Vitamin D and MS

An article in The Independent today, about the link between vitamin D deficiency during pregnancy and higher risk of MS for the child. This reminds me of the link between spina bifida and folic acid deficiency. Cases of spina bifida have dropped significantly since women began taking a supplement early in their pregnancy . Perhaps prevention will be the answer for MS? Pregnant women will be advised to take a vitamin D supplement during pregnancy. It wouldn't eliminate all cases of MS since there are still genetic and enviromental influences. At least it would be a step in the right direction and what harm would a vitamin supplement do anyway.

I notice the British papers always have stories about MS, more so than the ones here. Wonder why that is ? Canada has a high rate of MS, yet I hardly ever see or hear any news about it.

Another meeting at work this afternoon, long and tiring, but positive. My new union rep is very energetic and is herself a duty to accomodate worker. She has first hand knowledge of the process which should help speed things up. Well how could they go any slower ? I was compiling documents for her and some go back to 2006. Meanwhile I try to hang in there ,but it's getting harder.

Stem Cells Cure MS ??

Article in The Independent today regarding a successful trial of stem cell implants in MS patients All 21 in the trial had their MS stopped in it's track and in some case reversed. Keep in mind all the participants were young and in the early stages of MS. They were also taking Alemtuzumab, (wouldn't be great if these drugs had simple names ?) so it is unclear how the drug effected the results . Still with all the gloomy news these days something to hope for.
Here's The Lancet article (warning: heavy nerding in this one)

Miss Me ?!

Guess who sent me this card today? No, not any long lost friends or family. A credit card company ! Seems they are sad that I no longer use their card Gave me a toll free phone number to call to discuss what they can do to make me start using it again.

OK credit card company who shall remain nameless, otherwise you might complain to Blogger, and issue a" take down order" of my blog for violating your copy right. ( yes they can do that).

I'll tell you what you can do to maybe get me to use your card again. First don't lure me with a cheap interest rate and then try to find any feeble excuse to double, even triple, that interest rate . Oh !what am I saying, you don't even need an excuse you just go right ahead and do it .
You think I'm so dumb I didn't notice ? You think I don't have twenty other credit options, for example my line of credit,which is a zillion times cheaper than your dumb card and I don't have to worry about identity theft or some thief going on a shopping spree online because you have such lousy security? Didn't your bank get a ton of money from the government to keep you going
after you got into debt and made stupid investments ? So why are you chasing me ?

Interesting that you can afford to send me a fancy card and come with this toll free line . Normally trying to get any service is a nightmare of phone menu options and naturally I always pick the wrong one. When I finally figure it out you make me key in my credit card number or phone number before I can speak to a customer service person . Then when they come on the line they ask me for the same info. I know they are using headsets because there is always this odd sounding delay between me speaking and them responding and vice versa. I won't even bother to complain about the awful music and promos I have to listen to while I'm
" put on hold ", nor will I bother to ask what country I'm calling, since all companies outsource , shove ads at me, and use the same Musak. As for service, you and all the others should change the name to "customer excuses", since you enjoy so much blaming me for what's wrong and run through a litany of policies and procedures as to why you can't help me.

Hey! you did ask

Guess I' crabby today because I'm disappointed in my self and my MS. That sounds silly doesn't it ? I really thought I would be able to give up the Amantadine and not take the Prednisone.
Wrong, wrong! I feel like a zombie, my hands and feet feel like they are are falling asleep all the time I'm having anxiety attacks and I feel like I'm walking on a sponge floor.

I'm fed up with these dilemas. Take a drug or not ? Are the side effects worth it? Call the doctor or not ? Quit work, work part time, retire ? Fed up with the constant reminder, every day, every minute, that I have MS.

Time to watch Bruce Lee kick ass.

Cream Puffs

It's been a quiet weekend with snow, lots of snow. They have a commercial on the t.v. and radio,
of an immigrant couple talking about how excited they were to experience their first snowfall. I think it's to sell snow blowers or shovels. The man says" Oh I was dancing and crying, I was so happy" Yeah I guess it would be an amazing thing to see for the first time. I know when I was a kid I loved it. After about a couple thousand times though, it really loses it's charm. At least I'm lucky that I have somebody around to shovel the stuff. I can remember a time when I use to actually enjoy doing that.
I'm on a baking kick, which I really shouldn't be on . I started watching all these cooking shows on Saturday and one called "Every Day Baking " is to blame for my pastry mania. Today I made cream puffs with custard and whipped cream filling. Too good. I think I should stick to watching Bollywood movies like I use to on Saturdays,. They aren't fattening.

My leg is recovered at last. It felt really good today to go out for a walk and not be limping.
The tingle in my hands is become more pronounced. They feel like they are falling asleep all the time. Not painful, just annoying.
I might try tomorrow to get out at lunch and take some winter scene shots with my camera. Haven't done any photography for awhile and I miss it. I have to admit the snow does look pretty. It just isn't very practical in the city

Hard Drive Horrors

Thought that while I wait for the computer guy to call back I'd do an update here. Right now the other computer is formatting XP. It would actually be a very easy thing to do, install a hard drive and an operating system. The trick is knowing were all the menus are and what to look for in them. That's how they keep you a tech slave, by hiding little bits of information here, there, and everywhere. Instructions for anything to do with computers are either vague or misleading.
"Just plug and play" remember that one, when USB ports came out? Yeah Ha Ha!
I suppose it keeps people employed in what ever country this guy is calling from. It's a dead give away when they start asking what time zone you live in, or are shocked when they ask you how the weather is and you tell them it's 5C.

Right now it's raining and has been all day, which is better than the -20C last weekend.

OK here's my MS challenge : To get rid of these anxiety attacks I have worrying about fatigue.
I get freaked out every Sunday worrying wether I can make it through another week. Worrying, that when I'm hit with those sudden bouts of extreme fatigue if I will pass out or have an accident. I think that's one reason I stay home some days,(like today) because I dread the horrible brain dead exhaustion at the end of the work day and it's not even as bad as it use to be thanks to the drugs.
Maybe my friend is right, maybe I will here some good news about my work situation before Christmas. Which would be the opposite of so many people hearing that they will be losing their jobs after Christmas.
Well gotta go. The computer is done with set up and is copying files. I'd like to know what files exactly since everything got wiped out. Hmm, must be those little hidden things I can never find.

Snow

Got caught in the first snow on my way home from getting a flu shot. I put my glasses on to see the snow flakes on my coat, very pretty. I say that now but by the time February gets here, I won't think they look so great anymore.Too bad my camera isn't good enough to take some pictures of them.

I told a fib at the flu shot clinic They give you a sheet to fill out with a list of questions. I checked the No box for the question "Do you have an evolving, progressing, neurological disorder such as MS "(etc. etc) ? I'm not aware that MS evolves and as for progressing, it is very slowly. If I had said yes they wouldn't have given me a shot. It's my choice to get a shot and my funeral if it ends aggravating my symptoms (see yesterday's post) ..

Making some progress at work regarding my medical accommodation. Can't say too much right
now except it's funny sometimes how a bad experience can end up having a positive result.
I'll explain everything once there is a final resolution. I'm thinking before Christmas.

Not much else going on . I was annoyed watching the Big Three automakers begging for money. Pretty much admitting there isn't any competition between them and their cars are all
pretty much the same. Gee remember a few years ago when we were told we had to learn to compete in the global market place ? We had to get lean and mean ? What happened to that ?

Sleep? What's That?

It's great to have a computer and internet that work properly. Too bad I can't say the same about myself. I could use an upgrade. Staying home one day in the middle of the week, seems to have worked to help me put in more days at work (employer if you're reading this take note).
Just a brief post to mention a couple of articles I read last week in Neurology but forgot to mention.
If you're obese ,and/or mentally ill, and/ or have diabetes, etc. etc. you are less likely to get a diagnosis of MS, as the symptoms will be attributed to something else or ignored. Another article suggesting that often those with "benign" MS are more likely to suffer cognitive impairment.
By benign I'm assuming they mean MS that isn't progressing rapidly ? Maybe someone else out their can enlighten me as I've never heard of benign MS before.

I'd like to write about a stupid article I read, regarding cognitive therapy for sleep disorders, but I'm way too tired; except to say it must have been written by a person who has never had insomnia.

Alemtuzumab

Alemtuzumab could this be the MS miracle drug ? Some scientists seem to think so .
Read about here
here and here

It's late and I'll do some research on it tomorrow and post more comments

MS Info

Had an email today from MS Watch about an article in Reader's Digest Women's Issues and MS
I think it's a reprint, still it's worth a look.

Thanks to Anne at Disabled Not Dead I've discovered another MS blog by Linette which I'm adding to my links.
Finally a very good article in the New York Times about Life and Death read it here

Not much else to say I'm really tired and can't think straight Also have more house repair woes to look into.

So What Next ?

OK When does it happen? When will I get to the acceptance phase of having MS ?
I'm not there yet and I'm not sure which phase I'm in right now: anger, denial, sadness , or all three at once. How long does it take to get to there ? When I get there will I be a sagacious dispenser of MS philosphy ? Will I beleive all the MS myths ? ( I have MS but it doesn't have me etc. etc.) Does it matter if I accept it or not ? I mean I'm still going to have this crappy affiction no matter what right ?
These are mid day ramblings from the internet cafe .I wonder what all the people are writing about? More later from home

Goofing Off

The day kind of unraveled, resulting in me missing my nature walk . At least the groceries got delivered on time.
I had wanted to go out on a different section of the Bruce trail late this afternoon . My girlfriend called and we ended up gabbing on the phone for hours. She's house bound with two young babies most of the time and is therefore in need of some adult (female) conversation and in my semi brain dead state I'm a pretty good listener. If I'm absorbing any of it, I'm not sure. By the time I hung up the weather had gone all funny again, cloudy with a storm threatening, so I decided to do some cooking and laundry. Around 8:30 I really felt in need of some sort of walk. I did a quick run to the drugstore and mailed some postcards.

I'm having a case of the guilts . Here goes with a bit of whining.

I feel guilty when I read other blogs and people talk about working, commuting long distances, by car or bus , coming home in the evening, and doing family and social stuff. Some have much worse MS symptoms than I have and yet they do so much. Why can't I do it? When I'm working I feel so wasted and I don't even commute. Today what did I do ? Some cooking, laundry, and a few postcards, and now my blog . I sat on the couch thinking of all these other things I could be doing and yet I knew I was too darn weak to. I don't think it's because I'm a whimp or lazy, but I feel that way sometimes. Yeah I know , think positive and all that. Some days I can't.

Two things I hate about MS, this weak feeling and brain dead !
Or maybe I should blame the cell phone ?

The Weather Outside Was Frightful

Mother Nature , can you give us a break please ?

Thunderstorms today resulted in me missing the rose show, nearly ruined my barbecue, and knocked out the cable. Then it took me 2 hours to get the internet security working again!! Grrr.

Ahh but then all is forgiven. The trail is even greener today thanks to that rain.
In the picture on the left is a pond. It use to be a sewer. The botanical gardens have a reclamation project going to get the area back to nature. They removed a storm sewer and a concrete barrier, which has allowed the creek to come back. They have also established 2 ponds with native plants and amphibians ! It's really going to be nice when it's all done.

Hope I don't have another crazy night. I woke up last night screaming from a nightmare, my heart pounding and I was sweating. I was even afraid to fall back asleep. Can't remember what it was about now. Don't think it's MS related. Is it ?

Flowers and Thunderstorms

Fantastic afternoon at the flower festival. All the beautiful irises and peonies made me feel like I had stepped into an impressionist painting. Lots of really gorgeous hostas too. I may go back later this week as the peonies still had loads of buds waiting to pop.

And Oh! the thunderstorms today. We got caught in the rain twice, luckily though we got back home before the real whopper storm began . It was crazy, with black skies and strong winds bending the trees in half. I just hope it didn't do too much damage.
Now I'm exhausted, at least it's for a good reason.
Read an article in the paper this morning about declining SUV sales. Can you believe that oil was only $9 a barrel in the 1990's ?

A Mother's Day Message to My Son

Tomorrow is Mother's Day so I thought I would write a little something to you, my son, Billy.
I'm sure you'll be rolling your eyes when you read this and say I'm acting like a mushy girl.
I'm your mother so indulge me.

I want to tell you what great guy you are. You kid me a lot, but I know that you're trying to cheer me up when you do that. And you know I'm kidding when I say I want a diamond encrusted tiara as a Mother's day gift.

It can't be easy for you sometimes. You go to your Dad's place and he's a wreck from his Fibro and then you come home and your Mom's a wreck with her MS. It must be very frustrating.
Besides that, the world is such a crazy place and yet you seem to be able to handle it.

Even though you enjoying weird music( death metal bands with unpronounceable names) and drive me mad sometimes talking about politics, you bring so much happiness into my life.

So I'm really looking forward to Mother's day because I have such a nice son to spend it with.
OK that's as mushy as it's going to get. Oh wait!
I Love you.

Another meeting to look forward to

Tonight I feel recovered after two lousy days . I hate when my evenings are wasted because I'm just too tired to do anything. I'm the zombie woman . At least I did make a very good Mexican dinner tonight, experimenting with a tomatillo and green chile sauce.

I'm off work now till next Tuesday. That's when I have the "big" meeting with management.
The union rep seems to think they will offer a compromise . A partial work at home arrangement with 2-3 days per week at home . I would be happy with that. Having a definite schedule would be a relief and I'd be able to plan my activities around it. Rest on the evenings after a "go to work day "and do personal stuff on evenings of a "work at home day ".
I was sad to hear the rep tell me her son in law was recently diagnosed with MS and that I have a co-worker with MS who is partially blind. An illness I never knew a thing about is all around me.
The rep surprised me when she said her son in law was able to get an appointment at the MS clinic right away. My neurologist made it seem like he was doing me a big favour , having me wait only six months instead of a year to get one . What a crazy system. Regardless, I still think the health care system is better here than in the US.

So politicians ! hands off my universal health care !

If you're too tired to read here's a blog with nice photos to look at
Here's a cool one if you feel like being creative without too much effort sleeve face

MS Six Word Memoirs

Bossy immune system, takes over brain

Brain is clogged , need to blog

Try to type, mix up letters

Try to think, mix up words

Try to remember, forget it all

Another ride on the dizzy carousel

Brain gives free electric shock therapy

new hobby; trying to avoid doctors

I just said no to drugs

"you look so good", heard often

Feel like crap, a frequent thought

Phantom pain, much like regular pain

Not enough sun, too much heat

False friends flee MS felled female

Blurry vision , a new wrinkle therapy

another new hobby, not doing much

Immune system needs a long vacation