Category Archives: Uncatagorized

MS AND MS LIKE DISEASES IN DOGS AND CATS

A recent MS study suggested that people who grew up with cats during most of their lives appeared to have a less aggressive form of multiple sclerosis then those people who didn’t grow up with cats. However, on the flip side of that, back in the eighties there were researchers who also thought that one possible contributing factor in developing MS may have been a bacteria/virus found in cat feces that people were getting from cleaning their cats liter boxes. In the years, and from several studies done since, that connection has never been proven as being true even though that bacteria is very real and anyone with MS, or otherwise, should take precautions when cleaning cat liter boxes as it would more than likely make your MS symptoms even worse were you to contract that nasty bug as well as being difficult to get rid of.

And surprisingly enough dogs have their very own disease that is very similar to multiple sclerosis called, Degenerative Myelopathy or DM, as it is often referred to as. And just like MS this disease is considered to be an auto-immune disorder with many of the same symptoms in dogs, as their human MS sufferers experience, but no link has ever been found that even remotely connects these two diseases. And finally, dogs are also prone to a degenerative disc disorder that can mimic some of the symptoms of MS but this can usually be treated with surgery in the more extreme cases.

Degenerative Myelopathy, again like multiple sclerosis, has no cure and progressively gets worse just like MS. The only treatment for DM that seems to help hold this disorder at bay is taking your dog for long walks and even somewhat extreme workouts with their toys as physical activity appears to slow the progression of DM significantly in many cases. And what is a bit strange about that, is that Neurologists are starting to believe the exact same thing about people suffering from MS, that a sedentary lifestyle may be the worst thing for multiple sclerosis sufferers over the long turn.

Do cats and dogs offer any real health benefits to people with MS? It turns out that; “yes!” they offer a whole host of beneficial health enhancing benefits. If you have a dog I am pretty sure that many of you are aware of the need to walk your dog several times a day for potty trips and so dogs can use their social skills by smelling trees, sign posts, street lights and anything else that lies in their usual walking path which also helps lower high blood pressure in the person doing the walking. I recently had a friends dog and got several workouts everyday which I’m sure my Neurologist would have loved to know if I had told him as he is constantly telling me that I am physically able to do more than I currently do. And that dog also liked to play rough, so I was the one who had to adjust to the extra workout, not him.

And yes cats provide their own unique health benefits for their human companions.It has been shown in lab studies that just having a cat around can reduce the stress related chemicals that humans experience throughout any given day. And it’s also been proven that when a cat purrs it actually reduces the blood pressure in any human that is in ear shot of their kitty. And that drop can be as much as twenty points according to some studies and that’s very significant for someone like me who has high blood pressure. And yes, one of my best friend’s, is my eighteen year old cat, Lucky!

Lucky!

In conclusion, if you have MS or any disease that causes you to feel lost and alone I can not stress enough how much having a pet can help you through the hard times. If you can and don’t already have a pet, and if you don’t suffer from allergies, please consider going to your local shelter and see if you can’t hook yourself up with a forever four legged companion. I honestly think that it could be the best treatment you ever got for all of your ills!

*****

I’m requesting stories from any and all of you who have ever had a pet die and than return in any way to let you know that they survived death and came back to ease your fears about their crossing. I think I’m going to write a book about pets surviving death as I have had like at least three of my pets return after death to comfort me after their transition.

What I would like for you to do is to first write the experience you had out in long hand and put it down for a day, or a little while, and then type it out and send it to me at the email address below. If and when I write the book I will certainly let everyone know especially if their story made it into the book. This is kind of a nonscientific study that I am undertaking so I would love to hear from you all if you’ve got a story to tell. The reason for having you write it out twice is that usually after you write something once and wait a little bit your mind starts to recall the experience and you often remember more than you did in your first draft. And I want the stories to be as in-depth as they possibly can be.

Please send your stories to: wc.walker@yahoo.com

Thank you in advance. And please ask around family and friends to see if they have stories to contribute. Please put, Pets surviving Death, in the subject box!

MS IF YOU WEREN’T ASKED DON’T TELL

6 Replies

Mount Baker Foothills

Many Americans are aware of the fact that because of the ADA, Americans with Disability Act, they are not required to answer any questions about whether or not they suffer from any disability. In fact about the only thing a prospective employer can ask goes something like this; Are you capable of performing all of the tasks that are required in the job description with reasonable accommodations? That’s it; you don’t have to answer anything else about being disabled or not unless you choose to.

The reason I bring this up is because of a comment a gentleman made on one of my articles that I posted. He said that recently his drivers license came up for renewal so off he went to get it renewed. And everything was breezing right along until he mentioned that he also had multiple sclerosis and then everything changed.

Normally the only thing that you need to do is fill out some paperwork, take the vision test, pay, and you’re done. However, in his case they not only made him do that they also made him take the entire driving part of the test as well. I’m not sure what state he lives in or whether or not this was even legal, but I thought I would write about it and make others aware of this.

And the moral of this story is, if they don’t ask, don’t tell!

MS MERCURY DENTAL FILLINGS AND THE FDA

20 Replies

Lake at Mount Baker Washington

Is your body a mercury filled time bomb just waiting to explode? Recently senior health officials at the Department of Health and Human Services denied a Food and Drug Administration proposal to phase out the use of all mercury compounds used as fillings for tooth decay which is one of our planets most dangerous and toxic heavy metals.

This FDA proposal was kept secret from the public since it was approved back in 2011 by top FDA officials. This proposal stressed all of the dangers that mercury fillings present to pregnant women, nursing moms, children under six, people with mercury allergies, kidney disease or anyone who suffers from a neurological disorder which would include just about every single autoimmune disease known to man.

The Department of Health and Human Services rejected this proposal after a cost benefit analysis showed that it was cheaper then other alternative compounds for filling teeth regardless of the dangers of mercury or benefits a patient might expect from other materials used for filling teeth.

In 2009 54% of all surveyed Dentists still said that they were using mercury fillings because it was more affordable. And they are still used by many Dentists today who serve both Medicaid and Medicare patients as well as many other price sensitive groups including those that treat children, the military, and on Indian reservations.

Mercury is often described as insidious. After it builds up in the lungs it moves into the bloodstream where it accumulates in the kidneys, liver and brain tissue where it damages the central nervous system. And multiple sclerosis, in particular, is a disease of the central nervous system.

Mercury is linked to all of the following health problems, memory loss, nerve damage, autoimmune diseases, vision problems, kidney failure, depression, autism, and foggy thinking. And recent research is also showing a strong possible link to Alzheimer’s disease. And all of that can occur at very low doses that accumulate over time. And it can also be lethal!

Much of the information used in this article came from Greg Gordon from the McClatchy Washington Bureau

MS INFLAMMATION AND CHOCOLATE

45 Replies

Research has already proven that one of the biggest factors in Multiple Sclerosis, as well as many other diseases both autoimmune and otherwise, is that of inflammation. It is becoming apparent that this one indicator of an MS attack is what may be the biggest factor in why people suffer from the debilitating effects of MS, which is why a recent study about chocolates amazing ability to reduce inflammation in both heart attack and stroke victims caught my eye.

This study was done on older adults, and to be fair here, it had nothing to do with multiple sclerosis but the study did show the amazing ability of flavonoids, which are found in chocolate, to decrease inflammation throughout the entire circulatory system as well as the brain. And since the brain is nothing more then a cluster of neuron tissue, which is what MS attacks, I think it’s only safe to assume that chocolate would also significantly reduce inflammation in the nervous system as well.

And this study was done with people who were eating about half of a regular cheap store bought candy bar each day made of mostly milk chocolate and not the darker higher content of cocoa chocolate bars that you find in many health food stores. These chocolate bars cost significantly more then what you pay at your local convenience store and have far less sugar in them, but the flavonoid content of them is many times higher then what milk chocolate contains, which is very little.

If you are unaware of what flavonoids are, you may have heard on the news in the past that drinking either grape juice or red wine is healthful because of the high amount of flavonoids found in them. It’s thought; that maybe the reason why Italians can eat such a high fat and carbohydrate diet without the same incidents of heart disease that we experience in this country is because of the daily glass of wine they consume at lunch and/or dinner. And the flavonoids in chocolate bars with a cocoa content of at least 50% and higher is many times higher then what is found in even a full glass of red wine.

Another natural food that is also extremely high in flavonoids are dried cherries which are actually prescribed by dieticians for many ailments to also fight, or counter, inflammation throughout the body. So if you can find a candy bar with 80% cocoa that also has dried cherries mixed in as well then that’s all that much better and they do make them because that’s what I eat but they cost anywhere from $2.50 to $4.00 dollars. However you only need to eat four or five small pieces to get a large dose of the beneficial flavonoid content which means one candy bar can last a week.

In my opinion this is one of the best things that you can try on your own to see if it may help in reducing some of the effects of multiple sclerosis and the accompanying inflammation. And let’s face it the worst outcome you could experience is that nothing changes accept you have something to look forward to each and every night, either after dinner, or before you go to bed.

Bone Appetite!

By Bill Walker

If you would like to submit your own blog piece for this page please contact me at: msandbeyond@gmail.com

And Don’t forget to look for my new book VISUS available on Amazon.com!

MS KNOWLEDGE AND A FREE DINNER

4 Replies

Taken on Mount Baker

Right after my MS diagnosis I started seeing ads in the newspaper, as well as getting a constant stream of mailers from the NMSS, about programs for either new drugs that were coming on the market or new ways to deal with the effects of Multiple Sclerosis at some of the nicer restaurants around town. And until recently I just ignored these ads and flyers just figuring that it was too much of a bother to attend because I always thought that I had something better to do. And now, I have to admit, that was a huge mistake on my part.

It wasn’t until recently, when I decided to change medications because I’m sick of the constant injections that I decided to go to one of these presentations given by one of the drug companies. I’m not going to mention the drug here because I wasn’t that impressed with the findings of the drug itself, which in itself is a big deal, but I was impressed by how much information was given into new research that we are reading about almost as it’s happening on studies being released on the internet.

Why this surprised me, was because I have had several conversations with whatever Neurologist I was seeing at the time, only to have my questions answered with something along these lines, I hadn’t heard of that, or I’ll have to go look that up and get back to you. It seems that there is quite a difference between a regular Neurologist and a nurse or Doctor that specializes in the treatment of just Multiple Sclerosis. And this is probably not much of a revelation to many of you that have been doing battle with this disease for decades but it was a new awakening for me.

I have now been to a couple of programs where speakers are actually able to answer, or at least give an educated guess, to my questions without the blank stare that I have encountered in the past from those individuals that I thought would know. And I encourage anyone who is making the same mistake that I have been making for the last fifteen years to go and attend a few of these programs as it is very enlightening and offers more hope for a future free from MS then you might imagine. Even if you are satisfied with the medication that you are currently taking you still should attend these programs.

And besides, how can you turn down a free dinner or lunch at a nice restaurant that you probably can’t afford anyway. And yes, it’s also nice to talk to other people who understand and know exactly how you feel when it comes to dealing with this disease and all of the diverse challenges that come along with it!

Don’t be like I was, get up, get out, and go!

Bill Walker

msandbeyond@gmail.com

Multiple Sclerosis by the Numbers Part 2

Imagine: A Drug Free MS

8 Replies

My very first multiple sclerosis attack, which by the way my doctor at the time assured me was just a pinched nerve, lasted around three months. And my symptoms were extremely mild although they did pretty much affect every part of my body. And then, at the end of those three months, that was it I didn’t have any other attacks or symptoms for the next six plus years.

Fast forward twenty two years and I’m reading how in many cases, after that very first MS event, researchers now believe that the body essentially still retains its ability to repair that initial damage that is done to the myelin. And at least in my case this certainly seems to fit my own disease’s early progression. However, as time goes on your body slowly starts to lose its ability to continue these repairs and the damage becomes much more serious to the central nervous system. Which also seems to fit me, unfortunately, pretty well.

If that is all true, and only more research will answer that, it seems to me that science should eventually be able to turn the bodies own ability to make these repairs back on. And that is all very encouraging but it was something that I read a few minutes later in my own research that really caught my attention.

Many researchers are stating that it appears that most of the damage caused by multiple sclerosis takes place up until the age of sixty. And after this, MRI’s are showing little further deterioration in the brain and spinal tissue. And their also starting to question whether or not it’s even prudent to continue use of any of the current disease modifying drugs as they may no longer be having any effect on MS progression.

Well, I’m not sure about anyone else, but I sure am tired of giving myself daily or every other day injections. I plan to watch the studies very closely over the next couple of years, which will make me sixty, to see if this continues to look like a reality. And if it does, I plan to have a very long discussion with my neurologist.

I’m rapidly coming to the conclusion that it may be time for me, and perhaps others, to start to consider weaning themselves off of these very expensive treatments which in turn would start to squeeze these drug companies’ profits to the point where they may start to actually look for a cure instead, or, probably not!

by Bill Walker

I just recently published my very first novel, if interested here is the link:

http://www.amazon.com/Visus-William-C-Walker-ebook/dp/B00U8ZN4GE/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1426799056&sr=1-1&keywords=Visus

Multiple Sclerosis by the Numbers

16 Replies

Worldwide the number of people that have been diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis is somewhere between 2.3 million and 2.5 million. In the United States there are roughly 450,000 to 600,000 individuals that have been diagnosed with MS which mathematically works out to 1 in 4 or 25% of all patients world wide. And that number is quite simply staggering when you consider that there are 7.5 billion, give or take a few million, people now living in this world. Which if my math is correct means that about 3 out of every ten thousand people will be diagnosed with MS worldwide. In the US that number works out to roughly about 2 out of every thousand. I admit these are very rough numbers but there close enough to show that the incidence of MS in the United States is much more prevalent then anywhere else on the planet.

Let’s look at this in a different and even more startling way. If we take the number of US diagnosis’ and divide that into the total number of people afflicted with MS worldwide we find that 1 in 4 or 25% of all people with Multiple Sclerosis live in the United States which definitely begs the question, why? Especially when you consider that we have roughly 5%, or one 20^th, of the total world population, again I ask, why?

When I worked through these numbers I did only the Multiple Sclerosis numbers that are easily found on the internet and I didn’t look into all other autoimmune disorders as a whole but I wonder if I did would they show a similar distribution of autoimmune disease in the US as compared to the combined world population?

If my math is even close to being correct it strongly suggests that there is some kind of environmental trigger that is far more prevalent here in the United States then anywhere else in the world that’s the only thing that makes any sense. And in my opinion with this information it should not be all that difficult to determine what that environmental trigger really is which would answer a whole lot of questions about this, and perhaps other, disorders of these kinds and what kick starts these disease processes into over drive.

What do you think? Make some noise whenever and where ever you can. I strongly suspect that we, who have these autoimmune diseases, are the canaries in the mine and are just the first people to succumb to an ever, and increasingly more polluted, and sick planet!