Tag Archives: Multiple Sclerosis

MS and Eye Flashing Shadow Snake

2 Replies
100_0442

Eye of the Shadow Snake!

     One morning about three weeks ago I wasn’t terribly surprised when I woke up to the flashing strobe light sensation that often accompanies one of my MS attacks when I first got out of bed. I had known for a couple of months that I was experiencing my somewhat annual flare up so it didn’t strike me as being any big deal as that is normal for me. The only thing that was different on this occasion was that the flashing seemed confined to just my right eye when usually it’s in both eyes. However, I have become used to the fact that my attacks are never exactly the same from year to year so I paid very little attention to that fact.

     It wasn’t until the next night when I was driving to a local baseball game that the real strangeness taking place in my right eye was to get my total undivided attention. As I was driving the flashing started to give way to this grid of dark spots that covered part of my vision which was bizarre, in that, I have never had that as one my symptoms during an MS episode before. I felt like if I had a pencil I could have easily played that kids game of connect the dots and that’s exactly what this grid looked like as I gazed threw it and onto the rest of the world which is also a bit distracting when your watching cars coming at you at fifty to sixty miles an hour. But the strangest and literally the scariest symptom was, as yet, to come.

     Upon reaching the game what I can only describe as a snake or worm like dark shadow began making figure eights throughout my line of vision, but again, just in my right eye, which at the time, I was thankful for because one of my biggest fears about MS is eventually going blind. The thought of losing my eyesight, to say the least, terrifies me when ever I have MS related eye problems. The worm continued its seemingly prearranged journey through most of the rest of the baseball game until about the eighth inning when it began to fade into the twilight of the oncoming darkness beyond the lights of the stadium. And thankfully it was completely gone by the time I started the long drive back home, but most certainly, not forgotten.

     It just so happened that I had a doctors appointment with my regular family doctor the next day and after describing my previous day’s experience my doctor scheduled an emergency appointment with my Optometrist the very next day after that. When I woke up that next morning, and as I prepared to leave for my appointment, I was greeted by what seemed like a hundred floaters moving around my field of vision in my right eye, which was kind of like watching a meteor shower in my head.

     Fortunately, it did not take long for my Optometrist to figure out what was happening, and what was happening had absolutely nothing to do with Multiple Sclerosis at all. He explained that as we get older there are tiny fibers in our eyes that attach the gel like substance inside of the eye to the Retina and sometimes these fibers break causing all of the symptoms that I had previously described. He referred to it as a Vitreous Detachment which I quite honestly had never heard of before. He went on to explain that this can only happen one time in each eye and that people who had this happen in one eye were far more susceptible to having this happen again in the other eye at some later date.

     As my fear of losing my sight began to abate he told me that it would probably be about thirty days for the floaters to finally disappear altogether, which seems to be just about right as it’s been about that long, and I’m not noticing to many of these any more. And let me add this, this was not a great experience to have, and I’m certainly not looking forward to going through this again if it does happen, but at least I’ll now what’s happening the next time, the terrifying shadow snake comes to call!

By: Bill Walker

MS Obamacare: My Story

12 Replies
100_0191

Foothills Of Washington State

 

     For many people The Affordable Care Act, otherwise known As Obamacare, has been nothing more then big government attempting to take control of their lives, for myself on the other hand, it’s been nothing less then a Godsend.

     After losing my job in 2010 to the recession, I discovered that the job market was not going to be kind for someone with my limitations due to a Multiple Sclerosis disability. As the weeks, months, and eventually years wore on the task of finding new employment drained me to the point of depression and despair. Of course, along with losing my job, I also lost my healthcare plan which only added to my frustration and deepening depression.

     As my blood pressure began to spike, my prescription to control it ran out, I was left with only one other option for my future care and my sanity. With my stress levels careening out of control I had no other option but to apply for Social Security Disability. However, much to my surprise, even after being found legally disabled I also found out that does not automatically mean that you have health care coverage.

     I was amazed to find that I had somehow fallen into a black hole where I made to much money from disability to qualify for Medicaid coverage but not enough to be able to afford any other health care coverage.

     All of that changed in January of 2014 when The Affordable Care Act was fully implemented. The new rules did make me eligible for Medicaid. I was finally able to afford to see a Doctor and get my blood pressure medication restarted along with having an operation for a Hernia that had been painfully getting worse for months on end.

    Obamacare worked for me, please give it a chance!

MS And A Patient Bill of Rights

Leave a reply
100_0419

Orange Sunset by Bill Walker

      I presume that just about everyone has heard the rumors or conspiracy theories about large drug manufacturers finding and then suppressing cures for diseases like Cancer and even Multiple Sclerosis. I’ve even heard, though there is no proof of this, that the American Cancer Society has been guilty of this kind of fraud for the simple reason that a true cure to cancer would not only put the drug manufacturers, and their various assorted treatments, out of business, but would also in effect put everyone at the ACS out of their respective jobs as well.

     And I’m pretty sure that anyone who had one of these currently incurable diseases would be as shocked as I would if this ever became a reality. I just can’t fathom that anyone could be that heartless and soulless as to permit this kind of tragedy for the sole purpose of individual or corporate greed. And yet, as much as I don’t want to believe that such a thing could really happen, I am left with the reality that such a scenario has probably already come to pass if not in medicine then in some other field like automobiles. Where there seems to be some evidence that a major oil company bought the patent to a carburetor that was capable of getting a hundred miles to a gallon of gas and then destroyed those blueprints to ensure higher oil sales and profits while our environment continues to decay.

     With all of that said, I can’t help but to wonder if a Patient Bill of Rights, that would include all incurable diseases, might help to dissuade any research company, or corporation, from ever letting this happen. At the very least, one would hope, that a whistle blower might step forward because of a Patient Bill of Rights and expose a large research corporation when their personal conscious could no longer remain silent with such a horrific crime against humanity.

   In short, I think we need to combine our resources, and get a Law Firm to write some kind of binding Bill of Rights to protect those of us who have these devastating diseases. And to offer a large financial bounty paid to any whistle blower who could provide proof of such a scenario as the ones I’ve outlined above!

Bill Walker

SUBWAY

3 Replies

100_0382

     I wonder how many people are aware that Subway Sub Shops were created by a group of health conscious Doctors who were disgusted with the fast food choices that Americans had to choose from without a real single healthy choice among the entire bunch. Subway set out to prove that you could get a wholesome low fat, low sugar, and low cholesterol meal for a reasonable price in the same amount of time that most fast food restaurants take to prepare a meal. I applaud Subways conscious effort to help and create a healthier lifestyle for all of the people who visit their unique restaurants and 100_0409offer their own customer support to a healthier world.

     And now I would like to ask Subway to do me a favor, I really want this incredible company to take a stand against Multiple Sclerosis and all of the autoimmune disorders like Lupus, Rheumatoid Arthritis, Crohn’s Disease, as well as all of the other devastating diseases that fall into this category.

     And I have created a unique way of asking Subway for their help and support in the 100_0412battle against these terrible disorders that many of us fight on a daily basis. And it starts by asking you to support them by ordering one of their new Flatizza’s the next time you visit one their restaurants. But instead of having them use Marinara sauce for the base ask them to substitute it with Ranch Dressing instead of Marinara and I sincerely doubt that you will be disappointed with this switch, in fact, I like them even better with Ranch Dressing.

     If we can get enough people to order Flatizzas in this manner I’m hopping that Subway will commit to helping to end these incredibly debilitating diseases in our lifetime. And I am also sending a copy of this letter to Subway Corporate so they are aware of our fight and why we would like their support.

    100_0414 Please help me in this endeavor and order a Flatizza today with Ranch Dressing and enjoy something different that I hope will symbolize a new beginning and the end to these awful diseases!

Bill Walker

MS Cancer Diabetes Anything Else?

4 Replies
100_0031

Ferry Ring or the Circle of Life

    

     Roughly fifteen years ago I was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis and I was instantly thrust into a new way of life that, I might add, I had not asked for. And then about four years ago a lesion on my neck, just to the right and below my right ear, was diagnosed as being pre-melanoma and required a surgical procedure to remove it. I so far, have been fortunate enough not to have had any more of these kinds of lesions. However now I will always have to be, especially since I have very fair skin, very careful about any skin anomaly that I, or my doctor, may find. Yep, just one more thing that I have to worry about as I get older.

     You know, it seems to me that anyone who is diagnosed with something like Multiple Sclerosis or Cancer should never again have to face a life changing health issue of the same magnitude. And now I’m two for two as I travel into my twilight years of this lifetime. And now I am more then totally convinced that the Eleventh Commandment should have been, If thou suffers from one terrible disease then thou shall not have to ever face another one in this lifetime.

     And for me, unfortunately, it doesn’t end there either. My family is just loaded with diabetics and pre-diabetics as far as the family tree can be traced. And I was aware of that when I was first diagnosed with MS so I read what I could find out about this on the internet which of course is not always the most reliable of sources but when I was looking, all those years ago, I was lucky just to be able to figure out how to get onto the internet in the first place so questioning what I was reading wasn’t exactly a concern at the time.

     At any rate, I was quite relieved when I stumbled across an article, or opinion, you decide, about people who had been diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis rarely ever being diagnosed with Diabetes from that point on. Which, of course, isn’t true but there is a strange ending to my story here in the present day. While everyone else in my families blood sugar soars after they eat mine does not. And this has left a couple my doctors quite perplexed, so in my case, maybe the MS Diabetic thing is true after all? Well, I can only hope so, because there is also a fair amount of Cardiac Disease in my family as well. But that’s another story, and another worry, for another day. Right now, I’m just happy that all I have is just MS!

Bill Walker

MS Me and facebook

2 Replies
100_0406

                                              book

     Recently I was cruising around the internet super highway, otherwise known as the World Wide Web, when I suddenly stumbled into the facebook police upon entering my home page. I soon realized that facebook had issued a cease and desist order for using the friend request button on too many occasions where I didn’t personally know these individuals outside of facebook.

     Alright let me be honest here, and admit, that I really didn’t know the people I was friending on a personal level. But this kind of leaves me wondering just what social media is if you can’t go out and meet and socially interact with other people in this manner? I have used facebook and other similar sites to make friends with people from all walks of life from all around the world which is what I thought this was all about in the first place, am I wrong in this assumption?

     In my opinion, I feel that I had a very good reason to make the requests that I was making to the people that I was making them too, we all belong to the same exclusive club in that, we all suffer from the debilitating disease called Multiple Sclerosis. And anyone who shares the MS experience with me, I consider a friend, no matter if I have met them personally or not. When I say, “I feel your pain!” to anyone in this group they know I literally mean it! And that brings a little bit of peace and understanding to all of us who share this unfortunate autoimmune disorder.

     Many years ago I was told that if you don’t have a solution to the problem you’re complaining about then it’s just whining. And so, here is what I would like to suggest to facebook as my solution, please add a second option like a, consider request, where the person can accept you as a friend or just ignore your request and after, let’s say 48 hours, the request would just automatically drop off of their page. That way no ones feelings get hurt but still leaves the door open for people to make new and lasting friends with others from around the world.

     Finally, just so everyone knows, you can friend me no matter who you are and I will accept your request, and if someday we end up having a difference of opinion, that’s ok because we would never have had the chance to find a solution if we were never allowed to meet in the first place. And to me, that is what social media is all about. Friend me all you want, and if you choose to unfriend me in the future, that’s ok too!

 

Bill Walker

SPONTANEOUS REMISSION PART TWO

4 Replies
100_0024

From the top of Mount Erie Washington State

    

      Recently I wrote about a case of spontaneous remission that occurred with a friend from the past and I would love to be able to track her down and see how she’s doing now. But I doubt that’s ever going to happen as our life paths were quite different and she could be anywhere in the world.

     However writing that piece reminded me of something else that one of my Neurologist’s said a few years back during one of my appointments. She didn’t question at all that I had been diagnosed with MS as I had a few lesions in several of the Magnetic Resonance Image scans that I brought along with me to our first meeting. I was excited to have her as my Neurologist as multiple sclerosis was her specialty and she only took certain patients so I felt lucky to get her.

     It was something she said after looking at my brain scans that surprised me as we started talking at our appointment. The very first thing she said was that she was quite surprised that I had any symptoms of MS at all. Of course I was extremely curious to know why she felt this way so she explained that my MS lesions were all, as far as she could tell, deep brain lesions and that most people with these kinds of lesions did not have the typical MS symptoms. And in fact many of them didn’t have any symptoms at all. And in my case she guessed that I must also have some unseen damage in my spinal column as well that spinal scans didn’t show. She continued by adding that she wouldn’t be surprised if at some future point my MS might go into a long period of remission as this was something that she had encountered in other patients. Unfortunately that hasn’t happened yet but I’m still very hopeful that day will eventually come to pass.

     With all of that said, I think that it is very important for anyone who has Multiple Sclerosis to have a talk with their Neurologist about just where on their MRI’s their lesions are showing up and what that means for their own long term prognosis. It may not change anything but I do think that it’s important to know and may add some information about your future MS progression. Remember the information about Multiple Sclerosis is changing everyday so cross examining your Neurologist may be something to consider especially if you haven’t done so for awhile!  

Bill Walker

MS and Environmental Mercury Poisoning

Leave a reply

    100_0362 Researchers have contemplated for years that Multiple Sclerosis may have an environmental component to it. Whether or not it’s the main trigger or just one of many factors that happens to fall in just the right order to disrupt the immune system is what scientists are currently trying to determine in an effort to eventually be able to break the chain of this devastating disease.

     One thing that has gotten quite a bit of scrutiny is our body’s reaction to heavy metals in our environment with mercury being at the top of that list. The reason for that is simple; the symptoms of mercury poisoning are very similar to those of Multiple Sclerosis. And mercury is, and is becoming, ever more prevalent in our ecosystem. It’s in our water, our soil, and even in the air we breathe each and everyday. It’s becoming an environmental disaster as it combines with other compounds in the ocean as it increasingly builds up in the fish and the plants that we eat everyday. And the vast majority of this newly released mercury is being caused by one factor, the burning of coal for our vast energy needs.

     There are still some people who do not believe that coal is having a global effect on our weather patterns. But no matter how you view the climate exposure to the burning of coal, the end result does mean, pouring vast amounts of mercury and other heavy metals into the air where it finds its way into everything else that it comes into contact with. And if you are a person with MS this cannot be considered, by any means whatsoever, a good thing.

     I realize that we just can’t produce the energy that our country needs without burning some kind of fossil fuels but we have vast reserves of natural gas and still a healthy supply of oil that can be used until other alternatives can be developed and employed. But we have to learn to live without the worst of these environmental polluters, and that’s coal.

     The DVD’s in the picture above are about coal, its use, and its extraction, if you’re interested in seeing them. You can find most of them at any local library or they can order them if you ask. And if you have MS, or any autoimmune disease, this is as much about your personal health as it is about the planets!

Bill Walker

MS Pesticides Silent Spring

2 Replies

 

    100_0364

Rachel Carson, the author of the book Silent Spring, is often credited with having started the modern day environmental movement. Her work with the United States Government from mostly the 50’s through the 60’s was primarily researching the effects of pesticides on both humans and wildlife alike. And her findings were what she used to write her book.

     If you have any interest in a quick, about an hour, video about her life then I would encourage you to check your local library for the film, Rachel Carlson’s Silent Spring. The film touches briefly on her work in the government but is more about her own life though I think it is still worth seeing. In fact I was so impressed with her work overall that I think Earth Day should be renamed Rachel Carson’s Earth Day and be recognized around the world as a holiday and certainly a national holiday here in the US. And how many women’s holidays do we now celebrate?

     Now what does this have to do with multiple sclerosis? The pesticides that are used today are mostly created to sterilize the females of whatever insect you’re using it on unlike those first generation pesticides that were developed to attack the insect’s nervous system. And with that in mind I would love to see most peoples faces as they100_0370 watch one scene in particular from the film where a pesticide truck is actually fogging several tables full of kids and there parents while they are eating lunch outdoors. The foggers clearly are telling these folks that this is a completely safe practice with no adverse health effects to worry about. And this just kind of makes me wonder, since I was a kid through all of those years, if perhaps my own eventual diagnosis of MS might have in some way been a direct, or indirect, result of this kind of thinking. Especially when you consider that many researchers today believe that some kind of environmental factor could be at least partially to blame for the onset of many autoimmune diseases including multiple sclerosis. They don’t actually think that these kinds of events cause the disease in question but they are starting to seriously consider if environmental issues like this may kick start the immune system into an adverse reaction to other factors such as a gene irregularity. We may never know, but I think it’s worth considering!

 

Bill Walker

Scroll down for other articles:

    MS and spontaneous remission, MS and vitamin D3, Can MS burn itself out?

 

Can MS Burn Itself Out?

10 Replies
100_0259

Freeze MS in its Tracks!

     100_0260My very first Neurologist, and the one who eventually diagnosed me, made a comment during one of my appointments that perhaps my Multiple Sclerosis would just burn itself out eventually. At the time I kind of thought that he was just trying to give me some hope in the face of this awful diagnosis. And now, just a few days ago, I had my first appointment with my fourth Neurologist since that time sixteen years ago. And he also stated that there was some evidence that MS can perhaps burn itself out over time.

     Recently I was reading a report out of Australia where a man with a diagnosis of both Multiple Sclerosis and HIV was given one of the new generation antiviral drugs that are currently in the trial phase of their studies. And a remarkable thing happened, not only did it knock out his HIV which is what it was being tested for, it also seemed to cure him of his MS. Which leads one to believe that it is possible that the under lying cause of Multiple Sclerosis may be a virus, or retrovirus, after all. Scientist have long been looking at the Epstein Barr virus as a possible disease inducing event in MS but no conclusive evidence has yet linked the two positively.

     We already know that virus’s like the Cold and Flu virus do in fact burn themselves out, thankfully, or we would all have been dead a long time ago, so if Multiple Sclerosis were confirmed to be from either a virus, or pieces of a retrovirus, then the answer to the question about MS being able to burn itself out should be yes. But even more important than that, is these new antiviral drugs that will soon be coming on the market, because if MS is being caused by a response to a viral attack then perhaps a cure for Multiple Sclerosis is only a few years away which of course is something that we have all prayed for as long as we’ve had this devastating disorder.

     I do know this, if they need any volunteers for that clinical trial, I sure wouldn’t say no if asked to participate in it. This sounds just to promising to not be interested in following the future research!

 

Bill Walker