Read Jack's Reflections On Life With Relapsing-Remitting MS

Read Jack's Reflections On Life With Relapsing-Remitting MS: Jack Osbourne reflects on how he lives with RRMS, the importance of a healthy diet, staying active and more. Sponsored by Teva Neuroscience, Inc.

Dave's ActiveMSers Blog: This Is Not Spinal Tap

Dave's ActiveMSers Blog: This Is Not Spinal Tap: Getting diagnosed with multiple sclerosis usually takes time. For some, it takes years, even decades. For others it might take months wai...

Navigating the MS Internet: Useful Places to Visit

Wheelchair Kamikaze: Navigating the MS Internet: Useful Websites and So...: "Back when I was first diagnosed in 2003, the Internet was a far different place. Facebook and Twitter had yet to be invented, and Apple’s ..."



Found via ActiveMSers.

Resistance Training May Slow Multiple Sclerosis Progression

Resistance Training May Slow Multiple Sclerosis Progression

100 People of Dance

Whatever dance you can do, dance it. 💓💜💛💚💙

Dave's ActiveMSers Blog: Stop Comparing

Dave's ActiveMSers Blog: Stop Comparing: The other day I was out cranking it on the bike trail. It wasn’t an epic ride— (click for more)



I do too much comparing, especially to myself "back when." Truly, I am thankful for the health I've gained this last couple years and the ability to hike further than I could 4-5 years ago. So, I'm getting out there when I can. Thanks, Dave, for the reminder and advice. -- Jennie

Visual Disturbances

I'm not as disturbed as I was. 😜 Now, a little over 3 months after the start of this episode, I notice there has been quite a bit of improvement. Reading about the difference between a relapse and a pseudoexacerbation, I'm thinking this is a relapse because it has lasted so long. But, I'm better now.

My computer screen font is still mammoth, but the double vision isn't as troublesome. 🐘
I gave up on the brock string exercises, choosing to work my eyes more creatively as we hiked. I wait for a flat part on the trail (no tree roots or rocks to trip me), pick a leaf or stick in the most problematic region of my visual field (upper left quadrant), then watch it with both eyes as I get closer to it. Then, I pick another spot, further away, and repeat the process.  My eyes are still mildly painful with the strain as I look to either side, but not as much as before. The spearing pain in one eye or the other happens only once or twice a month now. Today, my right eye is aching, but not stabbing.

Hands aren't painful anymore and not as weak.
Spasticity, zapping, and pain stabs in the feet and legs are back to their usual, normal levels.
Leg and arm weakness back to normal levels.

Results of brain scan/MRI of head and neck -- Unremarkable. No lesions.

So, I proceed as normal. And, I'm thankful for lots, no matter how it proceeds from here.

Here's something to read, if you're curious about eye problems associated with MS. Also, here's the specific page that talks about my visual disturbances.

Dave's ActiveMSers Blog: Eye Caramba!

I enjoy this guy's attitude, tenacity, and punny humour!  Oh, and for the record, my type was slightly smaller than that. ;)  [Readers, hold down Ctrl Key and hit the +. It's awesome! Ctrl- to reverse.]


Dave's ActiveMSers Blog: Eye Caramba!: Stuck on the bike path behind a logjam of cute kids on training wheels, I had to exercise patience and wait for Laura. Not because she was...

Be the Youest You You Can Be!

“Today you are You, that is truer than true. There is no one alive who is Youer than You.”

― Dr. Seuss, Happy Birthday to You!

“You are not your bra size, nor are you the width of your waist, nor are you the slenderness of your calves. 

You are not your hair color, your skin color, nor are you a shade of lipstick.Your shoe size is of no consequence.

You are not defined by the amount of attention you get from males, females, or any combination thereof.

You are not the number of sit-ups you can do, nor are you the number of calories in a day.

You are not your mustache.

You are not the hair on your legs.

You are not a little red dress.

You are no amalgam of these things.

You are the content of your character.

You are the ambitions that drive you.

You are the goals that you set.

You are the things that you laugh at and the words that you say.

You are the thoughts you think and the things you wonder.

You are beautiful and desirable not for the clique you attend, but for the spark of life within you that compels you to make your life a full and meaningful one.

You are beautiful not for the shape of the vessel, but for the volume of the soul it carries.”

-- Unknown

You are also not the hardware that travels with you.

"Hard Boiled Scrambler" by DivineError (Generik Anderson) on deviantART.

Eye Am Disturbed

Vision Disturbances and Optic Neuritis (see above video)

I had been hoping that the increased exercise and better diet had "cured" me. After all, this has never been diagnosed as definitely MS. I thought maybe this flare as a reaction to the stress of surgery would be short-lived. Nope, and nope. The hand pain and weakness, leg weakness and numbness (and ache), and vision issues are still present -- now 2 months after the day of surgery. All are improved, but not gone. Stable, mostly, but symptoms still occur. Read this article.

So, we got an appointment for me with an opthalmologist. We'd warned her ahead of time what my symptoms were: pain in the eye (especially when looking to the side; one eye at a time and switches eyes) as well as double and blurry vision. She and an optometrist ran several tests, finding nystagmus (involuntary eye movement) and strabismus (eyes don't work together to look the same direction). The optometrist had me look through prisms to see if they helped, and they definitely did. There are stick-on prisms I can attach to my glasses to try them out. However, he gave me some exercises to try in order to help my eyes to start working together again -- like the brock string exercise. I haven't done it a lot, for it adds to the eye strain. So, I'm waiting for improvement.

Brain scan/MRI (scanning the brain and stem as well as "orbitals") set for February 6th. They will be looking for an aneurysm (possible PKD side-effect) as well as lesions.