bought a new juicer, created a 10 day juice plan, and shopped for all the nutritious fruits and veggies to make the juices.

Today we drank a combination of kale, ginger, celery, apples, lemon, and cucumbers. I have to say that I wasn't excited about how I thought this juice would taste, but it isn't that bad. We both downed 20 oz of this "green" juice this morning and I really am full. We will be drinking 4-6 glasses of juice a day along with plenty of water, coconut water, detox tea and homemade almond milk at night to carry us through with a full feeling. I will try to post the juices, weight loss and a general feeling as we go through the next 10 or so days. We are both very excited about detoxing our body and seeing how our health changes over the next few weeks.

New Year With Multiple Sclerosis

2012-01-01T16:41:00.003-06:00

Well, 2012 is here and with it new joys and challenges. Who knows what kind of discoveries will happen this year with MS treatment and what lives will be restored through those discoveries. With a new year comes new hopes and dreams, which I know my wife has already started working on her goals for 2012. We have already found a new Naturopath we are going to see this year, and I know my wife has her eyes set on running a 5k this year. As we look forward we can't help but look back at 2011.

The end of 2011 brought all kinds of MS issues and new challenges. For the last 8 months we have lived in Kansas, and every time we move it brings with it new challenges and a new learning curve for my wife's MS. Over the last few months she has fell more than any other time in our marriage. We are not sure what is causing her to drag her leg so much, but we have been very concerned because the last time she fell, she fractured a small bone in her hand that is still causing her pain.

In addition to the falling, she has struggled with some other odd symptoms. For over a week she would wake up every morning to an upset stomach. After being sick for a few hours, it would all pass and she would spend the rest of the day with a little queasiness. The other symptom that we have noticed is eye sight issues. We've noticed her eye sight is better some days than others. For instance, last week we painted our daughters room and my wife didn't notice that she was leaving paint runs on the wall because she couldn't see them. This really surprised me because she is very detailed and painting has been a strength for her. I know it frustrates her when she struggles to do things that she has been able to do for years.

So, as we look forward we have to look back and learn from our experiences. We have huge hopes and dreams for this year and we are both committed to doing whatever we need to do to make those dreams come true. Our hope is also for all the readers of this blog to find some hope and healing through our experiences and life. May your 2012 be amazing and you find some peace in the chaos that is MS.

20 Hours

2011-12-19T21:20:00.003-06:00

20 hours is how long my wife slept over the weekend. The insomnia, stress and our crazy life finally caught up with her. After falling on our trip to Thanksgiving and breaking a bone in her hand, we have both been very aware of the toll our current life is taking on her body and MS. On our trip back to Texas we were walking across a parking lot when a speed bump got the better of her. She thought she lifted her foot high enough, but it caught her foot and she wasn't able to react fast enough and hit the pavement. She hit the side of her face, bruised her shoulder, side and hip, and felt like she might have broken her hand.

After having her hand x-rayed, she found out she had a broken bone in her hand. Her body is still sore even this long after Thanksgiving, but it finally seems to be going away. In addition to her hand, we have been swamped with trying to take care of things at the children's home. This time of year is great for donors to think about us and support the Home, but that also means that we all have to work overtime to keep up with the groups that want to come to the Home. My wife has been the contact point for all of these groups and that has put a lot of extra stress on her. Since our Home is 100% privately supported by individuals that want to help kids, this time of year is vitally important and my wife is not one to hold back. She has been giving 110% and working everyday and most evenings.

Since Thanksgiving, we have only had a few days off so it has really stressed both of us. Her body began to show the stress through insomnia, fatigue, mood swings, brain fog and other issues. She kept the numbness away with regular massage and chiropractic, but the other symptoms weren't going away. So, over the weekend she laid down and slept for hours and hours. We know how important this is and are willing to shut down things when they need to so that she can let her body recover. She is doing much better today, and this week will be much less stressful. We are even planning on taking the whole last week of the month off to recover and take a break. This time of year is tough, and we are trying to be vigilant about resting, watching the stress and making sure we take care of our health.

Emotional Stress of MS

2011-11-11T21:09:00.003-06:00

My wife and I recently celebrated our 16th anniversary. Through those years, we have had some very tough struggles with MS and some joys that could only happen through the struggles. At this point, I know that my wife's MS has only made our relationship stronger because through the mess we have been forced to rely on each other and God. There have been moments when we have felt completely out of control, and other times we found specific treatments that helped us to feel like we had some control. The emotional roller coaster of this ride can be very draining, and there have been times when my wife and I have had to be intentional about taking a sabbath from Multiple Sclerosis.

For my wife, the emotional stress of MS can come out in days of being tearful, extreme headaches, mood swings, fatigue and a lot of other ways. There are times when she just has to sleep, no matter how busy we are or how behind we are in life. This can add to the stress, but we just see it as a necessary part of life with MS. There have been times when we put our whole life on hold because the stress on my wife's body has become too much. The stress can also come out in pain in her legs or other parts of her body, numbness in body parts, stiffness in body parts, sour stomach and general feelings of being ill.

Sometimes life can get so busy that we neglect the rest that my wife needs, and there are times that we pay dearly for it. The thing we have learned is to take action when we need to and not put it off, and try to be proactive and build in down time in our life. The problem is that we are both very driven people with a desire to do more than probably what we need to, so we get ourselves overwhelmed pretty often. I guess the morale of the story for our family is to be aware, be proactive, and know our limits. Emotional stress in life can be overwhelming, and MS just seems to add to the issue, so we try hard to limit stress and live life as fully as possible.

Tripping, Falling and Rolling With MS

2011-10-23T21:43:00.002-05:00

Over the last few weeks, my wife has worked tons of hours at our Children's Home, along with keeping up with our 14 yr old daughter. Too many hours and not enough rest turned into my wife dragging her right foot. This is a fairly common issue when she is tired and her body is worn out. Normally she would rest more along with seeing our Chiropractor, but time didn't allow those things and she fell hard last week.

We were heading to get a smoothie for our daughter and my wife caught her foot on the curb while hurrying up to the door. By the time I realized what was happening, she had already fell hard, rolled a few times and hopped up. I could see the look of pain in her eyes as she started heading back to the car. She banged up her knee along with tearing up her hands, and feeling very embarrassed after someone in the store came out and asked her if she needed help.

She was OK, but pretty beat up and we knew that if we didn't have her adjusted by the Chiropractor she would be headed to a lot of issues. Within hours her foot was already numb and her fingertips were numb. She was exhausted and slept for a few days to try to catch up and keep her body from spiraling downward. She went to the Chiropractor on Monday and immediately started getting feeling back into her foot and hands. By the end of the day the feeling was completely back and her body was recovering quickly. She also found a new massage therapist that she was very happy with this week which has also helped in the past.

It still amazes me how the warning signs are always there when her body is starting to get tired and her MS is starting to flair. If we ignore it, we ask for the problems to come and if we will just do what we know to do, we can create the environment for her to stay healthy. My wife commented that tonight she overdid it and that nothing was worth wearing her body out, so I have a feeling that this was a wake up call for her to take better care of herself. This last week she started the Swank MS diet again, and has been very focused on taking back control of her diet and health. The last four months have been very hard with both of us having to work long hours but the light at the end of the tunnel can be seen now. She is already doing better from her fall the other day, and I know she will continue to get stronger and healthier.

MS in Wichita

2011-07-29T22:29:00.002-05:00

It's been a while since I posted, and we are now living in Wichita KS where I work as the CEO of an all girl's children's home. My wife's MS has been pretty good since we have been in Wichita and I think she is finally acclimating to the heat and humidity. Over the last week she has dealt with some headache issues where it hurts in her eye, and had some fatigue and stomach issues. These issues are more annoying than anything, and she has done very well with the stresses that have come from moving and taking over a children's home. This last week has really brought the emotional stresses as we have dealt with some girls that we took off the streets and gave homes on our campus.

Overall we have been very blessed and her MS hasn't reared it's ugly head much. Over the next months we are hoping that we are able to settle in and increase my wife's health. We will be searching for a natural doctor and continuing to along the path of natural health. We are excited to be plugged in and back in a city with healthcare options, and I know that my wife is excited that her health has continued to be good.

One of the Three Deadly Sins of MS

2011-05-11T09:39:00.002-05:00

Dr. Swank used to always tell us that there are three main life stresses that really seem to impact Multiple Sclerosis - Moving, Death and Marriage. Well, we have made it through all of these, and are in the middle of moving once again. I have taken a CEO position with a Children's Home in Kansas, so we are loading up this Friday and moving to Wichita. We have been packing for over a week now, and the stress load is weighing on my whole family, and especially my wife.

She has been very fatigued lately anyway, and with the added moving stress, she has been sick after every meal, had bad headaches, struggled with tight muscles in her neck and shoulders, and just had to push through all of it to pack and get ready to move. It amazes me what she can push through and how willing she is to work even when she feels like she's been hit by a Mack truck. She is finishing our kitchen today, and I am so proud of how hard she works and how positive she is even during these times.

One of the reasons we even looked at this job was because of the health care available in Wichita. We have been two hours from our Chiropractor which has been a pain, and I really think it has caused her to have more issues. When she is seeing the Chiropractor regularly, she is a different person. And if we have a good massage therapist to work her shoulders and back, it multiplies the effects and she does even that much better. We have learned how important it is to live somewhere that we can have easy, quick access to natural Doctors and a good Chiropractor. We are excited for the move and will be seeking a new Naturopathic Doctor as soon as we get there.

So, we won't be able to avoid one of the big three stresses on MS this time, but we know that this will be a better place in the long term. Controlling stress in your life is vital for MS patients, and I know for us it is probably one of the most challenging things we manage. When stress is minimized, we've noticed that life is so much easier, and my wife's MS begins to take a more back seat to daily living.

How Many Weird MS Symptoms Can There Be?

2011-04-15T10:12:00.003-05:00

Ok, so we've seen a lot of weird stuff through the years of my wife's MS. She has lost control of her throat and couldn't swallow, lost color and complete eyesight, felt weird pains and tingling, been numb all over or just in little spots, felt like her nerves were on fire, and a whole slew of other symptoms. This past week we were introduced to a couple of new ones for us. Now, we have been under a lot of stress lately. Life changes are happening and we are stressing, and hopefully we will have some kind of direction soon.

With all of the stress, I expect my wife to have issues. This time is no different, and she is having some weird stuff going on. The other day she woke up and had a pain shooting from her chest to the middle of her stomach. It was a piercing pain that would let up for awhile, and then come on full force. The pain stopped her in her tracks, and she wasn't able to do anything that day, but try to get in a position to stop the pain. This lasted a full day and even caused her discomfort when she was trying to go to bed. After a full night of sleep, the pain was gone, and there were no signs it had ever happened.

If it would have stopped there, I wouldn't have thought a whole lot about it. A few days later, she began to have severe stomach pain. If she laid completely still, the pain would subside for a bit, but as soon as she moved the pain would hit full blast and she would be bent over in agony. Again, the pain went all day and didn't subside until a full night of rest. The next day, the pain was gone, and her stomach was sore but it wasn't anything major.

On top of those issues, she has had shoulder issues for the past couple of weeks. Her shoulder catches when she raises it and she isn't able to raise her arm fully over her head. I know this, and maybe the other symptoms, are not all MS, but I do know that the stress the MS puts on the body seems to fatigue it to the point where she is more susceptible to other issues. This catch in her shoulder has been going on for awhile, and we are going to see the Chiropractor today to see if he can help.

It seems like through the years of writing this blog, I have repeated the mantra of stress and MS more than I would like. It truly amazes me how stress impacts the body, and how MS just magnifies that. We hope to find out some very important news over the next few days about our future, which should help to alleviate some of the stress, but until then we have to find ways to relax. Tonight we are going on a date, to relax and spend time just enjoying each other. It almost scares me to think of all the weird ways MS affects the body, and I would just as soon not find out. Stress, please go away!

Daughter Asking Hard Questions About MS

2011-04-08T12:45:00.003-05:00

The other day me and my daughter went to the gym to shoot baskets. While at the gym, she and I were talking about how my wife has been struggling some and how she wasn't able to go with us that night due to her leg's being tired. So, during our conversation I really didn't think about any of it too much, but just tried to be as open and honest as possible with her. She asks questions periodically, but usually it is short lived and she doesn't dwell much on it. After we made it back to the house, she made an off hand comment that really got my attention.

She walked by me and told me to never let her get paralyzed. She had been thinking about how my wife has been numb a few times and how she didn't want to be that way. I talked to her for a minute about it, and she asked me if I thought she was going to have MS. We had talked about this before, but for some reason it was really on her mind that night. We talked for a short time about the chances that she had it, and she went on and didn't talk about it again. I know she is concerned about it, but I also know that she doesn't think about it much until my wife has been having issues.

I guess I feel a little more comfort right now in talking to her about all of it since there are some strides being made with CCSVI and the testing for vein issues. If and when we get to the point of testing my wife for vein issues, we will go ahead and test my daughter to see if she has any blood flow problems. I guess I'm pretty paranoid because lately she has been talking about being light headed and having some black out spells where she says everything goes dark. I pray that she doesn't have Multiple Sclerosis, but I have to be real and know that there is a chance. That's the last thing I would want for my little girl, to have to struggle with this dreaded disease like my wife has. I am sure she will talk to me about it again, and I'm sure I will have to answer some hard questions, but for now she just needs to be a teenage girl loving life.

New CCSVI Detection Technique from Dr Zamboni

2011-03-17T10:22:00.002-05:00

Wow, Dr Zamboni just keeps pushing forward with ways to help the MS community. One of the issues with CCSVI detection to the point has been the detection of a blockage by neurologists. So, you have many MS patients being misdiagnosed because of a flawed detection process. Now, Dr Zamboni has figured out a way to take the user error out of the equation. He has come up with a process that records blood flow through a plethysmography machine to see if you have blockage. This method eliminates the operator's special training dependency, and makes detection so much quicker and easier.

Here are the details I have right now. The patient wears a collar that measures the volume of fluids in the neck. At first, the patient sits upright in a chair. When the volume stabilizes, the chair is aggessively tilted and the patient is in the supine position. The volume is continuously measured, and this position increases the volume in the neck. Again, the patient is agressively tilted back into an upright position and whamo, an MS patients blood flow takes a long time to decrease again. A normal subjects blood flow decreases almost instantly.

This is so much simpler and more accurate to see if a patient has CCSVI present or not. After they get a positive that the patient has blockage, then they can use doppler and see what extent the blood flow is impeded. This is going to be so much simpler and more effective in diagnosing since it will remove the user error. This is literally a push button method of testing, which should in turn make the whole diagnostic process easier and more reliable. Thank you Dr Zamboni for continuing to find new and creative ways to help MS sufferers. I am so grateful for men like Dr Zamboni and Dr Swank for not giving up when the medical community pushed back on them and tried to disprove their theories. I will keep my eyes open for a diagnostic center that begins to use this technique, and have my wife and daughter tested.

Lasting Effects of Being Blind with Multiple Sclerosis

2011-03-03T13:07:00.004-06:00

This last week my wife went in to get her eyes checked for the first time in a while. The poor Optometrist really didn't have a clue about MS or the condition of her eyes. When we explained to him that she had been blind four times, had a retina detachment with a buckle, and how one of her eyes is dim, he seemed a little overwhelmed. It is almost humorous to see doctors that don't have any kind of background in MS. He looked her eyes over and started the process of getting her a prescription, and we were happy that her eye sight hasn't changed much from the last time she had her eyes checked.

With the damage that has been done to her eyes, it is no wonder he couldn't get 20/20 vision in both eyes. Her left eye he was able to get to 20/20 even though she has gone blind in that eye, and we know that there was damage. She sees pretty well out of that eye, with full peripheral and good depth perception. The right eye is a different story. With the times she's gone blind in it, her optic nerve has apparently been damaged. She can see, but it is half the brightness. He was able to get her to 20/60 in that eye, and I know she has some issues with night blindness and peripheral in her right eye. She is still blessed to be able to see out of that eye as well as she does, and we are hoping her new prescription will help even more with some issues she is having.

In both eyes, she has gone completely blind for days, and then the eye sight came back through using steroid drips. This is one of the few times that we use any type of drugs to treat her MS, and we both feel it has saved her eyesight. I have had a few questions about whether you can get your eyesight back if you've been blind with MS, and my wife is a living testimonial to that. She doesn't see great out of her right eye, but her left eye is still normal. We also found out that she has some issues seeing colors. The doctor ran a few simple color tests, where they have letters or numbers in color on a page with other dots or designs, and she had a hard time seeing very many of them. Yes, the MS has affected her vision, but she is so happy that she can still see and enjoy her eye sight. Her few bouts with going blind have damaged her eyesight some, but overall we are very pleased with how well she can still see.

Dizzy, Light Headed, Nausea with MS

2011-02-27T17:28:00.003-06:00

Last week my wife hit a point where we knew we were going to have to take action or watch her continue toward a full on MS attack. We went to see our special Chiropractor and immediately she started to feel better. Normally it takes a few days for her body to get back to some kind of normal state, and this time is no exception. Over the last few days, she has had moments of dizziness, feeling light headed, nausea and a general feeling of being woozy. It seems to hit out of nowhere and sometimes lasts just a few minutes, and at other times it goes on for an hour or longer. This has only made her car sickness worse, and she has been having to lay down and rest a lot.

I can feel her frustration with her body not cooperating. She is trying to finish up our taxes, and she hasn't been able to focus on much due to dull headaches. The Chiropractic visit helped to stop the immediate threat of vertigo, and we will probably go back this week to make sure her vertebra didn't just move back out of place. This is a four hour round trip for us, and we wouldn't do it if we didn't feel like it truly made a huge impact on her health. I guess I have learned there are no magic pills, magic diets or other get fixed quick treatments for Multiple Sclerosis, just persistent warring again the disease and constantly learning to find new ways to make daily life better.

Spinning Head With MS

2011-02-24T22:35:00.003-06:00

Yesterday my wife woke up feeling pretty good, other than an unsettled stomach. She met me for lunch and right after she arrived home, her head started spinning and she began to vomit. She wasn't able to leave the bed for the rest of the day, with her head spinning. By mid afternoon her head hurt so bad that she wasn't able to sleep, and she was trying everything to relieve the pain and spinning. She wasn't able to sleep well through the night, and woke up feeling worse. From the time the spinning started, her body struggled to regulate her body temperature. She would become overheated easy which made the feelings of sickness even worse.

This morning I offered to take her to our Pro Adjuster Chiropractor and she felt like she would get better as the day went on. Around lunch time she showed up at my office struggling to stay on her feet, dizzier than the day before. We immediately contacted the Chiropractor and headed the 2 hours to see him. He adjusted her in about 10 minutes and she began to feel the rush of blood flow and feeling spread through her body and head. After about 10 minutes her headache had subsided to a dull pain and her dizziness was almost gone. After another 30 minutes we were sitting in a restaurant eating, with her continuing to feel better, laughing and talking like nothing was wrong. It still amazes me that a simple adjustment can radically change her well being.

While at the Chiropractor's office I spoke with him about the CCSVI research I have been studying. I explained the lack of blood flow due to twisted veins, especially the jugular veins, and asked him how the adjustments might affect this issue. As we talked about my wife's specific issues he adjusted each time she visited, he pointed out that the C1 and C2 vertebrae were always an issue for her. He explained to me that the jugular vein can easily be affected by these two vertebrae and that today was no exception. He also explained that a Chiropractor adjusts to affect nerves, but an Osteopath adjusts for blood flow. We talked for some time about how both of these issues, nerves and blood flow, are affected by adjustment and how my wife can see such drastic results from the adjustments time and time again. I am definitely not a doctor, and I am only passing along what this particular Chiropractor spoke to me about, but it sure does seem to make sense after he explained how the adjustments could be affecting the blood flow and potentially a CCSVI issue. We will continue to work with Chiropractic care until we decide whether we are going to pursue the Liberation treatment. I can honestly say that we are very excited about the future and my wife's health, and am very pleased with the current treatments we have found to help along the journey.

Forgiving with Multiple Sclerosis

2011-02-23T16:44:00.002-06:00

My wife and I joke all the time that she is a very forgiving person, which she really is, but our joke has to do with her lack of memory. We were having a conversation the other day and I brought up something that she had been upset with me about, and she had to ask me when it had happened. She didn't remember any of it, and this is a very common occurance. She and I will have a disagreement and within a few hours, she has completely forgotten about it. I have noticed that this happens more often when she is stressed, and it has seemed to happen a lot lately. I can tell when her memory is slipping because she will forget simple things that normally she is very good about remembering. It definatley makes for some interesting disagreements because she will get fired up about something, then totally forget it within a short amount of time. Some of this is probably her ADD. She always struggles to stay focused, and I know that is one of the reasons she forgets so easily, but I also know that her memory comes and goes depending on how she is doing physically and emotionally.

I am not sure how much of all of this is MS, or if any of it is MS, but I know from some of the studies being put out right now about CCSVI that there are some major issues that can result from the blood flow being restricted. I read a study the other day talking about how the blood going into the brain is actually cooled down before it enters, and how the blood flow affects how our bodies deals with temperature changes and all sorts of other issues. I want to write more about this later, but for now, I guess I am just curious if anyone else out there is struggling with memory issues. Multiple Sclerosis affects so many different areas of your life, and this is one that has helped my wife in some ways. Because she forgets some things so easily, it actually lessens the stress on her body and she forgives very easily. Now, don't get me wrong, there are some things that she never forgets and she definately reminds me of some of those on a regular basis. :) She really is an amazing woman that is truly forgiving and is always trying to make the right decision, no matter how hard that is on her. Dr Swank used to talk about how amazing the MS patients were that he treated, and I would have to agree that I have an amazing MS woman!

Seeing Vegas with Multiple Sclerosis

2011-02-23T16:06:00.003-06:00

Two weeks ago I was invited to speak at a conference in Las Vegas, NV, so we loaded up and headed that way. We had never been to Vegas so we wanted to make sure and give ourselves some time to see the sights. The first night we arrived around 4 and headed out on the town. We drove to Cesar's Palace and started walking from there, knowing that my wife could struggle to walk to all of the areas we wanted to see. We took in the Volcano at the Mirage, walked over to Treasure Island and took in the show there, then headed on to the Eiffel Tower and saw the Bellagio fountains from the top of the tower. What an awesome sight to hear the music and watch the fountains from above. After quite a few hours of walking I turned to my wife and asked about her legs. She said she felt fine and we made our way back to Cesar's Palace and our car. On our way back, things got a little tricky, and I thought I might have to carry her.

We had made it through most of Cesar's Palace when her legs finally decided to give up. Her left leg started dragging and she found herself almost tripping many times. I was a little concerned because we had quite a walk left before we were going to be back at the car, and I could tell that her legs weren't cooperating. She seemed to "feel" OK, but was stumbling and struggling to walk at all. We were joking that most people probably thought she was just drunk, like most of the other people in the hotel. We finally made it back to the car and headed to our hotel, where she went straight to bed. Her legs ached a little that night, and she tried to rest as much as possible for the next day.

The next day we went to the event I was speaking at and she had to sit for quite a few hours. After sitting for some time, her legs began to get out of control again. She kicked the seats in front of her as her legs jumped uncontrollably. She was so frustrated by that point and couldn't seem to get control of her legs. When we got up to leave, she noticed that she began to walk funny. She would lift her left leg up very high and walked very differently than normal. After walking to the car we decided that she probably shouldn't do much else for that day. Frustration set in again! She was so mad that we were in Vegas, by ourselves, and she was being limited by her Multiple Sclerosis again.

Over the next three days she struggled with everything from jumpy legs to achy legs to even struggling with stomach pain and headaches. The over stimulation of the lights, sounds and activity in Vegas was so hard on her body. Just about everyday she had a dull headache, and with the leg issues, it was a struggle for her to enjoy very much of the trip. She struggled with her body keeping a constant temperature, and would need the A/C blowing full blast at times, and then the heater warming her up later. Her MS was truly wreaking havoc on our Vegas trip, but she worked through the issues the best she could and we still walked some more and saw some more. I guess we have learned through the years that there are going to be times when we are going to have to create some down time so that we can enjoy our time actually participating in whatever we are doing. Our trip to Vegas turned out OK, but it sure is a struggle to watch her have so many issues within just a few days just because of the amount of walking and activity.

New Year, New MS Discoveries?

2011-01-20T22:42:00.003-06:00

2011 could shape up to be an amazing year. With Dr. Zamboni getting the OK to start his Clinical Trial for CCSVI and MS, many others already having the Liberation treatment done and so much dialogue being done about new ideas about Multiple Sclerosis, this year could be a turning point for so many facing this disease. My wife and I have been following all of this very closely but are not at a point to where we feel ready to jump in yet. There is still a lot of details to be worked out concerning after care and a way to create long term opening of the veins, that we are not ready to move forward with the procedure. But, it has been amazing to read stories about progressive MS patients that have seen miraculous recovery from this surgery. We will be following everything with anticipation to see what new technology or technique or method may fix some of the issues that are currently hindering a full recovery for many of the patients.

I know for my wife, the last year and a half have been very interesting. I can honestly say she has had more daily issues with her MS where we live now than almost any other time since her diagnosis. She hasn't had any major attacks or major issues, just annoying issues that have disrupted the routines of our life and affected our daily living. We have made some commitments in 2011 to begin to shape our lives better so we can control more of the things that we know are affecting her health. She is already beginning to take control of some of her dietary habits again, and we are gearing up for some much needed physical training to strengthen and build up our bodies. We have already began to make some major changes in our lives, and I am excited about what the future holds for treatment of MS.

Multiple Sclerosis And Marriage

2010-11-04T10:57:00.002-05:00

Today marks our fifteenth anniversary. It honestly feels like we just got married and were heading off into the world together, and what an adventure it has been. We have had our ups and downs, but one thing I have learned is that marriage is real work. You can't just hope it all works out, you have to be intentional about making your marriage work. There are times that I have to take a real look at how I am doing as a husband. Sometimes I feel like we are just going through the motions of marriage because we are so busy and exhausted with our daily lives. Sometimes we need some time apart, and sometimes we need to spend some quality time together. Sometimes we need to be reminded of what's important in life and what our priorities should be, and sometimes we need to be reminded of how truly blessed we are to have the life we have.

Adding multiple sclerosis and marriage together really makes for an interesting mix. There are days that my wife's MS takes center stage because she is having an attack and we have to take immediate action. There are also days when her MS is no where to be found and life is as normal as it gets. For me her MS often becomes a challenge that I can learn about, figure out and try to solve the puzzle. There are other days that I just honestly wish it would go away and never be seen again. Lately we have been dealing more with MS frustrations than MS struggles. My wife's MS has been causing small frustrations like minor fatigue, joint pain, leg pain and other annoying things that really affect your day to day life. Some days she will wake up and feel great most of the day and then BAM!, it hits and she feels tired and exhausted and goes to bed early. Other days she wakes up weepy and crying and can't seem to control her emotions all day long.

Today is one of those days where she wants to feel great for our anniversary, but we have both had a stomach bug and are recovering so she is still weak from that and very emotional. She is at home in bed right now trying to sleep, but my guess is that she can't so she will be trying to do more than she should and not resting. As a wife, she is always trying to do for our daughter and me. She goes way above and beyond and sometimes pays for it in her health. She is an awesome mom and wife, and I know it frustrates her when her body doesn't cooperate and allow her to do what she wants. MS can get in the way of our marriage sometimes, but we can choose to focus on it or each other, and we choose each other. Multiple Sclerosis will never win out over love, and our love has grown for each other every year we have been married. Happy Anniversary honey, and I look forward to another 15 years of living life with you!

Throbbing Pain In Leg With Multiple Sclerosis

2010-09-26T22:13:00.004-05:00

My wife has been on her feet a lot the last few weeks. Today the stress and lack of rest caught up with her causing her legs to ache. It started with just a small spot of pain on the top of her thigh and turned into throbbing pain by the afternoon. Right now she is laying in bed trying to rest her legs and sleep. The pain has only affected her left side, and she was having issues with her left shoulder and arm when we were traveling last week. I know the hotel beds we slept in were very hard, so I wonder how much that affected her side. We stayed at the same hotel for 4 nights, and she woke up more than once complaining about her left arm and shoulder. The pain today started slowly but when it did hit, it sidelined her to bed all afternoon and evening.

Leg pain is by far the most searched subject on my blog, and I totally understand why. When my wife has leg pain it shuts her down and she can't function until the pain subsides. Sometimes that happens in a short time and sometimes it takes days for the pain to go away. I do know that we have had success with chiropractic, massage, rest and heat/cold treatment for the pain, but it sure is annoying when it hits. I just remembered she was also having low back pain after sleeping on the hotel beds. Sometimes it seems like it is so easy for her body to get out of whack, and when it does, we can expect her to have multiple sclerosis issues.