Good Bye Shingles- Hello Another MS Drug

I decided to use this famous image by Andy Warhol in my post because I just recently watched two  documentaries  about him.  I could go on for hours about why I agree that he was the greatest artist of the second half of the 20th century  and that there has been no new art since his death.


It only took 4 months but my shingles have finally cleared up . Once again I say : If  you are over 40 get vaccinated for shingles!!

Reading the news this morning I see that there is another new MS drug, called Tecifidor. As usual it is being heralded as a significant treatment for MS, with studies claiming it can reduce relapses by 53%. Serious side effects are  possible reduction in white cell counts and  fetal harm, which means it should not be used by pregnant women. Less serious side effects are  stomach and  bowel disruptions.

Did you know that drug companies earned over $14 billion from MS drugs last year? It is expected that this drug will bring in about 2-3 billion yearly.

All these drugs and yet where is the proof that they work? By work, I mean stop or slow progression.
My research; including reading several MS blogs and reading medical journals has led me to the conclusion that none of these drugs really work.

If you feel that they work for you, great. I'm certainly not going to say "Hey don't take MS drugs!"

 But, let's look at the claims made for this newest drug. How can they   say that relapses can be reduced by as much as 53%, given that relapses are so random, so unpredictable? I could take this drug and maybe only have one relapse during the time I use it, however, maybe I would have only had one relapse if I hadn't used it.  And how can they say this based on control groups. One group is using the drug, another is taking a placebo. They still don't know what the rate of relapse is or could be for either group..

MS progresses. It does so at different rates and  in different  ways. The way it progresses for me will be very different from the way it does for another person.  Relapsing/ remitting MS becomes secondary MS, most of the time, but not all the time. Progressive MS is rare, but it happens.  Having MS does not mean you will end up in a wheelchair, but it can.

So I live with uncertainty and I feel this is used as leverage to promote drugs that will not really improve my quality of life very much, if at all.

Only a few more weeks to go till retirement!  I also received news that I have a house available where I want to move to.  I'm excited and nervous and looking forward.

Here is a view of the harbor just a couple of weeks ago. It was a wonderful spring like day . Now we are back in the deep freeze and I'm hating it. It is partly to do with the fact that I have shingles .

 I'm telling anyone who has ever had chicken pox to please go and get vaccinated for shingles. You don't want to go through this painful, itchy, ugly, illness.  It's been over a month now and I'm still covered in a disgusting, sore, red, rash. I have also heard so many horror stories about shingles causing blindness and even death!  So please, please, go get vaccinated. Why the heck don't doctors tell people about this vaccine and why aren't they offering it to their patients as part of a regular vaccination routine?  I found out about it too late.

2013 is going to be a big year for me. I'm taking early  retirement in April, selling off all my possessions, and moving to another province.

 I thought about it for a long time and decided that I need a change in my life. My house is getting to be too much work and expense. I also can't bear to live in my adopted city of Hamilton any longer. I don't know why, but I just never took to this place, never made any meaningful attachments.

It wasn't all bad. This house was affordable and my son had twelve years of stability. You can see from  the photo above that there are some lovely places to go walking. It is also close to Toronto and Niagara Falls.

For the last six months I have slowly been getting rid of my stuff. Giving it away and throwing it out. Every week when I go to the office I wear one of my office outfits, then come home and put it in the donation bag. Wow, has my wardrobe shrunk! It feels so liberating to know I will never wear business casual ever again. I have always hated it.

 Once my house is sold I will have an estate sale and get rid of all  the rest. Yes everything must go!  It isn't worth the cost to ship everything where I'm going and I do like the idea of starting fresh. It will be a minimalist lifestyle from now on. No more collections, knic knacks,  magazine subscriptions,  kitchen gadgets, books, movies,  etc. etc.  All that stuff I thought I wanted, needed, and now I see what a burden it is.


I'll be doing some updates as I go along to map my progress.  Stay tuned, if you like.

Retirement

Not much going on, so that's why I haven't posted on my blog for a while.OK that's not exactly true, but some things I either can't share or won't.

Social media can be a good thing, but it also carries a heavy burden You think you have privacy and can express yourself  freely? Wrong.  If they can get the head of the CIA, they can get you.

So I would like to talk about my work  and social experiences however with all the rumour mongers and spies out there, it's just not worth it.

I can say that I will be retiring  early 2013. Don't want to publish the exact date yet until I get closer to that time.  The bureaucracy can be very unreliable.

Do I sound negative? Sorry. The world can be a disappointing place sometimes.

Summer 2012

Summer 2012

And wasn't it a hot one! So many days with record breaking temperatures . It was a challenge for me and I'm sure for everyone else out there with MS. Most days I could only go out if my clothes were stuffed with frozen cooler packs!

At least all the crazy pains in my legs have disappeared. I still walk much slower than ever; but I can walk, and can still  climb the 200 stairs at the harbour trail. Slowly.  


On those super hot days  I had  things to keep me busy : my garden, postcards, and an online course from Coursera  https://www.coursera.org/ .

I recommend trying a course there. They are free for now as the site is in the beta stage, so I imagine once they sort out the bugs they will either start charging money or zap us with a million ads like all the other sites do. I have ad blocker from  Google  Chrome which really works to get rid of those pesky ads.
 
Here's a few snaps from the Locke St. Festival, which is held every September and is right around the corner from my place.  

That's me posing with the car for Festitalia which is this weekend. I have my free sunglasses on that I picked up at one of the booths.

Then there are the energetic folks who make it a good time.

Drugs; It's Your Choice

Found two interesting articles in the news today.

 Injectable MS drugs do not halt disease progression. My own opinion on this is that I don't believe that MS is an autoimmune disease. The immune system attacks the lining of the brain and spine due to inflammation. What is causing that?  One theory is that blood is backing up in the brain; causing inflammation. Another is that a lack of vitamin D or poor absorption of vitamin D could be responsible.

The study cited in this article does say that interferons cut MS relapses. I still don't understand how they reached that conclusion given that MS is so unpredictable.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/18/health/research/multiple-sclerosis-drug-doesnt-stop-disability-study-finds.html?emc=eta1

Then we have another study showing that marijuana does reduce pain and vaporizers are an effective way to give the benefits of weed without harmful tars and other chemicals.

For myself I can  state that marijuana is the best pain reliever I have ever used. I no longer need to take Ibuprofen or ASA.  It also calms my muscle spasms and my"nighttime worries". For some reason the night is when I think of all the terrible things that might happen to me, which makes it so hard to get to sleep.  A few puffs on my vaporizer and I calm down and fall asleep.  Nice!

I know using a vaporizer is much better than smoking a joint. If I had to smoke marijuana I would give it up. Smoking marijuana is almost as bad as  smoking cigarettes
The coughing and throat irritation tells me that something bad is going into my lungs  

http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2012/07/17/156468/research-backs-up-claims-of-medical.html


So the choice is yours to make. Everyone is different. Keeping yourself informed in order to make wise decisions about your health is one of the best things you can do.  

Vacation 2012

Back home after a nice holiday visiting friends in New Mexico.

Went to the UFO festival in Roswell, to help my friend promote a book of which he is coauthor and editor.

"The Aztec Incident" is another UFO crash that occurred in  Aztec, New Mexico, which is near the Four Corners area of the state.

Had lots of fun at the festival! An interesting mixture of serious UFO researchers and authors, and the foil hat crowd. Those who think the aliens will come to save us and others who think they will have us for breakfast and I don't mean as guests.

The website http://www.theaztecincident.com  has the first chapter which you can read for free. There's also a link to a YouTube video about an Aztec Incident documentary.

It sure was nice of people to be willing to pose for the camera You just ever know who you will meet at these events:

Treating Yourself  Expo 2012

Here I am once again  visiting the Treating Yourself Expo at the  Toronto Convention Centre

Here's Cannabis Dude

Had a great time. Spent too much money and came home exhausted. I was slightly disappointed because before I left home I decided to switch purses and  forgot  my possession license!! That meant I couldn't try out the Vape Lounge, where they had a selection of different vapourizers  to use so long as you brought your own weed. I didn't want to do that, I just wanted to see the different makes because I would like to get a portable  vape device.

I also couldn't take advantage of many of the offers from various compassionate clubs and sellers.  They really impressed me with their genuine desire to help people !

That will all change once the current government implements new policies for medical marijuana, which are expected to be in force in about two years.

You will no longer be permitted to grow your own weed, nor will compassionate clubs be  permitted to grow it for you. You will  no longer be able to buy weed from compassionate clubs, but only from government approved sources. Well really only one source, which I refer to as Weed Inc.

I can understand  why the government wants to tighten the regulations. I'm certain that many people who use medical marijuana abuse the system by giving or selling  some of their legally acquired cannabis to others.
I could do it very easily. My legal limit is 90 grams per month but I only use about 15- 20 grams maximum per month. If I grow my own what's to stop me from selling or giving away the rest?

Another consideration is  that people often grow far more than they are legally allowed and there is no way of checking unless you want the police to go around verifying every person .

My answer to this dilemma is that marijuana should be legalized,yet I'm concerned that there will only be one source for it . When you purchase from Weed Inc. they only have one kind of weed and you have no clue what it is. It is also irradiated, so I'm not so sure that is a good thing.

 I have learned from going to these Expo's that different types of marijuana can help with different symptoms of illness.  For example Indica is better for pain than Sativa,.so people need to have choices

 Why not have something like the  Beer Store, where they have a selection of many brands and types of beer?  Have weed  tightly regulated just like booze and educate people on the pros and cons just like booze.

Since I began using marijuana to treat my MS I can say that it is the best drug I have tried. I may sound like a hypocrite when I say that it really shouldn't be used as a recreational drug, but it's not my business why people use it.

The Young Liberals, of the Liberal Party of Canada, were the only ones who came out in the open at the Expo  and said that they will have the legalization of marijuana  as part of the Liberal Party platform for the next election.

For me that is a good enough reason to vote for them and I will !