LIVING WITH MS - PART 4

My next challenge was just around the corner: I lost a job that I really enjoyed, and it was close to my residence which helps when one is a single parent. I was feeling sorry for myself (victim approach!) for about three days, until I realized that this also happened for a reason.

It was an unexpected holiday and at the same time I met a man who loved me and my children unconditionally. I added some red wine to my supplements, but couldn’t stop the coffee and dark chocolate yet. This was in the spring of 2006.

My next job was in a busy mall environment on hard floors with no natural light. The bathrooms were too far away and bathrooms are an issue for people with MS. The month of my 50th birthday came, and just three weeks later, I had a phone call from my brother that mom’s kidneys were shutting down. I jumped on the next plane to say good-bye to her, and she died the day after I arrived in Switzerland. Fortunately, my kids were old enough to look after themselves during that time.

Since then, my leg has been getting gradually worse, and I am not working now. Last fall, I heard about Dr. Paolo Zamboni’s theory about CCSVI, which stands for Chronic Cerebrospinal Venous Insufficiency. His studies found that 90% of MS patients also have some form of CCSVI. Dr. Zamboni (whose wife has MS) found that in most MS patients, the three veins for draining blood from the brain (the 2 jugulars and the azygos) are tangled or constricted.

In a healthy adult, the blood brain barrier protects the brain from harm (i.e. bacterial cells) and only lets smaller molecules like oxygen, carbon dioxide and hormones pass. One of the theories by Dr. Zamboni teaches about poor drainage that might cause a reflux of blood into the brain and cause iron deposits. The immune system then attacks the iron deposits and MS symptoms occur. The surgery involves inserting balloons (or stents) in the narrowed veins. This procedure is known as angioplasty.

There is great controversy among experts about this “Liberation” treatment. Many MS patients have been and are traveling to foreign countries such as Bulgaria, Poland and France as well as some places in the US for their treatment. MS is a progressive disease. Nobody who is diagnosed with it wants to wait too long for more research. The videos of many of my MS facebook friends make it clear that the symptoms go away just a few hours after the surgery.

What does this mean for me? My neurologist is supporting my wish to have the test first in Vancouver, without the treatment. This should be happening in the fall sometime, since I’m on a waiting list. In the meantime, I am listening to my body. When I’m tired, I go have a cat nap. When I’m hot, I have a cold shower or put on my cooling vest. I keep taking my supplements as mentioned in part 3 and will also check into pycnogenol (pine bark extract), an antioxidant that crosses the blood brain barrier.

I have started eating a lot of raw food, joined a choir and can say no to coffee, well….almost. I will keep you posted!