Could the Zika Virus be Devastating to People with MS?

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100_0262      The Zika virus is being called a worldwide health crisis mostly because of its apparent effects on pregnant women and a high rate of microcephaly which is a rare birth defect. This virus is already suspected as having a link to Guillain-Barre syndrome which has also been suspected as a possible trigger of multiple sclerosis in people who are, or might, be genetically predisposed to developing this auto-immune disorder. And Guillain-Barre syndromes symptoms can include severe fatigue and varying degrees of temporary partial paralysis. Sound familiar?

     The good news is that this mosquito-borne virus has so far been contained in more tropical environments than where MS is generally to be found. But even this offer’s only a minimal amount of comfort as this virus also seems to be able to be transmitted from one human host to a mosquito while being bitten. If this does in fact turn out to be the case then any person who travels to an area where Zika is prevalent could be infected and return to a home in the northern hemisphere during summer months and quite possibly transmit the disease to the local mosquito population thus spreading it to a brand new geographical location where MS is much more prevalent. And if all of that isn’t bad enough it has already been discovered that this disease can also be transmitted through sexual contact much like a sexually transmitted disease.

     At the moment, main street science is saying that they doubt that the Zika virus is a cause for panic as the symptoms in healthy individuals have for the most part been mild and short lived something akin to having the flu virus for a few days or up to perhaps a week. But as yet we don’t know how this virus might affect someone with a compromised immune system like those of us with multiple sclerosis who already suffer from some very similar symptoms as to what some of the more severe cases are reporting.

     What bothers me the most is that I remember this other little virus that was supposed to be nothing more than a wimpy little pest that otherwise shouldn’t be much to worry about? And that wimpy little virus HIV, turned out to be the cause of AIDS!

 

Bill Walker

MS Disability Foster Care and Giving Back

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Mountains in a cloud

Twin Sisters in a cloud bank

     According to an associated press article I recently read Washington State is over a thousand foster care homes shy of what is needed. And I know that this problem exists throughout the United States. I believe that I have a solution, or at least a partial one, to this problem.

     I have a disability, multiple sclerosis, and feel that I would make a very good foster parent as I know that I am a very patient person. However, I have not really pursued being a foster parent because I am a single male and wonder if that would work against me in the long run? But I do own my own home with two extra bedrooms that I could convert easily if I decided to do this. The other concerns I have are that my house needs a fair amount of maintenance work that my disability money just will never cover. And would also need repairs before any child could live here and I’m not sure that DSHS or Child Protective Services would even consider that expenditure? If they would, I know that there are a lot of other disabled people in a similar situations that a program like this would definitely benefit if they knew they could provide a home as well? And my last worry would be if by being a foster parent would that alter, in anyway, my current disability benefits as they stand now?

     If these concerns could be satisfactorily addressed I believe that DSHS would find a whole new batch of willing foster care parents who would be more than willing to share their empathy with these children who need a temporary home with positive reinforcement while also providing another financial tool to the disabled who so badly need it. And of course, the disabled need to also be needed by society and what better way than this to achieve that goal.

     This could be a very positive match between two groups of people who need to feel that society has not forgotten what they, kids and adults, can contribute back if only the right connections could be worked out?  

 

Bill Walker

Like my writing? Want to read my first novel about a pod of Killer Whales traveling up the Pacific Coast of North America? Here’s the link:

http://www.amazon.com/Visus-William-C-Walker-ebook/dp/B00U8ZN4GE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1427573378&sr=8-1&keywords=Visus

A Google Search of Multiple Sclerosis

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     Google Search Page

     Do you remember the Dr. Hook song on the cover of the Rolling Stone where the group sings about what it would be like to see their smiling faces on the cover of The Rolling Stone Magazine? Well, hopefully you do, because I have my own set of lyrics to the same song. I just want to see my words of wisdom on the front page of the Google search!

 

     If you ever have Googled multiple sclerosis the first thing you will notice is that there are more than 22,500,000 results that you can search. In my case I just wanted to see how far I would have to go to find something that I had written that might have made it to the top of that list. And, so I don’t keep you in suspense, the answer is zero in the first 26 pages. However, briefly, here is what I did find in those first 26 pages.

     The first honor on the top of the very first search page goes to The National MS Society with an article entitled, What is MS? Fair enough, can’t argue much with that. The second one goes to the Mayo Clinic and an overview about MS. And the third one down was from Web MD with a similar article. And I found that all three were pretty good as general information for anyone who was just starting their search about multiple sclerosis and what we currently know about the disease, which is still very darn little.

     The first page is rounded out by other sites that explore current treatments, new treatments, and ongoing research for the cure. The most humorous title on the first page or at least the one that made me laugh (Could Canada cause multiple sclerosis?) Which actually explores why ms rates are so much higher, by percentage, in Canada then seemingly anywhere else in the world. Which as I recall from previous things that I have written, both Ireland and Scotland might dispute? Interesting side note here, I have multiple sclerosis, and with a last name of Walker I am also of Scottish heritage so maybe Scotland causes multiple sclerosis? LOL

     The second page of results is much the same as the first but also has a few entries from medical journals about early warning signs and how to manage the disease.

     The third page of results is where you start to see more specific studies concerning MS. One discussed in depth why vitamin D might be a major factor in the early onset of the disease and another discussed how melatonin may be a major point of significant research in the near future. The rest of the links on this page seemed more about the soaring and outrageous costs of MS drugs and whether or not they are really all that effective especially from the cost standpoint.

     The fourth page primarily covered new studies outside of the United States but they really didn’t seem to offer a whole lot of information that I found to be new or exciting above what I already knew. What was interesting about the fifth page was a link that discussed the increase in multiple sclerosis diagnosis’ in Baby Boomers of which I belong to as well. And now that I think about it I have three risk factors for MS, I live on the boarder of Canada, I’m Scottish by heritage, and I’m  Baby Boomer, no wonder I have this autoimmune disorder! I should have known.

     After the fifth page most of the links are just repeats or updated links from past. Although Jack Osbourn gets a link at the bottom of the page which is kind of funny since he beats Ann Romney by two pages. Ann Romney makes an appearance on page seven with a link to her site. And really that’s about it all the way through to page twenty six which was a lot of searching and very disappointing. I mean common, you would think at least one of my blog entries would have found its way into the top twenty six pages, since there is also a lot of junk mixed in there as well.

     Alright Goggle here’s your chance; sing it with me, to put my words of wisdom on The Front Cover of the Google search!

 

Bill Walker

Like my writing? Want to read my first novel about a pod of Killer Whales traveling up the Pacific Coast of North America? Here’s the link:

 

 

 

 

 

MS Countdown to the CURE

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Santa at the Mall

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

      Everyone already knows that cracking the code for the cure of multiple sclerosis is something akin to putting all the right colors back in all the right places on a Rubik’s cube on the very first try. It can take months, or perhaps even years, to figure the right sequence of turns before you finally get it right. In my case I never did get my cube back to its beginning point. I think it still lingers at the bottom of a box somewhere in a closet?

     Fortunately, MS researchers have more patience than I do, and if you’ve been paying attention to recent studies you would also have noticed that major pieces of the puzzle are finally starting to fall into place when it comes to understanding and eventually curing multiple sclerosis. And in this first case, it happened almost by mistake.

     Many researchers over the years have believed that MS has some kind of link to a viral infection of some kind. But viruses are incredibly difficult to see even with our advanced medical technology. And it’s only been in the very recent past that we have finally been able to unlock some of the very basic properties of viruses giving us the ability to fight back against them. And in this case it was a different virus, the one that causes Aids which may have finally taken us a giant leap forward to understanding multiple sclerosis.

     Just a few weeks back the following story was released about a woman over in England who had a rather severe case of multiple sclerosis which she had lived with for many years however this doesn’t seem to have affected her sex drive to any great extent leading her to a night of unprotected sex. A few days after her encounter she found out that her partner may well have been HIV positive sending her to her family physician in a panicked state. Her doctor immediately started her on a cocktail of powerful antiviral IV drugs that have shown great potential in knocking out the HIV virus especially when started right after the initial possible infection.

     In a matter of days after her release from the hospital this woman who had been using a wheelchair for several years suddenly found herself able to get up and walk short distances. And after a few weeks she noticed both her strength and energy levels returning to what she felt was a much more normal level where she was able to walk much greater distances as well as even climb stairs with the help of a cane. She also experienced rapid improvement in her eyesight which had required the use of prescription glasses for many years.

     This all happened a little over a year ago and she has continued to improve and regain a great deal of normal function ever since. In fact her improvement has been so startling that doctors and researchers in England, Australia, and North America have all started the process of putting together clinical trials to see if these results can be duplicated.

     On a different front doctors and researchers are starting to unlock not only the secrets to repairing the myelin sheathing that protects the nerve pathways but also finding a number of very cheap drugs that help the bodies own ability to do just that with out the need of stem cells. Which in their own right are also showing great promise in the treatment of not only MS but many other ailments as well, including the repair of major organs like heart muscle tissue.

     And finally, a brand new drug treatment, that has already passed through clinical trials and is waiting for FDA approval, is being called ground breaking in its effectiveness against MS. The drug Ocrelizumab is reversing damage to the nervous system most likely by remyelination in the central nervous system, though further research is still needed to prove this. However patients in the study are claiming and showing vast improvement from their previous symptoms. And FDA approval could come sometime early in 2016.

     These recent stories give me tremendous hope that the cure for not only MS, but perhaps many if not all of the disorders that are classified as autoimmune diseases, might soon be a thing of the past!

 By Bill Walker

Like my writing? My debut novel Visus that follows a pod of killer whales up the North American Coast is now for sale. The link to buy it is: http://www.amazon.com/Visus-William-C-Walker-ebook/dp/B00U8ZN4GE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1427573378&sr=8-1&keywords=Visus

MS Incurable Diseases and Men Are From Mars Women Are From Venus

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    The book Men are from Mars Women are from Venus When I was first diagnosed with multiple sclerosis I wanted to go to war with it I wanted to fight it tooth and nail fist and foot. The problem was I had no idea of how-what-where and when to actually start my one man crusade against a disease that attacked from the inside out. Which I believe is probably how most men react to finding out they have MS because, let’s face it, men are from Mars ruled by the God of war according to the Greeks and you can’t beat something and get the desired results by just sulking about it. And in my opinion this is how most men start their MS journey, or at least, I did.

     And though I am not a woman I have observed over my many years since being diagnosed, that women seem much more likely to be devastated at first by this disease on an emotional level, even more so then on a physical level, like I believe most men are, because women just can’t emotionally come to grips with MS on a sensitivity level when it doesn’t fit in at all on any nurturing path that most women are used to dealing with in their normal daily lives. And women probably skip right past the, why me, and go straight to the, why anyone, question, where as men get stuck on the why me before realizing that this disease is an equal opportunity destroyer.  

     And men and women also seem to differ on how they start to cope with this ghostly health shadow that will follow them around just beneath their daily life persona for the rest of their natural born days. Women, being from Venus the planet of love, seek out others to share their inner most feelings with about this rude uninvited guest that decided to crash their own personal space as they wonder: How do I tell the kids? Men, after finally realizing that the fight was over before it even began, want to take the flight option and just go find a cave to be alone in while they try and work through all the details of their future and how they are going to adjust from this sneak attack from within that came without any rules or warning as they wonder: How is this going to effect my work?

     At this point men start to look for the solutions to answer all of the problems that they now fear they will have to face. Women, on the other hand, search out people to share their feelings with, and then how to define all of the problems that they will eventually have to face. This is a very difficult point in the disease progression especially for men, who will almost always see and fear the worst. While women are much more likely to seek out and accept empathy and sympathy and hope for the best. And most men, unfortunately, see empathy and sympathy as a sign of weakness and surrender from their own personal ego driven point of view. Sorry ladies, that’s truly a guy thing.

     In the end women probably have an easier time accepting multiple sclerosis as a part of their lives then men do, though at some point, even men have to grudgingly surrender to their deepest fears and let this invisible monster become a part of their existence. And it is only then that men become much better communicators with just about everyone because having an incurable disease is a great educator/dictator when it comes to learning what empathy and sympathy really mean and how to share them with the world around you.

     It’s a tough lesson to learn, and a lesson that has been truly an awakening for me. I just wish I knew how to pass it on to a world that desperately needs to learn the true meaning of compassion, because that’s exactly what having MS or any incurable disease teaches you, compassion!

Bill Walker

MS and Beyond Wants Your Rants and Raves

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The Sun through a black screen!

The Sun captured through a black screen!

 Do you have a rant or a rave that you would like to share with everyone? And it can be about anything not just Multiple Sclerosis. If so you can either use the comments section on facebook to express how you feel, or you can email it to the email address below and I’ll save them up for a rant and rave post in the future.

     Perhaps you have a rant or rave that you just have to get out but would rather do it and remain anonymous? That’s fine as well just make sure that you let me know that your message is anonymous and I’ll make sure that I delete your email right after a save the content of your message that you want me to share. When I get enough comments I will post them in a future post.

     Easy enough now hit me with your best shot!

 

msandbeyond@gmail.com

 

  1. I’ll start with a rant. My last post about Protandim brought with it a number of comments, some positive many negative. The positive ones swear by it, the negative ones say they tried it and it did nothing, or that, it is just another scam supplement to make money off of Multiple Sclerosis. Hard to know, HUH!

MS Football and the Cheapest Easiest Fastest Best Tasting Thin Crust Pizza Ever!

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Pizzas ready for the oven

    Ingredient to make Pizza including Mission Tortilla Wraps And the secret is to start by using any one of the many assorted Mission Tortilla Wraps as the crust. The larger wraps come in regular, 100% whole wheat, garden spinach herb, jalapeno cheddar, and there may be others that I’m not as yet aware of. Anyone of these larger wraps is absolutely perfect for creating a personal pan sized pizza. And add just a salad or a fruit or veggie side and one of these pizzas is usually enough for two. The following ideas are just a few of a multitude of ways that you can prepare these incredible pizzas for any occasion including as a football favorite.

     For your more traditional pizza you can start with either the regular wrap, or the whole wheat wrap as a healthier fiber filled crust laid out on a pizza pan or aluminum foil, and spread about a third of a cup, you can adjust to your own taste, of either your own homemade pizza sauce or any one of a number of store bought brands. I use Ragu pizza sauce as that tastes the best as far as I’m concerned. Then using a spoon spread the sauce as evenly as possible around the crust coming to with in about a half inch of the outer edge of the tortilla wrap. And then, just like a pizza place, sprinkle on your favorite kind of shredded cheese, for me its provolone, covering the sauce. Add any toppings that you like and bake in a preheated 350% oven, remember oven temperatures vary so keep an eye on it the first time, for about twelve minutes.

     And then for a change of pace you can also start with a garden herb wrap and instead of pizza sauce use about a third of a cup of ranch or blue cheese dressing, any brand will do, and spread around the same way as a regular pizza topped with your choice of shredded cheese or cheeses and topped with whatever toppings you like onions, mushrooms, green peppers you get the idea. I use this recipe quite often for vegetarian pizzas and it works great as a main course with a salad on the side.

     Another way of making one of these pizzas would be to start with a jalapeno cheddar wrap and spread out about a half cup of either warm precooked taco meat or warm refried beans spread out in the same way as you would with pizza sauce. In this kind of pizza I usually use sharp cheddar cheese, again use what you like as that’s the beauty of these you can do anything, and then top with jalapeno peppers for a spicy hot Mexican pizza you won’t soon for get. And then after cooking top with fresh salsa and/or cool sour cream. This one is very filling.

     Want more ideas? You can start with any flavor wrap and spread about a quarter cup of olive oil and then your favorite kind of cheese with sprinkled oregano leaves and or fresh garlic or garlic salt for a great white pizza. Another idea would be to use any wrap with about a third of a cup of BBQ sauce spread out just like above and topped with your choice of cheeses and either precooked pulled chicken or pork for an awesome BBQ pizza that is also great topped with cold coleslaw after it comes out of the oven. And yes, instead of BBQ sauce, use your own favorite Buffalo hot wing sauce with some blue cheese dressing on the side to help cool off your taste buds as the perfect football pizza party treat.

     Want to get your kids involved? These are fun quick pizzas to make where they can create exactly what they like and want to eat for special occasions.

     And these are just a few of the ideas that you can use, but be creative, even steak sauce with cheese and precooked steak make an incredible pizza that you can also either roll or wrap as a sandwich! And if you’re creative enough I bet you could even use a wheat wrap and come up with some outrageous dessert or breakfast pizzas of your own.

     In the weeks and months ahead let me know what you come up with and perhaps I’ll do a sequel to this article with your own creative Mission Tortilla Wrap recipes! 

Like my writing? My debut novel Visus that follows a pod of killer whales up the North American Coast is now for sale. The link to buy it is: http://www.amazon.com/Visus-William-C-Walker-ebook/dp/B00U8ZN4GE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1427573378&sr=8-1&keywords=Visus

MS and My Four Legged Guardian Angel

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A Guardian Angel Named Lucky

My Cat Lucky

My Guardian Angel

     I moved to the Washington State in 1996 to be closer with family who had already relocated to the ever-green-state. I quickly found a job at a private golf club and then became involved with an animal rescue organization on Whidbey Island in Western Washington. WAIF or, Whidbey Animal Improvement Foundation, as it is still called, took on the daunting task of financially supporting many unwanted and abandoned pets as people moved off of the island leaving their dogs and cats to fend for themselves.

     About a year and half after my move I got a phone call one early evening from another volunteer from the WAIF shelter in a state of pure panic. Earlier in the day she had witnessed a car throw something out of a window as it sped past her house, concerned about just what that might have been she went out to look. And to her shock and dismay she found that the object that had been tossed was a kitten lying semiconscious in the middle of the road. She quickly scooped up this tiny ball of fur and was off to the vet where it was diagnosed as just being in shock and having a few bumps and bruises. This volunteer already had many dogs and cats in her own home and felt that one more was just too much for her small house and yard, which is where I came in, and why she was calling me. She couldn’t bare the thought of taking this kitten and turning her over to the shelter as she felt that this kitten had been through enough already and would I please consider adopting her? Answering no wasn’t an option, even though I already had two cats in my apartment. Which is how Lucky, as this volunteer friend had already named her, came to me.

     Two years later one of those original two cats passed on just as I was struck down with my first MS attack and it wasn’t long after that the second cat followed in much the same way leaving just myself and Lucky to deal with my new life as a person with Multiple Sclerosis. I was literally rocked to my physical and emotional core but Lucky became the lifeline that I clung to as she always seemed to sense when I needed her most.

     For most people dealing with insurance companies, hospitals, doctors, while trying to stay employed are just some of life’s little nuisances that have to be dealt with when time permits. However, when you find yourself facing an incurable disease they become something more on the line of monumental challenges where the rules are rarely, if ever, explained to you. And it’s at times like these where the tears often fall as the aggravation mounts to levels that most people either don’t, or can’t, comprehend. And it was always at times like these that Lucky would realize how badly she was needed on my lap, even when I’m sure, she would much rather have been outside climbing a tree or chasing a bird or a mouse.

     As the years passed Lucky was my ever present rock against, for profit insurance companies, who could have cared less whether I got any better or not as they tried their best to keep the cost of my healthcare as low as possible. And she never complained once about my loud vocal outbursts when trying to map my way through government agencies that I thought were there to help you but more often then not end up creating even more stress as they pass you from one level of bureaucracy onto the next.

     And now eighteen plus years later, as I watch her deal bravely with her own health issues of having both kidney and liver disease knowing that the end is not far into the future for her, I realize the most important gift of all that she has given me. And that is that we are all here to learn to live, love, and overcome all of these challenges that are thrown our way as best we can with what God has given us to help us endure these trials of life. And my Angel Lucky taught me this, without ever saying a word.

This article was recently published in MS Focus Magazine!

Are you looking for a home based business that could help improve your financial situation? 

https://msandbeyond.com/real-home-business-opportunity

MS and How Drug Companies Can Profit from Outdated Counts

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A Fairy holding a Wolf puppy

My kind of Tooth Fairy!

     Visa recently commissioned a study to find out just how much parents where giving their young children for each baby tooth that they lost? It turns out, quite a bit. On average each child was receiving $3.19 per tooth. That in it self kind of blew me away because I think fifty some odd years ago I was getting a dime to maybe a quarter per tooth. Times certainly have changed.

     Now you’re probably asking yourself, what does the Tooth Fairy have to do with multiple sclerosis? And truth be told, very darn little actually. However there is one big irony that I have discussed before in a couple of my posts here regarding, MS by the numbers, and how these numbers just do not add up. 

     It seems strange to me that Visa would spend money commissioning a survey, or study about baby teeth, but large corporate drug companies seem to have little if any interest in finding out just how many people in America and around the globe really have multiple sclerosis? Let’s face it, these corporate drug giants are raking in hundreds of millions, perhaps billons, of dollars on these horrifically expensive drugs so you would think it would be to their advantage to know just where the incidence and higher numbers of MS patients are around the world and where their future profits might lie?

     Apparently though, they are satisfied in using numbers that were collected some twenty to thirty years ago, and they are still quoting those numbers today, as I have read recent drug company pamphlets where these very same numbers are still being used. If you don’t recall, those numbers were something like 450,000 people in the U.S with perhaps two to three million people worldwide having multiple sclerosis, which I believe to be a huge undercount of what the real numbers truly are. But since these numbers were taken so long ago, who knows what they actually are today?

     It makes one wonder why drug companies would not want to update these numbers in light of the possible increased sales potential around the world? Unfortunately, there is a possible financial motive for drug companies to stay with these decades old smaller numbers. If they used larger numbers they fear that this would actually decrease their profits on these drugs because they would have to produce larger batches driving down the overall cost because of the larger patient base that might use them. And because most industrialized nations outside of the U.S. control drug costs at much lower prices then what these drug behemoths want to sell them for. But by keeping the smaller numbers, remember it’s a supply and demand kind of thing, and because of how ridiculously expensive these drugs are, especially in America, drug companies can actually justify making more of these drugs then are really needed and then letting them reach their expiration dates so they can destroy whole batches and claim large tax write offs against what they do sell, increasing their profits on the back end as well.

     Greed in its truest form, they got you coming, and going. And the saddest part of all, the insurance industry probably knows that they do this and says nothing about it to protect their own bottom line, because drug companies are probably heavily invested in them as well!  

MS and Melatonin for Sleep

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     Melatonin bottles surrounded by mermaidsA couple of months ago I took part in a survey about melatonin and if I felt it had any positive benefits for people with multiple sclerosis. In the questionnaire I answered that I did take melatonin and it did help me to sleep. I also added that when I first started taking it many years ago I felt that it might be helping in reducing some of the stiffness in my legs but I wasn’t a hundred percent certain either then or now. Back then I was using 3mg nightly and then would sometimes add an extra 3mg dose on particularly bad nights.

     Recently I also read that melatonin is now considered safe at larger doses of up to 10 mg a night and it may also have some anti-inflammatory properties as well. And I must admit, as the years have gone by I have upped my nightly dose to 5 mg at bedtime with an additional 5 mg if I wake up in the middle of the night and can’t go back to sleep. I also have an anti-spastic drug Cyclobenzaprine that I can take if I feel the need but I worry about becoming addicted to it over the long haul so I don’t like taking it very often. But I sure do sleep deeply when I do take it. And in the spring I often also add 25mg of Benadryle before bedtime when the trees start to pollinate because of a severe allergic reaction to certain trees. That also helps as well for sleeping, though the survey was only concerned about melatonin.

     I don’t know when the results of this survey will be made public but I am more than curious to see what it has to say? As the survey did hint that there may be some added benefits for people who suffer from multiple sclerosis who also take melatonin on a regular basis, beyond its ability to help in falling asleep, but it didn’t elaborate. We’ll see?