Coping with multiple sclerosis symptoms, attacks, and treatments
Cog Fog probably started sneaking up on you years before your MS diagnosis. Multiple Sclerosis alone is challenging, but Multiple Sclerosis with Brain Fog involves a totally different set of problems.
“Brain Fog” is a term generally used to describe the confusion, disorientation, general grogginess, and other issues resulting from cognitive dysfunction which commonly occurs with MS.
Have you ever opened a closet only to be shocked by how many things had found their way in there? We accumulate things over time. Lots of things. Too many things. Don’t let stuff own you or define you – simplify your life and dump all the junk. When we moved into our house about 7 years ago we probably had twice as much (or more) overall stuff than we do now, and we still have too much. Before my Multiple Sclerosis diagnosis, our lives were very disordered. Parts of our house were unusable or difficult to navigate, and there was certainly no open space for yoga or other exercise.
Do you exercise with Multiple Sclerosis? How many times have you heard the phrase “If you don’t move it you lose it!”
Information is developed and spread so quickly now. When I was first diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis a few years ago, patients were advised to avoid exercise as it could bring on worsened symptoms or new attacks. Now we know that this is mostly a fallacy. An active lifestyle for a person with MS means lessened disease activity in the long term and improved fatigue, strength, flexibility, mobility, cardiovascular fitness, bladder function, and bowel function. Those are some very attractive incentives!
Has our faith in Western medicine completely faded? Although one would hope that treatments for Multiple Sclerosis are ever-improving, lately I have heard time and again that individuals with the disease have abandoned Western medicine altogether in favor of diet, exercise, and marijuana. One recent supplement fad for MS is Evening Primrose oil. I have personally chosen Gilenya for the time being, but I see no point in excluding natural and healthy treatments that apparently work so well for others. Cannabis use with MS has already been covered recently. While I intend to cover the evolving family of alternative therapies in future posts, right now we will focus how to treat Multiple Sclerosis with diet.
Dearest Readers,
This week I am re-learning to ride my shiny new birthday bicycle 20+ years since I last had a bike and 3+ years after a diagnosis of Multiple Sclerosis. You could say that I’ve grown a bit since I was 12. You could say I might’ve put on a lot of pounds. You could also say that according to the expertise of Wii Fit, the left side of my body compensates for the weakness on the right side of my body to the tune of 75%. You could say I have little to no balance.
My husband has been seriously biking for a few months and fell in love with it. Our city has a fantastic trail that follows an old train trail and connects to other towns. It’s well designed and mostly shaded. While the summer heat is likely to provide a wealth of challenges to me, I hope to learn to ride well enough to actually enjoy it when autumn arrives.