My Multiple Sclerosis

A breath-based breakthrough in MS research - Valerie Verge

2025-05-10T02:59:00.000-07:00

A breath-based breakthrough in MS research

Valerie Verge

TEDxUniversityofSaskatchewan

Nervous system damage is a leading cause of pain and loss of function in those with nerve injury or autoimmune diseases like Multiple Sclerosis (MS).

In the quest to reverse this damage and improve patient quality of life, we and other neuroscientists are exploring the benefits of adaptive stress—like that of exercise or electrical nerve stimulation—on enhancing nervous system repair.

Most recently, our research team has achieved exciting and encouraging findings behind the potential of a non-invasive approach called Acute Intermittent Hypoxia (AIH). Using the power of breathing alternating levels of oxygen and a healthy dose of neuroscience, we are at the forefront of exciting new and accessible treatments for significantly enhancing nervous system repair.

Dr. Valerie Verge (PhD) is a professor in the University of Saskatchewan's Department of Anatomy, Physiology and Pharmacology and director of the Cameco MS Neuroscience Research Centre.

She earned her PhD at McGill University in 1990 in the Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery and conducted postdoctoral studies at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm prior to her appointment in 1992 at the University of Saskatchewan.

She has received many accolades, including being a Medical Research Council of Canada Scholar, Past President of the Canadian Association for Neuroscience and was named by MS Canada as being the 2019 Women against MS honouree.

Dr. Verge is internationally recognized for her team’s research into the molecular basis of nervous system repair and strategies to enhance the intrinsic capacity for repair in peripheral nerve injury and Multiple Sclerosis.

She has taken on many national and international leadership and advocacy roles and been named to Stanford University’s list of top 2% of most highly cited scientists worldwide.

https://youtu.be/5OHK9FDyxYs?si=KiXkgj9MLGToSYYe

Tomorrow comes with a whole new light.

2023-03-02T14:20:00.000-08:00

“Day is over, night has come. Today is gone, what’s done is done. Embrace your dreams, through the night. Tomorrow comes with a whole new light.” ~ George Orwell

Exercise is underrated

2022-09-05T20:50:00.001-07:00

Squats for Beginners: How to Squat Effectively

2022-08-27T00:27:00.000-07:00

https://youtu.be/etpqdV09Bdo

Squats for Beginners: How to Squat Effectively

Squatting is a GREAT exercise to strengthen your legs and help you stand up from low surfaces, but they often cause PAIN if not performed correctly. Learn the proper technique to perform a squat in this video!

AUTOIMMUNE DISEASE----3 Stages of Autoimmunity

2022-08-26T22:16:00.002-07:00

https://youtu.be/8-ip1JAxeuo

Neuron Anatomy

2022-08-15T22:32:00.000-07:00

My Diagnosis

2022-08-15T22:28:00.003-07:00

My diagnosis was secondary progressive multiple sclerosis which has no effective treatment and meanders along adding new symptoms now and again. My hope is not to take 'heavy' drug treatments, thereby keeping my liver safe.

The best we can hope for is the slow progress of this disease, in our individual cases. Maybe an effective treatment for our disease will be discovered in our lifetime.

We cannot expect a reversal of the damage already done to our nervous systems. But we need to keep hope alive for a better future. Move forward and create meaning in your life by finding a good cause to devote yourself to. We all have some gift that we can share.

Courage doesn't always roar

2022-08-15T21:43:00.000-07:00

Courage doesn't always roar. Sometimes courage is the little voice at the end of the day that says I'll try again tomorrow.

- Mary Anne Rademacher

“We must be willing to let go of the life we planned so as to have the life that is waiting for us”

2022-08-15T21:33:00.005-07:00

“We must be willing to let go of the life we planned so as to have the life that is waiting for us”

Joseph Campbell

Offering some insights into the 24/7/365 lifetime struggle with an relentlessly progressing enemy.

2022-08-15T11:30:00.000-07:00

Offering some insights into the 24/7/365 lifetime struggle with an relentlessly progressing enemy.

New MS Therapy - PoNS Clinical Trial Review

2022-08-09T22:05:00.000-07:00

https://youtu.be/G6nmXQNkLMg

Information Overload is the Bane of my Life

2019-04-24T03:44:00.001-07:00

Information Overload is the Bane of my Life

My daily struggle is to understand what is important, to my situation, in the constant barrage of information on the Internet.

What can and should be ignored?

Is my purpose to seek distraction, novelty and entertainment?

Or is the goal and purpose to my Net Surfing to gain valuable knowledge?

What do I hope to accomplish?

“There are things that attract human attention, and there is often a huge gap between what is important and what is attractive and interesting."

- Yuval Noah Harari

And Donald Trump has not helped make being informed easy with all his mixed messages.

“If the doors of perception were cleansed every thing would appear to man as it is, Infinite. For man has closed himself up, till he sees all things thro' narrow chinks of his cavern.”

― William Blake, The Marriage of Heaven and Hell

Don’t sweat the small stuff. That’s how the saying goes, right?

2019-03-19T22:00:00.001-07:00

This is an interesting take on a popular self-help book:

How to make an attitude adjustment by using his uplifting approach:

“Life is ten percent what you experience and ninety percent how you respond to it.”

Don't Sweat the MS

By Michael Wentink Mar 07, 2017

Don’t sweat the small stuff. That’s how the saying goes, right?

But what if the seemingly smaller aspects of your life are actually the ones that drive your engine and spirit?

Life with multiple sclerosis is not easy.

Energy needs to be rationed.

The odd and sometimes agonizing sensations never cease.

Pain is constant.

The quantity and quality of vision and mobility is negotiated on a moment-to-moment basis.

I once had a bad relapse that caused foot drop, prohibiting me from walking straight because my left foot dragged behind me.

Blurred and limited vision is a regular occurrence.

Vertigo surprises me often.

These ailments were and are incredibly difficult to cope with, but I feel oddly energized to fight them and continue on.

http://www.msconnection.org/Blog/March-2017/Don-t-Sweat-the-MS

Time for a Change

2016-11-22T06:07:00.002-08:00

"When the pain of being the same becomes greater than the pain of being different, you change."

- Deepak Chopra
#change #pain

'The idea of Zen is to catch life as it flows' - D.T. Suzuki

‏@JackKornfield

"The most ancient traveler in the universe is love." - Swami Rama

Living with a sense of purpose in life

2016-11-22T04:50:00.001-08:00

Conclusion:

A sense of purpose in life also gives you this considerable advantage:

"People with a sense of purpose in life have a lower risk of death and cardiovascular disease."

The conclusions come from over 136,000 people who took part in 10 different studies.

Participants in the studies were mostly from the US and Japan.

The US studies asked people:

how useful they felt to others,
about their sense of purpose, and
the meaning they got out of life.

The Japanese studies asked people about ‘ikigai’ or whether their life was worth living.
The participants, whose average age was 67, were tracked for around 7 years.

During that time almost 20,000 died.
But, amongst those with a strong sense of purpose or high ‘ikigai’, the risk of death was one-fifth lower.

Despite the link between sense of purpose and health being so intuitive, scientists are not sure of the mechanism.

Sense of purpose is likely to improve health by strengthening the body against stress.

It is also likely to be linked to healthier behaviours.

Dr. Alan Rozanski, one of the study’s authors, said:

“Of note, having a strong sense of life purpose has long been postulated to be an important dimension of life, providing people with a sense of vitality motivation and resilience.

Nevertheless, the medical implications of living with a high or low sense of life purpose have only recently caught the attention of investigators.

The current findings are important because they may open up new potential interventions for helping people to promote their health and sense of well-being.”

This research on links between sense of purpose in life and longevity is getting stronger all the time:

“A 2009 study of 1,238 elderly people found that those with a sense of purpose lived longer.

A 2010 study of 900 older adults found that those with a greater sense of purpose were much less likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease.

Survey data often links a sense of purpose in life with increased happiness.

No matter what your age, then, it’s worth thinking about what gives your life meaning.”

Read More:

Find out what kinds of things people say give their lives meaning.

Here’s an exercise for increasing meaningfulness

And a study finding that feeling you belong increases the sense of meaning.

The study was published in the journal Psychosomatic Medicine (Cohen et al., 2015).

A sense of purpose in life
Link: http://www.spring.org.uk/2015/12/here-is-why-a-sense-of-purpose-in-life-is-important-for-health

Being Active with MS

2016-10-31T03:42:00.001-07:00

Gentle chair based exercise class for individuals with Multiple Sclerosis. Please watch https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2lspJ... before participating in the exercise class. We recommend playing your favourite music at the same time.

Link: https://youtu.be/5BgxknExmDU

William Shakespeare. Honorary Psychologist.

2016-10-23T18:28:00.002-07:00

William Shakespeare. Honorary Psychologist.

Mary Oliver Quotes To Inspire A Bold Life

2016-10-23T18:28:00.000-07:00

Mary Oliver Quotes To Inspire A Bold Life

by Tess

“Hello, sun in my face. Hello you who made the morning and spread it over the fields…Watch, now, how I start the day in happiness, in kindness.” ~ Mary Oliver

“Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?” ~ Mary Oliver

“Love yourself. Then forget it. Then, love the world.” ~ Mary Oliver
“Said the river: imagine everything you can imagine, then keep on going.” ~ Mary Oliver

“The most regretful people on earth are those who felt the call to creative work, who felt their own creative power restive and uprising, and gave to it neither power nor time.” ~ Mary Oliver

“Ten times a day something happens to me like this – some strengthening throb of amazement – some good sweet empathic ping and swell. This is the first, the wildest and the wisest thing I know: that the soul exists and is built entirely out of attentiveness.” ~ Mary Oliver

“Still, what I want in my life is to be willing to be dazzled—to cast aside the weight of facts and maybe even to float a little above this difficult world.” ~ Mary Oliver

“Sometimes I need only to stand wherever I am to be blessed.” ~ Mary Oliver

“I read the way a person might swim, to save his or her life. I wrote that way too.” ~ Mary Oliver

“And now I understand something so frightening & wonderful-how the mind clings to the road it knows, rushing through crossroads, sticking like lint to the familiar.” ~ Mary Oliver

“I tell you this to break your heart, by which I mean only that it break open and never close again to the rest of the world.” ~ Mary Oliver

“But I also say this: that light is an invitation to happiness, and that happiness, when it’s done right, is a kind of holiness, palpable and redemptive. ” ~ Mary Oliver

“Someone I loved once gave me a box full of darkness. It took me years to understand that this too, was a gift.” ~ Mary Oliver

“it is a serious thing // just to be alive / on this fresh morning / in this broken world.” ~ Mary Oliver

“Do you love this world? Do you cherish your humble and silky life? Do you adore the green grass, with its terror beneath?” ~ Mary Oliver

“I believe in kindness. Also in mischief.” ~ Mary Oliver

“And to tell the truth I don’t want to let go of the wrists of idleness, I don’t want to sell my life for money, I don’t even want to come in out of the rain.” ~ Mary Oliver

“So come to the pond, or the river of your imagination, or the harbor of your longing, and put your lips to the world. And live your life.” ~ Mary Oliver

“I want to think again of dangerous and noble things. I want to be light and frolicsome. I want to be improbable beautiful and afraid of nothing, as though I had wings.” ~ Mary Oliver

“Every day I see or hear something that more or less kills me with delight, that leaves me like a needle in the haystack of light.” ~ Mary Oliver

“I held my breath as we do sometimes to stop time when something wonderful has touched us…” ~ Mary Oliver

“maybe death isn’t darkness, after all, but so much light wrapping itself around us–” ~ Mary Oliver

“And that is just the point… how the world, moist and beautiful, calls to each of us to make a new and serious response. That’s the big question, the one the world throws at you every morning. “Here you are, alive. Would you like to make a comment?” ~ Mary Oliver

“You must not ever stop being whimsical. And you must not, ever, give anyone else the responsibility for your life.” ~ Mary Oliver

“Keep some room in your heart for the unimaginable.” ~ Mary Oliver

“As long as you’re dancing, you can break the rules. Sometimes breaking the rules is just extending the rules. Sometimes there are no rules.” ~ Mary Oliver

Source: http://theboldlife.com/2014/05/27-mary-oliver-quotes-to-inspire-a-bold-life/

Mary Oliver is a Pulitzer Prize winner and America’s best-selling poet. Her poems take your breath away and dare you to live a bold life.

Courage doesn't always roar

2016-10-23T17:28:00.001-07:00

Courage doesn't always roar. Sometimes courage is the little voice at the end of the day that says I'll try again tomorrow.

- Mary Anne Radmacher

(Artwork by: PSHoudini)
www.the-thought-spot.com

Get Your Proper Rest

2016-09-30T15:53:00.000-07:00

Be Mindful to avoid disastrous modes of thought

2016-09-22T01:23:00.001-07:00

Boost your self-compassion

2016-09-20T00:42:00.001-07:00

Healthbeat

Four ways to boost your self-compassion

Take a moment to think about how you treat yourself when you make a mistake or fail to reach a goal. If you tend to beat yourself up when things go wrong, you, like most people, can use a little more self-compassion in your life.

Forgiving and nurturing yourself seem to have benefits in their own right. They can even set the stage for better health, relationships, and general well-being. So far, research has revealed a number of benefits of self-compassion. Lower levels of anxiety and depression have been observed in people with higher self-compassion. Self-compassionate people recognize when they are suffering and are kind to themselves at these times, thereby lowering their own levels of related anxiety and depression.

Learn to have self-compassion

Some people come by self-compassion naturally, but not everyone does. Luckily, self-compassion is a skill you can learn. Several methods have been proposed, and training programs are being developed, to help people discover and cultivate their own self-compassion.

Here are four ways to give your self-compassion skills a quick boost:

Comfort your body. Eat something healthy. Lie down and rest. Massage your own neck, feet, or hands. Take a walk. Anything you can do to improve how you feel physically gives you a dose of self-compassion.
Write a letter to yourself. Think of a situation that caused you to feel pain (a breakup with a lover, a job loss, a poorly received presentation). Write a letter to yourself describing the situation, but without blaming anyone — including yourself. Use this exercise to nurture your feelings.
Give yourself encouragement. Think of what you would say to a good friend if he or she was facing a difficult or stressful situation. Then, when you find yourself in this kind of situation, direct these compassionate responses toward yourself.
Practice mindfulness. Even a quick exercise, such as meditating for a few minutes, can be a great way to nurture and accept ourselves while we're in pain.

For more ways to draw on your strengths and find the positive meaning in your life, purchase Positive Psychology, a Special Health Report from Harvard Medical School.

Image: iStock

Originally published: January 2016

Source: http://www.health.harvard.edu/mental-health/4-ways-to-boost-your-self-compassion

Sinus Infections

2016-09-10T15:21:00.002-07:00

Natural Treatments for Sinus Infection

Delia Quigley
November 3, 2014

True misery is the pain and swelling caused by sinus inflammation. The bones around the nose, the eyes and the cheeks are lined with membranes that produce mucus, which function to warm and moisten inhaled air, plus to filter out any germs. When congested and unable to drain properly, the mucus continues to accumulate, stagnate and become infected. There are a number of causes for chronic sinus infections:

Excessive dairy consumption (cheese, milk, ice cream, yogurt)
Environmental allergies
Tobacco and pollution irritation
Food allergies
Dental infection
Fungal infection in the sinus cavity
Systemic Candida albicans (overgrowth of yeast)
Colds and flu symptoms

Typical allopathic treatments for sinus inflammation can include prescription antibiotics, steroids, anti-inflammatories, and in some cases, surgery. In fact it is common for people to be taking five different medications to treat their sinus infection. Even with the medications, relief is minimal until milk, cheese, ice cream, and yogurt are first eliminated from the diet. This will help cut back on the production of mucus and allow the sinuses to clear. There are also herbal and homeopathic remedies, nasal sprays and aromatherapy oils that can help reduce the swelling and speed recovery.

1. Diet:
During infection eat in moderation, with an emphasis on whole grains, beans, lentils, lightly cooked vegetables, soups, and cold-pressed oils. Avoid mucus-forming foods such as, flour products, eggs, chocolate, fried and processed foods, sugar and dairy products. Drink plenty of pure quality water.

2. Herbs:
Include cayenne pepper, garlic, onion, and horseradish in your soups and meals, to help dissolve and eliminate excess mucus. According to the self-care guide, Prescription for Natural Cures, a powerful drainage remedy is to eat a small spoonful of crushed horseradish mixed with lemon juice, but make sure to be near a sink when your nose starts running. Japanese horseradish in the form of Wasabi paste taken with meals can also provide a quick release to the nasal passages. Just remember, “a little dab will do ya.”

3. Neti pot:
Dissolve a teaspoon of sea salt in 2 cups of warm water. Standing over a sink fill the neti pot with one cup of water and place the tip of the spout into one nostril. Tilt your head to the side and allow the water to run out through the opposite nostril. Careful not to tilt your head back and up or the water will reroute down your throat. Refill the neti pot and repeat with the other nostril.

4. Apple cider vinegar:
At the first sign of infection combine 1-2 teaspoons of raw, unfiltered apple cider vinegar in 6 ounces of water, a teaspoon of raw honey or stevia to sweeten and drink 3 times a day for 5 days. The apple cider vinegar helps to thin congested mucus, so it can be easily eliminated.

5. Grapefruit seed extract (GSE):
This citrus extract is a powerful natural antibiotic and is used to inhibit microbes, parasites, bacteria, viruses and 30 types of fungi including Candida yeast. For sinus infections you can purchase GSE as a nasal spray and use it as an adjunct to your treatment protocol.

Approximately, 37 million Americans suffer from chronic sinusitis, many of which can be alleviated with a change of diet and a few natural remedies used as a daily protocol. I have mentioned five treatments that have proven effective in clearing sinus inflammation, but I am aware that there are others.

Source: http://www.care2.com/greenliving/5-natural-treatments-for-sinus-infection.html

Wanderport Corporation - pursues cannabis industry.

2016-09-10T15:20:00.001-07:00

Wanderport Corporation Outlines Company’s Cannabis Initiatives

SANTA MONICA, CA / ACCESSWIRE / November 2, 2014 / WanderPort Corp. (OTC Markets: WDRP) is pleased to outline its initiatives on capitalizing the emerging medicinal and recreational cannabis market.

In the third quarter, former management decided, after thorough assessment, that it was not in the best interest of the company to continue with its water heater products and appointed new management to take control and to chart a new direction. As the result, new management made a decision to discontinue the production of the water heaters and pursue the rapidly developing multi-billion dollar cannabis industry.

There are currently 23 states and the District of Columbia that have legalized marijuana for medicinal applications. Among these, Colorado and Washington have legalized it for recreational use. Alaska, Oregon and Washington D.C. will join in legalizing cannabis for recreational use and Florida for its medicinal use if it is approved by the voters in the midterm election on November 2. Based on popular polls, it is likely that these initiatives will pass.

According to ArcView Group, the legal U.S. cannabis industry was $1.5 billion in 2013 and is forecast to reach $2.6 billion by the end of 2014 and $10.2 billion by 2018. In the two states that approved marijuana for recreational use, Colorado’s and Washington’s 2014 market is projected to be $800 million and $300 million, respectively.

There are various components that make up the industry which could range from ancillary products and services to the actual cultivation and production of the products themselves. For the near term, Wanderport will seek to become a licensee or acquire stakes in businesses that focus on edibles and wellness products. For the long term, the Company wants to develop a bio-technology competency and offer related products and services.

The Company plans to take a stair step approach to growth in order to minimize dilution. It will initially focus on numerous smaller transactions with manageable risks to gradually create value. As the industry and business become more mature, the Company will take larger risks with larger transactions for accelerated growth.

"We are currently in talks and conducting due diligence with a few potential acquisition candidates. We are very conscious about dilution and shareholders' value so we are taking the necessary time to properly align ourselves with the right partners in our effort to grow and to help legitimize the industry", stated Eric Brown, Chief Executive Officer. "The opportunities in this industry are boundless and if we execute correctly, I am confident that we can become one of the prominent industry leaders not too far in the future" added Brown.

About Wanderport Corp.

Wanderport Corporation specializes in licensing, distribution and obtaining proprietary rights to various unique technology while continuing to be an acquisition minded company targeting various licenses, technologies and/or companies in key emerging growth industries. For more information, please visit http://www.wanderportcorp.com.

Forward-Looking Statements:

Statements made herein, other than historical data, constitute forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those stated or implied by such forward-looking statements. The potential risks and uncertainties include, among others, potential volatility in the company's stock price, increased competition, customer acceptance of new products and services to be offered by the company, and uncertainty of future revenue and profitability and fluctuations in its quarterly operating efforts. Forward-looking statements are projections of events, revenues, income, future economics, research, development, reformulation, product performance or management's plans and objectives for future operations. In some cases you can identify forward-looking statements by the use of terminology such as "may", "should", "anticipates", "believes", "expects", "intends", "forecasts", "plans", "future", "strategy", or words of similar meaning. While these forward-looking statements and any assumptions upon which they are based are made in good faith and reflect current judgment regarding the direction of the business operations of Wanderport Corporation, actual results will almost always vary, sometimes materially, from any estimates, predictions, projections, assumptions or other future performance suggested in this press release. These statements are predictions and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, including the risk that Wanderport Corporation cannot execute its business plan for lack of capital or other resources, distribution, licensing/acquisition opportunities or internal partnering issues or restructuring/resignation which may modify existing licensing agreement, arrangements and/or contractual obligations, as well as the risks described in the periodic disclosure documents filed on OTCMarkets.com by Wanderport Corporation. Any of these risks could cause Wanderport Corporation or its industry's actual results, levels of activity, performance or achievements to be materially different from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements in this press release. Except as required by applicable law, including the securities laws of the United States, Wanderport Corporation does not intend to update any of the forward-looking statements to conform these statements to actual results.

Contact:
Wanderport Corporation
www.wanderportcorp.com

Investor Relations:
info@wanderportcorp.com
(310) 526-8720

Source: WanderPort Corp.

Source: http://finance.yahoo.com/news/wanderport-corporation-outlines-companys-cannabis-003600678.html

Garden Technology To Disrupt The Cannabis Industry

2016-09-10T15:19:00.001-07:00

Garden Technology To Disrupt The Cannabis Industry

10/31/2014

by Jennifer Hicks

When you think of an industry, you might think of automotive, fashion, medical or biotech that is expected to be worth $1.2 trillion by 2020 according to PWC.

And industry can also mean crops and in this case, legal cannabis which is expected to be worth about $35 billion by 2020 according to a report by GreenWave advisors. Enter a co-founder of Zynga, the creators of Farmville, Tom Bollich who decided it was time to put it all on the line and jump into what he sees as the next great American industry.

The company he founded, Surna, is actually garden-specific technology that can be applied to the cannabis industry. They make water chilled climate control systems that help growers control the climate of the growing environment.

Surna just closed a 1.325 million dollar round and the management team was just bolstered by the addition of Todd Whitaker as vice president of engineering who previously designed systems for the Mars Phoenix Lander and Mars Rover for NASA. Add that resume to Bollich’s robotics background and it indicates the company is serious about evolving the technology for this industry with an eye towards conservation.

All of the equipment from Surna is designed for the legal marijuana grower but applicable to other hydroponic agriculture needs. Because Surna doesn’t touch the cannabis plant, the company is not affected by cannabis regulations.

Bollich also stands out by drawing a line in the sand stating he wants to see VC’s start funding more cannabis related companies. Bollich compares the cannabis business to the start of the Internet two decades ago and believes the cannabis business is on the cusp of being as disruptive as the Internet was at that time.

“The explosive growth and political changes beginning to sweep across United States proves it will not only infuse billions into the economy but change a number of industries,” said Bollich.

Source: http://www.forbes.com/sites/jenniferhicks/2014/10/31/garden-technology-to-disrupt-the-cannabis-industry/