My wife has MS

Sidelined again with Multiple Sclerosis

2016-12-18T13:02:00.000-06:00

Today is a day that has become all too common over the last few years. A little over 3 years ago I would've told you that my wife's MS wasn't affecting her daily activities much. We were living in Colorado, she was walking fine, working full time, and we were trying to figure out what the next phase of our life would be. We jumped into a new business in Denton, Tx, and moved into a home less than 10 years old in a great neighborhood. Life was hard as we established a new business from the ground up, but we noticed over time that my wife's health was not cooperating. Little did we know that the next year and half would be a journey of us trying to figure out how to help my wife as she lost feeling in her left side and started having more and more issues we thought were MS related.

We tried all kinds of things while we were in Dallas/Fort Worth, but we couldn't seem to find anything that helped my wife with her numbness, fatigue, foggy brain, stomach issues or walking issues. Honestly, it was crazy frustrating because she had done so well for years and then BAM, new issues and new Multiple Sclerosis problems. That's one of the things that's so frustrating with MS, it can rear it's ugly head out of nowhere and then the next journey begins to figure out how to combat it. The shock came when we figured out that her health issues had something to do with our environment after they disappeared while on a cruise.

Why is today just another common day? Because my wife's health once again has sidelined her and neither one of us know why. Out of nowhere last night her stomach started hurting and she's had stomach pain most of the night and morning. We know that this is related to her bowel issues and lack of bowel movements, just like all of the other times issues like this have happened thru the years. Yes, we know that it's her gut that's causing this issue but it's soooo frustrating that we haven't been able to find a solution. We've tried all kinds of different things, met with experts, researched and have been told over and over that this blah, blah, blah will definitely fix the issue. If you've struggled with MS for long, my guess is you've heard the same spill too.

What I do know is we feel like we're getting closer to figuring out what has been causing the issues over the last 3 years. We do know that mold was definitely present and affecting her health while we were in Denton. What's crazy is when we moved her health didn't really get better, unlike the cruise we went on. It's like a puzzle that we only have certain pieces to but we can't see the finished puzzle. I do feel like we're getting closer with a new Dr we are seeing and some new treatment she's been receiving. One of those is Clear Mind which I'll be writing about soon. It's been amazing to see how much it's helped her with her memory and brain fog. We're also learning about some other issues that have shown themselves that I'll be sharing soon, and hopefully the solutions we've found to them.

Blogging about MS has been on the backburner for me for the last year or so, especially as our online business has exploded. So many areas of our life are better than they've ever been, but there's nothing like having your health. 2016 has been a wild year learning about proper nutrition, trying to find a Doctor that had the skills and knowledge we were looking for, struggling thru new recipes and foods we weren't used to, and trying to keep up as our business grew at a rapid pace. I really feel like 2017 is going to be a life changing year, giving us new treatments, new revelations and my hope and prayer is better health for my wife. Thank you all so much for continuing to read about our crazy life, and I'll do my best to write more as we try and experience new treatments and things that help my wife's MS! Merry Christmas!

New Beginnings with Multiple Sclerosis!

2016-03-10T22:06:00.000-06:00

It's been months since I've posted about my Wife's MS and our life. I keep meaning to update and share what we've been doing so over the next months I'm wanting to share about our newest experience with a Health Coach and Multiple Sclerosis. If you've followed our MS Blog, you know that my wife has had all kinds of MS issues thru the years, and most recently we found Mold in our Home that was causing my wife to lose feeling in her whole left side. She's lived for about 2 years with limited feeling in her left side, from her left arm to her left foot. She's also struggled with stiff legs and struggles walking because of it. About 8 months ago we uprooted our whole lives and moved back Home to West Texas to figure out how to get her health back.

In June, 2015, we went on a Cruise that changed everything. When we walked onto the ship my wife had lived for a year and a half with numbness on the left side of her body. Within 3 days that feeling started coming back, and by the end of the week she had all of the feeling back in the left side of her body. That was an AHA moment for us! She was so excited and couldn't believe how great she felt when we left the boat.

Then we got home...

Within 24 hours of being Home she was numb again on her left side. That began our Journey for the last 8 months trying to figure out what caused the immediate turn around on the Cruise. Was it the Air quality? Was it the exercise walking and doing all of the activities we did? She participated in everything from swimming with Dolphins to riding Segways to flying thru the Trees in Jamaica on zip lines. She walked and did great the whole trip. Or maybe it was just getting away from the mold and getting closer to the Equator? It sure wasn't eating better because we ate horribly on the Ship! ;)

So, that's where the Journey began, with this weird Cruise Ship experience and then all the issues coming back. Since that time we moved in with my wife's Parents to give us some time to work thru her MS issues, sold 1 business, moved into a new Home, worked on a Rental property we own (which by they way she can't be in because she starts to have the same issues she had with the mold), hired a Health Coach that has had huge results with Auto Immune diseases, and started an intense eating program with supplementation.

My wife's had some success since starting with the Health Coach, and we're just getting started on cleanses the Coach recommended. It's a 12 week program and we're about 8 weeks into it, with 3 cleanses to go and we're just starting exercising. We're learning that so much of the issues my wife has had are due to Gut issues. This new eating plan has us eating foods that have natural Pro Biotics, trying to repopulate my wife's Gut with good bacteria. I'll share more later, but thank you all for continuing to follow our journey with Multiple Sclerosis!

Mold Toxicity or Multiple Sclerosis?

2015-08-11T23:03:00.000-05:00

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...

No Bowel Movements Equals MS Issues

2015-02-02T22:37:00.002-06:00

OK, this isn't a fun subject to talk about but it's gotta be covered. Literally the whole time I've known my wife, which is over 20 years, she has had issues with her gut and having bowel movements. If you've done any research into digestive issues and disease you've probably found that digestive problems are linked to all sorts of problems with health. Well we can back that up with our own experience. My wife has gone as long as 3 weeks without a bowel movement, which isn't good for your health. Almost every time that she's had a long time between bowel movements she's had issues with her MS. All kinds of MS symptoms seem to pop up and we've noticed that as soon as she gets her digestive system working better that the symptoms start to go away.

Lately this has even taken a bigger twist. She's determined to get better digestive health so she's been trying different things to have regular bowel movements. Lots of fiber, laxatives, water, even meds from the Doc to get things moving. For months now she's struggled with tingly hands and feet, which we feel like is a symptom of issues from a broken tailbone last year so she's very aware of her body and anything that's tingly or numb. The weird thing lately is when she has a bowel movement it causes her to tingle around her mid section. Sometimes the tingling comes and goes quickly, and other times she starts going numb around her stomach. This is a really weird sensation for her and the first time she's ever had these issues.

We are still trying to figure out how to get her bowel movements regular, which we know is important for her to be at optimal health. We finally figured out how to get her stomach to stop hurting after meals which was drinking Kombucha regularly. The only issue with that is since she isn't getting sick after meals she doesn't eliminate at all most days. So, we are searching for a new Naturopathic Doctor locally and my wife is also going to try Acupuncture soon. We are excited about both of these because she is sick and tired of the tingly hands and feet. I'll try to keep the blog updated as we try things and let you know what works for the digestive health and for the tingling. Thanks for taking the time to read our Journey!

Leg Issues in the Cold with MS

2014-12-22T14:10:00.001-06:00

For the last year or so my wife's MS has caused her Right Leg to stiffen during Cold Weather. She can literally walk outside and if it's cold enough, her leg will go stiff and she almost has to swing it to walk. She's only had this issue in the last year, and we think we finally figured out why. We lived in Colorado for a short time last year and she fell twice. Both times she fell flat on her tail bone and come to find out she cracked her tail bone. Since that time she's woke up almost daily with her hands or feet tingling and then had her Leg stiffen and other minor Tingling in her body. It finally hit us this last week at the Chiropractor that we hadn't really addressed that issue so we talked to our Chiropractor about it.

Well, the Chiropractor started doing some testing and not only were her hips twisted but her tail bone was off so the Chiropractor adjusted all of it. When she was adjusted it initially shot pain through her and she was worried that it may do more harm than good. But, after she was adjusted and left the Chiropractors office she began to notice some major differences. For the first time in almost a year her hands and feet were almost completely back to normal, and her back felt much, much better. I encouraged her to go back multiple times last week to keep everything in alignment so she went back 3 times and was going to go back a 4th today but she overslept.

It still amazes me that MS can mess with her body so much, and from a fall over a year ago she is still having issues. Now that we've figured out what caused the issue, it will be easier to fix. My wife had literally bought different pillows and tried other things because she thought one of those was the culprit. I guess I say all of this to say that you never know how a fall or injury or other trauma might affect your Multiple Sclerosis. My wife's MS has been badgering her for over 24 years now, and we are still learning. Oh, if your legs stiffen in the cold you may try thermals because that's what my wife's been doing the last few weeks. Once she had the thermals on her leg didn't stiffen up as bad and she could still walk OK.

I guess the question I would ask any MS patient is, have you had any Injuries in the past that could be causing some of your problems? Have you had a bad fall, car wreck, skiing accident or some other injury? I know that my wife is extremely sensitive to any changes in her body and her MS lets us know quickly if anything is wrong by exacerbating. Leg issues seem to be common in MS, but I really think there are ways to combat the problem without Meds. She's been MS Drug free from the beginning and for the most part I think my wife does amazing. She's definitely stronger than I think I would ever be having to deal with MS daily. We are still determined to get her health better and better, and have a Ski trip we want to go on in 2015 and already have a Cruise planned that I know she will need to be in great shape for. What are you doing in 2015 to fight back against this crazy disease?

My Wife Has MS Busted 400,000 Pageviews Today!

2014-11-25T17:57:00.000-06:00

Seven years ago I started writing about my wife's MS and our journey as a family. My wife was diagnosed with MS in 1990, and we have tried to share our experiences with anyone interested so that they might gain some insight into this crazy disease. Today we passed over 400,000 page views thanks to YOU! Over the years I've received emails and notes from MS patients and spouses that live all over the World. Multiple Sclerosis has bonded us through the joys and pains of trying to live a sane life with an insane disease.

Our Journey is about to take a new turn as we grow our Businesses and start the Wahl Protocol. We are also starting a new Yoga program that is being specifically designed for my wife and the issues she is having. We are extremely excited about how the Wahl Protocol and the new Yoga program will take my wife's health to a whole new level. My desire is to update the Blog regularly and share our new Journey, and hopefully our crazy life will help a few people along with way. Thank you so much for your input, your amazing emails and notes, and your support for the last seven years!

My Wife Just Quit Her Job Because of This

2014-11-22T22:19:00.000-06:00

Seven months ago my wife and I moved our family back to Texas to start a new Business. After spending over 7 years working in Children's Homes we were ready to take a break and start working towards building a Business so we could live life more on our terms. Since my wife has MS, we really didn't want her to have to work but she started working as a Bookkeeper so we would have some additional cashflow while our Business grew. To speed up the process I started looking for a way to market my new Business better online and found a couple of Marketers that were making a large amount of monthly income from working exclusively with Local Businesses. I joined their Mentoring/Coaching program and the rest is History.

Last week my wife quit her job because my original Business and our new Local Marketing Business have grown so fast that I needed her help. Her job was causing her a lot of stress which was affecting her MS, so we are counting our Blessings! She was happy to quit and now she will be helping me with both Businesses. One of the great things about my new Marketing Business is she is totally capable of building assets for it too. We even have our daughter involved so that she can make money for College. I know there are many of you that either need to quit your job due to MS issues, or those that have had to quit because of MS issues. Either way, if I could show you how to create a real Business working with Local Businesses in your area that had very little overhead and could produce thousands a month, would you be interested?

I not only am building my own Marketing Business but I've also been hired by the 2 guys that created the Coaching program because of my success. I'm able to share the Business with others that are looking for a Training Program and Coaching to grow their own Business. If you are looking for a Real Business that you can do from Home or the Beach or anywhere else as long as you have Internet, then watch the video below. I made this video a few months ago to explain what I was doing to a few of my friends, and it will give you an idea of the main Business model.

Please understand that this is a Business and that there is an initial Investment required to join the Training. I made back my Investment within the first few months, but you also need to be ready to Work. The nice part about the Work is it's Online, so if you are able to follow Video Instructions and have an Internet Connection, you have the basic tools to build your Business. Most of the work is done up front, then you are able to enjoy the benefits for months and years to come. If you're interested in talking more follow the directions on the Video and we can setup a time to talk. Please only reach out if you are really interested in starting and growing your own Business, and are willing to make an Initial Investment in your Business. We currently have Business Partners all over the World, and it would be amazing to know that I was able to help MS patients find Financial Freedom so they could take better care of their Health!

Click Here to fill out the Form

Stopped Stomach Issues for My Wife with MS

2014-10-21T19:38:00.000-05:00

A few weeks ago my wife was at the Chiropractor and the Doc was sharing with us about Kombucha. We headed to Whole Foods after the Adjustment and picked up a few different flavors of Synergy Kombucha. The Chiropractor had explained how Kombucha has been super helpful for her health since it contains Pro Biotics and Antibiotics. We've used Pro Biotics before and it helped my wife but we were surprised to find out how it would really affect her.

While we were at Whole Foods we also picked up Natural Calm, which is a drink mix we had used before to help my wife destress and relax. Natural Calm has Calcium and Magnesium in it, and was recommended to us by the a Naturopath we used to see. So, my wife started with the Natural Calm as soon as we got home. Within minutes she was feeling relaxed and even commented that her hair felt relaxed. Not really sure what that means, but I could visibly see the difference in her body. That night she fell asleep easily and she has continued with the Natural Calm every day since.

She also started the Kombucha a few days later. Up until this time she has been struggling with Stomach issues off and on for years. Some days she has no issues, but other days she can eat the same thing she always does and she would immediately get sick. Just a heads up, not all flavors of the Kombucha are good. Some of them are really, really bad, but she found a few flavors that she likes and our daughter even likes. She takes a little everyday in the mornings. Within a few days she noticed that she wasn't having the stomach issues and had been having regular bowel movements, which has been a problem since I've known her.

She's continued with both the Kombucha and the Natural Calm and hasn't had a single day where she's had Stomach issues. She's super excited because she can tell a difference in her Stomach and in her body. She's slept better and feels better, and has been able to eat without worrying about getting sick. We are going to continue to using these 2 products and my wife is starting to work on her diet again. Over the next few months I will try to post more often as we live life with MS.

Waking Up With Tingly Toes and Fingers

2014-06-17T22:35:00.000-05:00

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!

Article on the Vascular System and Multiple Sclerosis

2014-06-14T14:49:00.000-05:00

I came across a post today from one of the Facebook pages I follow, and I thought you might be able to get something not only out of the article but also out of ways the article suggests to help with Vascular health. CCSVI has been a hot topic for a few years now and the link between our Vascular system and Multiple Sclerosis is heating up as more and more Research is done. There is a lot of information out now about CCSVI and MS, and to be honest I haven't had the time until recently to start really looking at it again but I will try to get more information on here about the newest findings.

Here is the article about Endothelial Health and MS, and the authors recommendations to have a Healthy Vascular System - http://ccsvi.org/index.php/helping-myself/endothelial-health. Hope this helps!

Planning Ahead For Heat And MS

2014-06-10T19:58:00.001-05:00

Does heat bother your MS? My wife has gone through times when she can take hot baths and not have any issues, and at other times she overheats very easily. Now that we are back in Texas we are dealing with hotter and hotter days, and my wife does a few things to make sure she doesn't overheat during the day or night. If she doesn't plan ahead, things can go south in a hurry so we make sure that we are prepared if she is going to be outside for lengths of time or it's a particularly hot day.

Recently we stopped off at Turner Falls in Oklahoma on our way back from Kansas. It was a hot day but we wanted to hike some so we could see the Falls and also see the different Camping areas just in case we decided to camp there. It has become habit now for me to reach out my arm for my wife to either hold my arm or hand while we are walking. It's pretty normal for her to be walking along and not lift her foot enough to clear something and trip. Luckily we've been together a long time and I'm always ready to catch her if need be.

So, we did a little hiking that day and she did great. We took plenty of water and made sure and didn't push too hard. On that day she didn't have heat issues and was able to handle all the walking and hiking we did. She didn't even trip, much. ;) That was a good day without issues, but there have been other days that have not gone so well. We've been traveling at times when she would just get out of the car after riding for hours and if it was extremely hot outside, she would just wilt. Those are the times she freezes me out of the car because she has the A/C on high trying to get cooled off.

If it's hot at night she really struggles to sleep. It's kinda funny because during the winter she has a heated blanket on all night long, but as soon as it starts warming up she struggles to find a happy medium and sheds the covers fast. One thing she recently did to help at night was to chill a homemade Heat/Cold bag our daughter made for her. It's super simple to make, and we even put fresh lavender in it so it would smell great. She takes the bag and puts it in a ziplock bag and freezes it. At night she can take it out and use it as a cold bag to cool off. There are tons of DIY rice bags on Pinterest, and it's a fun project to do with your kids.

I guess the main thing we do to keep my wife from overheating is just being prepared with water, access to A/C and having other things available if possible like the cold rice bags. Before MS my wife could camp out and stay in the heat outside without any issues, but we know now that she has to have access to A/C if needed so we just adjust as needed. We choose to make tweaks in our plans that we know will make things easier and less stressful for her and all of us. She knows her boundaries and we do too, and that helps to alleviate issues before they become major problems. If you're going to be out in the heat this summer, plan ahead and make sure you have a Plan B. It makes things so much easier and keeps Multiple Sclerosis from stopping the fun.

Big Things To Come For My Wife Has MS Blog

2014-06-07T20:41:00.000-05:00

Well, my wife and I have been talking a lot about our goals and our future. We are currently building a new Brick and Mortar business but have been building an Online Passive Income for the past few years. With our Passive Income growing we are excited about a new phase for our My Wife Has MS blog. Over the years I've told our story and wrote when I could, but I haven't been able to focus on sharing as much as I would like. So, we are in the beginning phases of something we are both very excited about!

In the near future we will be able to share more about our struggles, joys and life with MS, and my wife will take a bigger role in our new endeavors. For awhile she wanted to share more about how she feels and what's going through her mind and heart while fighting MS. With her writing more and sharing more, we feel like you will be able to get a more balanced view of what our lives are like and how we go about treating her MS. One of our main goals will be to continue to offer a real view of what life is like with MS, and provide Hope for those that are struggling.

So make sure and check back often because we will be announcing new additions to our Blog and will be giving everything a fresh look and feel. For now, I just want to say THANK YOU to all of you that have followed our Journey and commented on our Blog. We have laughed with you and cried with you as you've sent us emails and shared your journeys. Our hope is that our new efforts will help, encourage and provide information for anyone looking for information on MS, and continue to provide a raw look at the ups and downs of Multiple Sclerosis.

Figured Out Why My Wife Was Dragging Her Leg With MS

2014-04-27T22:39:00.001-05:00

Over the last few weeks my wife has been dealing with leg issues due to her MS. Her legs weren't hurting or painful, but they weren't working right and were cold and partially numb. I wrote a post the other day about finding a new Chiropractor. If you haven't read the post, you can read it by clicking here. The first visit to this new Chiropractor I figured out why she had been dragging her leg. The Dr. was putting her through an initial exam and when she checked her leg length her right leg was literally an inch longer than her left. No wonder it was dragging!

Our new Chiropractor adjusted her hips and for the first few days she really struggled because her body had been out of alignment for so long. After a few more visits she is now doing really well and can actually lift her right leg. For days she couldn't lift her leg high enough to even put her shoe on, but now she is able to raise it almost as high as her left. Every day she is walking better, moving better and all of the cold issues along with the numbness are now gone. It still amazes both of us how her alignment affects so many different things in her body, and how easily it can be fixed with an adjustment.

Over the years we've heard all the advice about how my wife's MS must be progressing and how this is just a part of the natural progression that she would lose functions and have issues. We will continue to push back against this thought process and not accept that my wife's health is going to become worse, and continue to find ways to help my wife feel better and have more control over her MS. So far we have found some very specific things that help my wife and we continue to learn more everyday. I would encourage anyone else that has MS to listen to your body, and look for treatments you feel comfortable with. That's what we've done, and we've had success. Most people don't realize my wife even has MS because we've found treatments that work for her.

Found A New Chiropractor For My Wife's MS

2014-04-10T21:22:00.001-05:00

If you haven't read my last blog post, you can read it here. Over the last week my wife was having cold feet, strips of cold from her hip to her feet and was dragging her right leg. She wasn't having pain really, more of a numb/cold feeling in strips and areas of her legs and feet. Her left leg seemed to be having more issues than her right leg, but she has been dragging her right leg since she started to have issues. So, she went Monday to a new Chiropractor that did something similar to what we've done before but she didn't respond as well to the adjustment as she had in the past. On Wednesday, we decided to try a different Chiropractor.

After searching for a Pro Adjuster Chiropractor in the area, we found one not too far from where we live now. So, we loaded up and went through a consult and some x-rays and then she had her first adjustment at the new Chiropractor. It was a little unnerving to see the Dr. check her feet length and her right foot was literally an inch longer than her left foot. The Dr. adjusted her including adjusting her hips, which was causing the issues with her foot length, and she was feeling better immediately after the appointment. We drove home and she was fine for a few hours until her right leg started hurting.

She took an Advil and within a few hours the pain went away. We knew that she would be "feeling" the adjustment since her body was so out of whack. What's so interesting is watching her fatigue go away and the feeling come back in her body after the adjustments. Today she was much better. She can still feel the issues in her hips but isn't dragging her leg and has had much more energy. She will go back to visit the Dr. on Monday and we will see how far out of whack her body is by that point. Just another day living with MS! :)

Cold Toes and Legs With Multiple Sclerosis

2014-04-07T17:21:00.001-05:00

OK, so it may sound a little odd but my wife has cold strips down her leg, and certain toes that will go cold from her MS. The last few days she has had MS leg issues, meaning that they are hurting and she has numbness and a cold feeling. The cold is a stripe down the side of her leg from her hip to her toes. It's really strange and when this happens she struggles to stay warm. She has to either take a hot bath or get under an electric blanket to warm up.

We've also noticed that when these MS attacks happen, she becomes very fatigued and very emotional. We recently moved back to Texas so we don't have our normal treatments in place, and are currently looking for a Pro Adjuster Chiropractor in the area. We found a Chiropractor that does something similar but not quite the same, and after being adjusted today she had improvement but not the level of improvement we are used to. My wife commented earlier that she didn't feel like she normally would after an adjustment.

We have wondered through the years what a different type of adjustment would do, but we have always found a Pro Adjuster and she has continued to have similar results with each new Chiropractor. So, after talking with others that haven't had the same results we have had with Chiropractic it has made me wonder how effective different methods of Chiropractic are on MS. We know what has worked for my wife, and for me and my daughter for other issues, and we will find the right kind of Chiropractor in our area. My wife has an appt on Wednesday with a Pro Adjuster Chiro to see what she thinks, and we will get things in place for her treatment.

Moving Back Home

2014-03-26T11:43:00.000-05:00

After moving our family to Colorado, we have now moved back home to Texas. Colorado was a total bust for our jobs and our lives, so we took a big step and moved to Texas to start a business. We've been working in non-profit work for the last 6 years, but I think we are ready to move on from that career. So, we've been back in Texas for a little over a month now and have started our new business. We are continuing with some of our online businesses also, but this new business is a brick and mortar business selling Safety Supplies and Equipment.

The moves have been hard on my wife's MS. Moving is a stressful activity physically, and it's mentally taxing especially when you are moving to a new area and a new job. For my wife, it took a few weeks for her to acclimate to Colorado and I don't know that any of our family ever acclimated completely in the 5 months we were there. After the stress from the job started to increase due to bad management, we knew that we needed to make a change. We've learned through the years that some things are not worth holding onto, and our jobs were not worth the stress it was placing on our family.

So, we decided to step away from a regular paycheck and start our own business. This has been stressful in itself, but my wife and I are both working hard to make this work. We have extremely supportive families which I know has helped my wife's MS, and is helping our new venture. We are excited about the future and so far my wife has had very few issues with her MS in Texas. When we first unloaded she was struggling with some dizziness and we immediately found a Chiropractor. After 2 adjustments she's been doing great. It still amazes both of us that her body responds so quickly and so efficiently to Chiropractic.

I guess the one thing that we have learned through the last few years is that you have to take control of your life, and sometimes that means moving 7 hours then turning around and moving 12 hours only 5 months later. It's been tough but it's been a very healthy move for our whole family. Hopefully this new career will give me more time to write and share as we experience new things in Texas. Hope everyone is doing great out there, and thanks for taking a moment to read about our lives!

Are Your Holidays Happy With MS

2013-12-24T11:11:00.000-06:00

The Holidays are on us and for the first time since my daughter was born, we are not spending Christmas with our extended family. Honestly, it's a little weird but we are enjoying the family time together. Also for the first time since our daughter was born my wife is working a regular 30 hr a week job. She's struggled a lot with the job because her heart wants to be home with our daughter helping her as she is homeschooled, but she knows that a part of our moving was she would have to work for a bit until we increased our income. So, she's really torn right now which has caused some emotional stress during the Holidays.

Today, she's having to work a half day which is really frustrating her. Work, health and other issues can cause a lot of stress over the Holidays which can just make the MS cycle worse. For my wife, stress is enemy number #1 through the Holidays so we do everything we can to eliminate stressful situations. Even when we travel to our extended family we make sure we stay in a hotel so she can get away and rest if needed, and also to make sure that she goes to bed at a decent time instead of staying up all night talking with family. Yes, she will miss a few things, but when she is present she is feeling good and is able to be fully there. Does that make sense?

So, are you planning ahead for the Holidays? Are you making sure that you have times of rest built in and that you have done what you can to eliminate stressful situations? We have learned through the years that we can tweak things a little and it makes a huge difference for my wife's health. Don't let the Holidays get the best of you, and especially if you're struggling with MS issues don't let your MS define your Holidays. This year we have a special Holiday meal planned, sledding in the mountains, and we are going to serve someone else in need to remind us of how blessed we truly are. Merry Christmas from our whole family, and this Holiday season, choose to be full of joy in spite of any issues you may be having with MS and plan ahead to take full advantage of everything the Holiday's have to offer!

Making The Most Out Of Life

2013-12-08T16:21:00.000-06:00

It's been awhile since I've posted, so I thought I would write about our recent change in life. Over the past few years I've ran a children's home while my wife helped to develop programs for the home along with handling donor relations. After 2 and a half years of 24/7 work we decided to make a drastic change and move to Colorado to work more normal hours and have more time to spend with our daughter. This has been a big change for me and for the whole family, but it has been a good one.

Life has slowed down, even with us still pushing and unsure of how to slow life down. :) We've learned that the general culture of Colorado is much slower than we're used to, and it's been healthy for our whole family to not be in a rush all the time. It took a few weeks for my wife to become acclimated to the climate, and she had a few MS issues during the first month here. It never ceases to amaze me how sensitive her body is to climate changes and different elevations. After a month or so her body has acclimated and she isn't having those issues anymore, and of course we used and continue to use Pro Adjuster Chiropractic when she has issues and it continues to stop any MS issues.

Our recent move is another natural step in our minds to live life in a way that will help our family. We've made many moves and changes through the years to create a better life for ourselves and also to create the best life choices for my wife's MS. We've learned that climate, stress, chiropractic care, sleep patterns, climate control in our home, and a host of other things can make our lives easier or harder and we try to control as many of those as possible. With this new change I should have more time to update the blog and some new thoughts on MS.

Tingly Feeling All Over With MS

2013-08-22T22:05:00.000-05:00

I couldn't help but write today about my wife's experience at the Chiropractor. We have been using Chiropractic for years to help with my wife's MS, and have seen miraculous results using it. Yesterday she was struggling with stomach issues which she has struggled with off and on for years. What's hard is knowing whether it has something to do with Multiple Sclerosis or it's just bad food. She can become violently sick from a meal she eats regularly so we feel like it has something to do with the digestive problems that seem to be associated with her MS. I say all of this to share something that happened today after her Chiropractic visit.

During her adjustment she began to tingle all over her body. It's not unusual for an arm or leg or part of her body to tingle, but this was much more than usual. She also had burning in her stomach immediately after the adjustment. We exclusively use Pro Adjuster Chiropractic because it's the best Chiropractic treatment we have found for my wife. After the adjustment was over she continued to tingle and her stomach burned for a bit and then it quit. Sometimes after a visit she feels tired and needs to sleep and other times she has a spurt of energy and feels great. Today she felt wonderful after the adjustment and the tingling left her body not long after she left the office.

The odd thing with the visit today was her stomach burning. I don't remember that happening before, but it always amazes me how our bodies are made so that everything is interconnected. By adjusting her spine and aligning her body, her stomach was affected along with nerves all over her body. Today was confirmation once again that using Chiropractic is vitally important for my wife's health, and we feel it is one of the core treatments we can count on every time she has Multiple Sclerosis symptoms or issues.

Stomach Problems With Multiple Sclerosis

2013-08-21T22:56:00.000-05:00

For years my wife has struggled with stomach issues. Some days she can eat a certain meal and have no issues, then eat the same thing for a meal the next day and become nauseous and vomit. Today is one of those days. Yesterday she was fine and having no stomach issues, but today she ate a meal that she eats often and has been vomiting all afternoon and evening. Once all of the food is gone she starts to feel better and can go days or weeks until she has issues again. Not only does she have nausea but the stomach pain can be very intense.

My wife's MS symptoms have come and gone through the years, but the stomach issues seem to be something that sticks around. Sometimes she's gone weeks or months without having issues then out of the blue she can't seem to eat anything without becoming sick immediately. I know it's quite frustrating for her when she knows that no matter what she eats she becomes sick, and so far we haven't found anyway to stop it other than just waiting it out. Multiple Sclerosis can definitely be frustrating at times, and we will keep looking for patterns of why her stomach is having issues. Until we figure it out, we will continue to make sure she is eating right, drinking plenty of water and doing the other things we know to treat her MS symptoms.

It's Been Awhile

2013-08-09T23:02:00.000-05:00

I didn't realize it had been so long time since I've written anything so I wanted to give everyone an update. My wife is doing really well with her MS. We've been living life and taking care of the Children's Home that I run. She's had a few minor issues here and there and it usually has to do with her not doing the things she knows she needs to do like resting, eating right and making sure she drinks plenty of water. Recently we spent a few days at the Rocky Mountain National Park and she hiked over a mile up to Dream Lake and did great. It always surprises me how well she can do and how far she still continues to push herself. Here's a picture of the lake that she took while I fished.

We've met many people lately that have MS, and it always surprises them when we tell them my wife has MS. They are also amazed that she's not on any MS meds or other drugs. We are still treating all of her MS with natural treatments and she is still doing great. We do have a change coming. We are moving to Colorado to work at another Children's Home, and we are looking forward to the cooler weather and low humidity. When we lived in Albuquerque, she had fewer problems than anywhere else we have lived so we feel like it will be the same where we are moving. And, we will live 30 minutes from Estes Park where we can hike, bike, fish and continue to become healthier. Life is good, and life can be good even with MS. My wife was diagnosed over 22 years ago and she is still living life on her terms. I'll try to write more often when we move because I'll have more time. I have some thoughts I want to share on a few things that we've learned lately that I think could help others struggling with MS. How are you doing with your MS?

New Year with Multiple Sclerosis

2012-12-27T11:32:00.000-06:00

As 2012 comes to an end my wife and I are already setting goals for next year. Over this past year my wife has lost 35 lbs, had very few major MS issues, learned more about how to treat her MS and she is ready to take 2013 by storm. She has already set a goal of losing another 15 lbs and I have no doubt that she will lose it before summer because she is already starting to focus on her eating again. One of the other big goals we have for this year is to completely wipe out our debt. We have been lazy about budgeting this last year so over the next week we will have our whole year mapped out. Cash is king so we are going on an all cash budget starting January 1.

Right now my wife is already starting to go through our house and unclutter our home. We know that extra clutter is just taking emotional energy so over this next year we are downsizing our "stuff." We already have a plan in place to have a big garage sale to not only get rid of our stuff, but to pay off more debt. We are already bringing in extra income from our online efforts and Christmas was good to us online, so we will put that money towards debt too. We really feel like less stuff and less debt will help both of us.

Over this last year my wife has really felt like she is taking more and more control over her MS. She had less major issues and anytime we felt like she might have problems, we immediately took action and did the things we know to do to treat her MS. I know that we both feel like we know more about how to treat her MS, what warning signs we need to watch for and are looking forward to her health getting better and better.

What goals are you setting for the new year? Are you starting a new career? Will you be traveling somewhere special this year? What are you going to do for your health this year?

Stresses of Multiple Sclerosis Diagnosis

2012-12-01T18:49:00.000-06:00

If you have been diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis or are going through the testing now to figure out exactly what's causing your symptoms, then you know that this process can be stressful, frustrating and long. When my wife first started the testing for her MS over 20 years ago, she felt like a lab rat. They ran test after test and everything kept coming back negative. If you're knowledgeable about how MS is diagnosed, then you know that there isn't a single test or even a battery of tests that will give a clear diagnosis. My wife had MRI's, a spinal tap, blood testing etc. and everything kept coming back negative. Even her MRI showed no spots or issues, but all of her symptoms pointed to MS.

I'm not a doctor, and this is not medical advise so please don't take it as such. What I'm writing this for is all of those individuals out there that are frustrated and stressed out because they've spent months and months trying to figure out what is causing their fatigue, numbness, tingling, pain or whatever other symptom they may have. My wife saw multiple neurologists and no one would diagnose her with MS until she went to see Dr Roy L Swank in Oregon. Dr. Swank spent years and years researching MS and he developed the Swank MS diet to combat the effects of MS. During her first visit to his clinic he immediately diagnosed her and put her on the diet. We both really wish Dr. Swank was still alive and practicing because his treatment and counsel helped us through many rough spots with my wife's health.

Here is what I have learned about the diagnosis of MS. Since there is no definitive test, the diagnosis is based on the symptoms and multiple testing that is done. In other words, MS is a collection of specific symptoms and can be very difficult to diagnosis. The other thing I learned when we ran a Naturopathic Doctor's office was natural treatment of diet, rest, supplements etc. can do amazing things for auto immune diseases like MS. Starting a healthy diet can happen today and is something that anyone can do to make their health better. Our Naturopathic Doctor really believed in the Breaking the Vicious Cycle diet for Auto Immune diseases. We were able to see the successes of this diet and used it ourselves for some time. I say all of this to say don't get depressed, frustrated and feel like you have no control because in our experience, anyone can better their health with a few simple things like diet and limiting stress in their life. My wife completely understands the desperation that can come from wanting to know what is causing her health issues, and over time we have decided to take control of what we can and not stress about what we have no control over. Take control of what you can today like diet, rest and limiting stress in your life and know that it can get better. My wife is a living testament to this.

Update on Online Business

2012-12-01T18:08:00.000-06:00

I've had a lot of response on a previous post about online marketing that I do to create passive income for my family, so I thought I would update you on one of my recent efforts. Many Muliple Sclerosis patients are not able to work full time and they would like to supplement their income with a business online. Over the last few years I have been working my way through the "mess" that is internet marketing to find a few systems that actually work. One of those is a system utilizing a free platform called Squidoo that I found about 2 months ago.

This particular product was created by a mom that wanted to stay home with her kids, and worked to create a substantial online business to support her family. The system is super simple, providing all of the information on how to setup simple Squidoo Lens to drive traffic to Amazon. You receive a percentage of anything the visitor buys on Amazon along with additional income you can earn from Squidoo itself. After 2 months of building lenses, I have about 25 up now and have sold a little over 50 products on Amazon this month. I can do the research, build the lens, and have it up and running in just a few hours, and since it's on Squidoo it's free to build. I don't have any hosting costs or domain name costs. Pretty sweet deal to create income without any financial outlay.

If you are looking for a system to create income online, I would highly recommend Squid Pro Quo. You can view the sales page here - www.warriorplus.com/w/a/rhdfr. I want to be totally up front with you and let you know that I make money from selling this product. That's not why I'm recommending it to you though, I'm recommending it because it really does work. I hesitated to even put the link on my blog because I don't want this blog to be about selling something. If you've noticed I don't put ads on my blog or anything else because I want it to be about helping those with Multiple Sclerosis. If your like me, money struggles can be one of the most stressful issues in your life and if I can help a few people to relieve some of that stress then it's worth it. If you want to know more shoot me an email or leave a comment and I will do my best to share what I've learned. If you do end up purchasing it, please let me know and I will help you if you have any questions.

Multiple Sclerosis Dizziness

2012-10-28T11:14:00.000-05:00

Through the last six months my wife has worked extremely hard to listen to her body as she is having issues to see what she can do to help. One of the issues she struggles with off and on is dizziness. Sometimes its dizziness that leads to vertigo type symptoms and other times it's more of an annoyance that she just deals with throughout the day. One thing she has learned is that she can stop the issue with rest and water, and if she drinks a lot of soda or tea it can bring on the symptoms.

This last week we went out to eat after a stressful day. She and I both drank sweet tea and she drank 3 full glasses. After driving back to the our offices, we were standing around outside the vehicle and the dizziness hit her. Within minutes she could feel her head spinning and knew she needed to get home. She went home, laid down and drank water and the dizziness went away. I think it amazes both of us how quickly her body reacts to things, whether good or bad.

She knows she has to drink plenty of water to keep her body hydrated and pays for it when she doesn't. Years ago when we first started researching Naturopathy and how to treat MS differently, the first seminar I went to was on how dehydration affects MS and other Auto Immune diseases. Since then, my wife has tried to make sure she drinks plenty of water every day and finds out really quickly when she doesn't drink enough. The only other treatment we have used for dizziness is Chiropractic, and she is adjusted regularly so usually we don't have to take a special trip to the Chiropractor for dizziness.