YoungWithMS.com

Identify Sources of Help to Manage Your Time and Energy

YoungWithMS — Mon, 05 Apr 2010 20:22:54 +0000

I have taking the oppurtunity to post some questions along with some answers in hopes that they will benefit people. If you have any comments then please let me know!

1) Are you exercising regularly? It improves your fitness and helps you feel less tired. Consult a physical therapist

2) Do you eat the right foods? The right diet can help keep your energy high. Consult a dietician

3) Can meditation reduce fatigue? The right medication or combination of medications can make you more functional. Consult your physician.

4) Have you evaluated your daily routines at home and work? Energy conservation strategies can help you do thing more efficiently. Consult an occupational therapist.

5) Are you using the assistive devices you need? Many devices can reduce the energy required for daily activities. Consult an occupational therapist.

6) What are your cognitive strengths (and weaknesses)? You can learn to build on your strengths and compensate for weaknesses. Consult a neuropsychologist.

7) Do you have a plan for organizing your daily activites? Developing appropriate routines can increase your productivity. Consult an occupational therapist or speech-language pathologist.

Do you ask for help when you need it? Delegating tasks will give you more time and energy.

Exercise and MS

YoungWithMS — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 00:10:25 +0000

A paramount interest to many people with MS is exercise– which is a very real physical stress. Research indicates that moderate exercise increase their feeling of well-being and self-confidence, and also improves–albeit modestly–strength and cardiovascular conditioning. There are different types of exercise that may help. In range-of-motion exercises, the arms and legs are moved through the full range of the joints’ motion, to prevent muscle shortening and contractures (joint immobilization). If necessary, get someone to assist you with these stretching exercises. Aerobic exercise–such as walking, stationary bicycling and swimming–may also be useful. Consult your neurologist before deciding what’s best for you. Try to avoid getting overheated during exercise; a cool bath before and after helps, or swimming in a cool pool rather than a warm one. You can buy special cooling vests, but they are rather costly, they usually cost $300.00 to $1000.00 depending on the options you want. Maybe you are asking yourself how far you should go? The answer is to the point of fatigue but not exhaustion. If you are more than usually tired the day after exercise, you’ve gone too far. The more advanced your MS, the more moderate the exercise should be. Of course, there is a great psychological benefit in feeling that, by exercising, you are taking charge of your health and doing something good and yourself. On the other hand, overestimating the benefits the benefits of exercise may lead to disappointment and a feeling of failure. Moderate exercise is a good thing but it will not determine whether you have “good, medium or bad” MS. Keep moving, but don’t overdo it. Take Care and God Bless.

Smiles, Jennifer

Youngwithms

Awesome Changes!

YoungWithMS — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 23:47:54 +0000

Hey Everyone, hope everyone had an awesome day. Just wanted to let everyone know that in the coming days that you are going to see some awesome changes to the website. The new layout and options are going to give visitors the oppurtunity to register to the site and post comments and create discussion groups and so on. I look forward to seeing all the comments and discussion boards. Thank You for your support of the site. Have a great day. Take Care and God Bless.

Smiles, Jennifer

Youngwithms

Strategies for Managing Stress

YoungWithMS — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 15:00:57 +0000

Good Morning Everyone!! Today I want to talk about Managing Stress because let’s be honest everyone stresses and worries about various things in their lives. Although, everyone stresses I wanted to talk particularly about people with MS and their stress. Many people with MS don’t recognize the psychological component of their condition at first, and only gradually accept the fact that they may need to develop coping strategies. These include learning how to deal effectively with the new issues confronting them: stereotypes of the disabled in the community, perceived changes in masculinity or feminity, changes in relationships, changes in roles within the family, changes in roles within the family, changes in employment status, increased dependance on others and changes in physical condition. Coping strategies are best developed through experience; they cannot be learned by reading a book. But here are a few strategies to get you started. Foster the idea of being in control. Focus on the many aspects of your life in which you do have control, such as what you do today, whom you socialize with and so on. To be happy and to cope, people must feel that they have at least some–preferably a lot of–control over their lives. Determine a way (small or large) to contribute to your community–something you can enjoy–and follow through with your plan. This will enhance your self-esteem and help put your problems in perspective. Attend appropriate counseling sessions. Learn to say no without feeling guilty. Make a list of people, places and things you like (energizers) and dislike (fatiguers). Be Honest. Within the limits of your ethical responsibilities, avoid fatiguers and seek out energizers. Make a list of people you can rely on for support, and call on them as needed. Create support networks outside the home (where most of the support is ordinarily provided). Prioritize projects to avoid burnout and overload. Take Care and God Bless!

Smiles, Jennifer

Youngwithms

Importance of Vaccines

YoungWithMS — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 02:05:04 +0000

Today I wanted to touch on something that I feel is very very important. The past couple of months our society as a whole has been struggling and worrying about several things. The number one being the Swine Flu or H1N1 virus. Everyone started getting very worried and doing everything they could to prevent from contracting it. Since people like me that have MS have to take extra precautions always I figured I would touch on this subject. Among the few factors that increase the risk of a relapse are viral infections. In fact, a viral infection precedes one-quarter to one-half of all relapses. It appears that the virus triggers the relapse by provoking further action from the immune system. For this reason, if you have MS, try to avoid close contact with people who have such infections. (Typical viral infections unclude colds, flus and diarrheal infections such as gastroenteritis.) Also, be sure to get lots of sleep to avoid becoming run-down. When you’re run-down, you’re at greater risk of catching a viral infection and increasing your chance of a relapse. Getting vaccinated against flu seems to have no effect one way or the other on your chances of have a relapse. As there are no specific antiviral treatments, the best therapy is to avoid getting viral infections in the first place. Remember to always wash your hands and use hand sanitizer. Germ prevention starts with you! Take Care and God Bless.

Smiles, Jennifer

Youngwithms

What Will Happen to You If You Have MS?

YoungWithMS — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 13:17:53 +0000

People with MS naturally ask their physicians how the disease will affect them. However it’s impossible to give useful information about the long-term outlook immediately after the diagnosis, because MS varies from one person to the next and within one person over time. After about five years, physicians have a much better idea how the disease will evolve. Generally, the progress of the disease breaks down into the Rule of One-Third: One-Third of people with MS do very well-their condition is sometimes called “benign MS”–one-third do moderately well and one-third are significantly disabled. Twenty years after diagnosis, about a sixth are in a wheelchair and half require some assistance with walking, be it cane, walker or wheelchair. Twenty-five years after diagnosis, two-thirds are still able to walk, although some need a cane or a walker and one-third use a wheelchair most of the time. Remember that MS comes in two main forms: Relapse-Remitting and Progressive. Because treatment is determined by the kind of MS you have, it’s important to ask your neurologist which of the four categories-clinically isolated, relapse-remitting, primary progressive or secondary progressive-you are dealing with. At any given moment, about half of MS patients have relapsing-remitting MS and the other half have progessive MS. Relapsing-remitting disease can be highly variable. Progressive disease can be progressive right from the start (primary progressive) or can become progressive after being relapsing-remitting for many years. Progressive MS, of course, implies a progressive increase in disability. However, MS does not progress endlessly. After a variable length of time it usually plateaus, with no significant increase in disability. People with progressive MS are more likely to need a wheelchair and to have significant neurological disability. People who have remissions from their attacks usually have mild to moderate disability. A number of other factors affect the prognosis. Perhaps most important are the specific symptoms you have. If they relate mainly to sensations such as feeling or vision, disability is usually moderate to mild. If the main symptoms are limb weakness and loss of coordination, you are more likely to become disabled eventually. Frequent attacks and failure to improve after attacks also suggest eventual disability. In general, men with MS do worse than women with MS. No one knows why. Also, the later in life you come down with MS, the faster the neurological symptoms tend to get worse. The most significant indicator of the prognosis course is whether your condition is progressive, as a progressive course implies a greater degree of neurological disability. Progressive MS tends to develop at the same rate regardless of whether it is primary progressive or secondary progressive. These two are best thought of, not as different categorizations of MS, but simply as differnt stages. To date, the MRI scan, evoked potentials test and spinal fluid examination can’t predict the future with any accuracy. Refinements in our understanding of prognostic factors are allowing us to pick out some of the people who need more aggressive (and potentially risky) treatment, such as chemotherapy or bone marrow transplantation. Maybe the most important point about the prognosis in MS is that it is not as bad, on average, as most people think. We tend to notice the people who are most disabled by MS. Yet many people–co-workers, friends, relatives–live completely normal, full lives, with little or no visible disability.

Retrobulbar Optic Neuritis

YoungWithMS — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 01:15:41 +0000

Hey everyone! Today I wanted to write about Retrobulbar Optic Neuritis. I recently had a comment on my webpage asking for advice on this particular subject and I really wanted to reach out to her and tell her that I am here for her whenever she needs advice or just someone to talk to. I am going to write on this subject a little bit in hopes that it will give her some insight or help out with the stress of being diagnosed with something like Retrobulbar Optic Neuritis. Optic neuritis occurs when the optic nerve, the pathway that transmits visual information to the brain, becomes inflamed and the myelin sheath that surrounds the nerve is destroyed (a process known as demyelination). It typically occurs in one eye at a time (70%), and the resulting vision loss is rapid and progressive, but only temporary. Thirty percent of patients experience occurrence in both eyes. Optic neuritis tends to afflict young adults with an average age in their 30s. Seventy-five percent of patients with optic neuritis are women. Nerve damage that occurs in the section of the optic nerve located behind the eyeball, is called retrobulbar neuritis, and is most often associated with multiple sclerosis. Optic nerve inflammation and edema (swelling) caused by intracranial pressure at the place where the nerve enters the eyeball is termed papillitis. Treatment of optic neuritis depends on the underlying cause of the condition. Vision loss resulting from a viral condition usually resolves itself once the virus is treated, and optic neuritis resulting from toxin damage may improve once the source of the toxin is removed. A course of intravenous corticosteroids(steroids) followed by oral steroids has been found to be helpful in restoring vision quickly to patients with MS-related episodes of optic neuritis, but its efficacy in preventing relapse is debatable. The Optic Neuritis Treatment Trial (ONTT) has shown that IV steroids may be effective in reducing the onset of MS for up to two years, but further studies are necessary. Oral prednisone has been found to increase the likelihood of recurrent episodes of optic neuritis, and is not recommended for treating the disorder. The vision loss associated with optic neuritis is usually temporary. Spontaneous remission occurs in two to eight weeks. Sixty-five to eighty percent of patients can expect 20/30 or better vision after recovery. Long-term prognosis depends on the underlying cause of the condition. If a viral infection has triggered the episode, it frequently resolves itself with no after effects. If optic neuritis is associated with multiple sclerosis, future episodes are not uncommon. Thirty-three percent of optic neuritis cases recur within five years. Each recurrence results in less recovery and worsening vision. There is a strong association between optic neuritis and MS. In those without multiple sclerosis, half who experience an episode of vision loss related to optic neuritis will develop the disease within 15 years. I really hope that some of what I said can help you or someone you know and love that is struggling with something such as this. To relieve the pain at home you can always try taking two chamomile tea bags and heating them up and placing them on your eyes. That is shown to relieve the pain and pressure associated with optic neuritis. If you are going out in the sun you should try polarized sunglasses to shield your already damaged and sore eyes from further damage. To the newly diagnosed, my advice is to do your own research and just remember to remain calm and not to over think everything. Be strong in the Lord. He will bring you through. Take Care and God Bless.

Smiles, Jennifer

Youngwithms

Multiple Sclerosis and the Prognosis

YoungWithMS — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 02:29:03 +0000

It is difficult to predict how multiple sclerosis will progress in any one person. Most people with multiple sclerosis will be able to continue to walk and function at their work for many years after their diagnosis. The factors associated with the mildest course of multiple sclerosis are being female, having the relapsing-remitting form, having the first symptoms at a younger age, having longer periods of remission between relapses, and initial symptoms of decreased sensation or vision rather than of weakness or incoordination. Less than 5% of people with multiple sclerosis have a severe progressive form, leading to death from complications within five years. At the other extreme, 10-20% have a benign form, with a very slow or no progression of their symptoms. The most recent studies show that about seven out of 10 people with multiple sclerosis are still alive 25 years after their diagnosis, compared to about nine out of 10 people of similar age without disease. On average, multiple sclerosis shortens the lives of affected women by about six years, and men by 11 years. Suicide is a significant cause of death in multiple sclerosis, especially in younger patients. The degree of disability a person experiences five years after onset is, on average, about three-quarters of the expected disability at 10–15 years. A benign course for the first five years usually indicates the disease will not cause marked disability. Because of improved treatment for complications such as lung and bladder infections, the life expectancy of those diagnosed with multiple sclerosis is only slightly reduced. The earlier in life disease onset occurs, the slower disability progresses. This is due to more frequent chronic progressive courses with faster accumulation of disability when onset occurs at a higher age. Disability after 5 years correlates well with disability after 15 years: 2/3 of multiple sclerosis patients with low disability after 5 years will not markedly deteriorate during the next ten years. Further multiple sclerosis cases in the family do not influence disease progression. 1 of 3 patients will still be able to work after 15-20 years. Visual loss as the initial symptom is a marker for a rather good prognosis; gait disturbance, weakness or numbness for a rather poor prognosis. Rapid regression of initial symptoms, age at onset below 35, only a single symptom at onset, rapid development of initial symptoms and short duration of the last relapse indicate a good prognosis. When the initial disease course is relapsing remitting, the statistical duration until a wheelchair is needed, is 20 years. This means that many multiple sclerosis patients will never need a wheelchair. If the disease course is primary progressive then a wheelchair at an average will be needed after 6 to 7 years. It has to be noted that most of this longterm data was acquired before the advent of modern immunomodulatory drugs about 10 years ago, which have been shown to delay disease progression over a period of several years. After reading this I know that some of you might be discouraged or feel that there is no hope or something along those lines.

Smiles, Jennifer

Youngwithms

Learning to Relax

YoungWithMS — Sun, 17 Jan 2010 21:48:05 +0000

Go soft focus, and don’t addle yourself about tomorrow. By letting yourself relax today, even forgetting (to whatever extent you can) that you have MS, you’ll rejuvenate yourself and feel stronger for the week ahead. So, sip a cup of tea and let go. There will be plenty of time to worry about things tomorrow, but for now, be yourself and relax. Many of us have forgotten the simple virtue of relaxation. Think of your diagnosis as your opportunity to relearn what generations before us took for granted as part of a healthy life—the ability to enjoy simple, quiet moments while sitting with a friend, whittling, knitting, quilting, gardening, mending, or simply sitting still. Remember relaxing is all about being idle without really being idle. Here are a couple of examples that might help you relax. 1) If you have children, play with them. Spending time with a niece, nephew, or the child of friend is also a great way to forget about your troubles. 2) Go to the movies. 3) Watch a sporting event. 4) Go to the museum 5) Read a the bible or your favorite book. 6) PRAY 7) Light aromatherapy candles. Pick your favorite scent wether or not it promotes peacefulness. There are so many other ways to relax. Be imaginative. No matter how you choose to relax, bask in the moment. Remember to smile and enjoy life. Take Care and God Bless.

Smiles, Jennifer

Youngwithms

Smile through the Storm

YoungWithMS — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 16:44:58 +0000

I wanted to write today about the “Storm” that everyone that is dealing with MS feels like they are going through. I know when I was first diagnosed I felt like I was in a hurricane and nothing was going to stop it. I was wrong. Sometimes in the midst of what you feel is the biggest storm of your life comes great joy and blessings. For a while I questioned why me why me. But then I started saying what can I do to help others? In what way can I be an advocate to others and their families. Dealing with having a chronic illness like MS is not easy wether you are the one that has it or you are a family member of someone that has it. My family has been amazing during this journey and this journey has just started. I look forward to living a beautiful long and happy life. I would have never gotten through these past couple of years if it were not for my family and above all GOD. There is a song that is called “Praise you in this Storm” By Casting Crowns. I encourage you to listen to that song. It is beautiful and has definitely helped me. Take Care and Smile.

Blessings, Jennifer

Youngwithms