The following article emphasizes the importance of lifting weights and working out. The good news is that if you work out at all,your survival time goes up substantially. I know that going to physical therapy and working out played a big part in my MS going into remission:
https://getpocket.com/explore/item/to-delay-death-lift-weights?utm_source=pocket-newtab”>httpsetpocket.com/explore/item/to-delay-death-lift-weights?utm_source=pocket-newtab
I attended a seminar by Jungian analyst Jean Shinoda Bolen MD about twenty years ago. I wrote her a letter asking about how to cope with the multiple sclerosis I had at the time. She responded with a hand written two page letter.
The Dali Lama at one point chose her as one of twenty psychiatrists and psychologists to attend a tour. A main value of Buddhists is compassion. It is easy to see why he chose her.
Her Goddesses in Every Woman and Gods in Every Man books helped me learn to interpret dreams. She has written many books. As a psychiatrist, she used to do group therapy with people who had cancer (the book is Close to the Bone). I hope to be more like her someday.
Lemtrada is a once a year infusion that may slow or possibly stop the progression of multiple sclerosis. It is a once a year infusion, but the first year you receive infusions for five days in a row. Subsequent infusions are once a year but occur for three days in a row.
Insurance companies paint it as being for relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis, MS, after two ms drugs have failed. That is because there is some risk to the infusions.
It reminds me of the procedure used that stopped my MS in its tracks in the early 2000s. I was given big bags of steroids for three days in a row, which dampens the immune system, while also physically making your body stronger. On the third day the infusion included Cytoxan which modifies your immune system.
Because your body is revved on steroids, the immune system modification occurs quickly. This was done every three to six months, depending upon how I was reacting. It worked. My MS symptoms remitted, and have continued to improve until the present.
It is my guess that the Lemtrada may be working similarly. There was a lot of risk with the procedure I went through, and there is risk with Lemtrada. I believe it may be risky because both procedures basically turn your immune system off temporarily, followed by the immune system being less hyperactive about attacking your nervous system.
Both procedures use steroids heavily, which dampens the immune system. I had a severe infection after one set of infusions that landed me in the hospital for a week which I recovered from.
I continued to improve using once a week Tysabri self-injections, which I did for almost ten years; however, there is a danger to using Tysabri. The danger is that you may activate a latent JV virus which then causes multiple myelomas in your brain. They have a test that indicated I was getting close to JV virus activation, so I fortunately was able to switch to the new 800 pound gorilla in the fight against multiple sclerosis, Ocrevus.
The first time you take Ocrevus, it is infusions given two days in a row. The infusions last for six months. Subsequent infusions occur every six months and are for one day, with the infusion taking three or four hours.
My health has steadily improved since my late fifties. At 66, I am in better health than I was in my thirties. I developed MS in 1991 right before the first effective medications for multiple sclerosis were developed. Ocrevus is the best one by far. Tysabri helped a lot, but I noticed that I was more likely to get a cold or the flu on Tysabri. That has not been the case with Ocrevus. Ocrevus is for both primary progressive multiple sclerosis and relapsing remitting MS.
I recently had surgery on my eyes for double vision which I trace back to probably being caused by MS. Visual symptoms were the first thing I noticed in my late twenties which I think was a precursor to being diagnosed with primary progressive multiple sclerosis at age 36.
Right after the surgery, the double vision changed. Over the course of three weeks, it merged into unitary singular vision. They do not operate on the eyes themselves. They operate on the small muscles controlling those movements. They ” tighten the cables” leading to your eyes if you will. Anyway, you are put under anesthesia and released the same day so it is outpatient surgery.
I have excessive skin on my eyelids which I think contributed to the double vision (if you put pressure on the outside of your eye with a finger, it distorts your vision which is a similar effect). Surgery can remove the excessive skin safely, so I think I will do it. Anyway, for 2019, “the eyes (ayes) have it.”
For the next few days, Amazon is giving the book away free at https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07D7JBZ5L/ref=cm_sw_r_fa_awdo_t1_.pDiBbVDAK0S4
“Multiple Sclerosis MISSION REMISSION” by Dr. Fox was both a pleasure and an eye opener to the many aspects of how MS develops and can be managed. The deep insights he provides into his personal and family dynamics are powerful indicators of how dis-ease can be instilled and manifest later in various ways, from psychological to physical trauma. His ingenuity, spiritual insights and dogged determination to regain his life from the debilitating toll of MS is both inspirational and instructive. A very good read from many perspectives! -Dale Miesen, BA, Psycholgy & Philosophy”
A radical new treatment for multiple sclerosis is on the way. Researchers noticed that a leukemia treatment that works also practically cured MS patients who had both leukemia and multiple sclerosis.
Seventeen of the sample of 24, which is 70% of the people who used this treatment, had marked improvement in their MS symptoms (such as being able to return to work). One of the 24 MS patients died.
First bone marrow cells are extracted from the patient. Then all the immune cells in the patient are killed with toxic chemotherapy. The bone marrow sample is then purged of cancerous cells. The final step is the bone marrow sample is injected back into the patient to reboot the immune system of the MS sufferer.
For more information about this treatment, go to https://www.newscientist.com/article/2093280-extreme-cure-for-ms-reboots-immune-system-but-can-be-fatal/
Mononucleosis, the “kissing disease” has been recently linked to lupus, multiple sclerosis, diabetes (type I), inflammatory bowel disease, rheumatoid arthritis, celiac disease, and juvenile idiopathic arthritis. These were added to the list of diseases mononucleosis is related to. https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/04/180416121606.htm
Mononucleosis is caused by the Epstein Barr Virus (EPV). This virus is in the saliva. Over ninety percent of people in advanced countries have the virus by age 20.
Poor countries typically have ninety percent of their population infected by the age of two.
It is usually no big deal in most cases–the person feels tired for two weeks and the recovers: however, serious cases can last for months. The illustration above predicts the associated symptoms.
It is my and others belief that major disturbance of the immune system makes getting multiple sclerosis more likely. People who live in cold climates, who have more exposure to colds, flus, and mononucleosis, are more likely to get MS. I believe repeated assaults on the immune system makes autoimmune diseases, like those above, more likely.
See how I dealt with MS at:
There is now compelling evidence that adverse circumstances can significantly shorten a child’s life. Adverse events such as child physical, sexual, and emotional abuse make the child as an adult more susceptible to chronic illness. I stated this in my book, “Multiple Sclerosis Mission Remission: Healing MS Against All Odds.” It is nice to see supporting information at
Actress Selma Blair describes the many years it took for her multiple sclerosis to be diagnosed in this interview:
https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/wellness/story/selma-blair-shares-candid-details-life-ms-multiple-61352124
She needs prednisolone infusions for the flare up. If I were her, I would use the once every six months infusion of Ocrevus. In any case, she should consult with her doctors regarding either of these possibilities as each case has its own unique features. She could avoid reinventing the wheel by reading my book “Multiple Sclerosis Mission Remission: Healing MS Against All Odds” which is available on amazon and is described at http://www.msmissionremission.com
