How to Manage a Monster

Over the past 4 years, I have received many stunned glances and questions on how I manage my monster of Multiple Sclerosis so well.  I don't have one specific thing that I do, but I happily share my journey to wellness.

1) Hit Your Knees
As cliche as it sounds, my first step was to hit my knees and talk to God.  Ok, so I wasn't really rational... I did more yelling and crying than talking.  I was mad.  I was scared.  And I let the Big Man take it all.  Seriously, He can handle it. 

2) Research, Research, Research
I was in the middle of a move and had one neurologist diagnose me and then I had to schedule with a new one.  I had to wait three months to get in with the next neurologist, so in the meantime, I researched a TON!

What I found to be helpful is outlined below.

3) Talk with your Doctor
After all my research, I felt that God was giving me the answer of how to manage the monster, but I did go to my appointment with the second neurologist.  She handed me a stack of medical brochures and told me to choose which one I wanted.  I asked which ones would help with my fatigue and numbness and she was very honest in telling me that none of them would.  The medicines out there only help to decrease the chance of another exacerbation.  In my opinion, the risk of ruining my liver and the other side effects were not worth it.  I had already begun to see some differences from changing my diet and wanted to see how much further those changes would take me.


So, how do I manage my monster?
1) Prayer

2) A positive outlook.  It really makes a difference!

3) Supplements - Jarrow B12 - 5000IU, Vitacost Neuropower Multivitamin, Carlson Fish Oil, Carlson Vitamin E, Metagenics Vitamin D3 - 5000IU per day, Vitamin C, Evening Primrose Oil - 1300 mg/day, Milk Thistle Root, Probiotics, Maca Root

4) Diet - I eliminated dairy, red meat, pork, gluten, eggs and soy from my diet.  These items are very inflammatory and I didn't realize how terrible the food I was eating was making me feel. I didn't do it all at once, but one at a time so that it wasn't so overwhelming.  I also cut out most sugar from my diet.  Easy?  No.  But worth it?  Yes!

5) Chiropractic - The theory of chiropractic is that without subluxations, your body can heal itself.  I was involved in a minor car accident at the age of 16 that caused a neck injury that I didn't realize I had until 10 years later when I was in the chiropractor's office.  When your spine is subluxated, your body does not get the signals from your brain in an efficient manner and your body suffers.  There is a specific type of chiropractic care called upper cervical care, where only the top vertabrae of your spine is adjusted.  The brain stem runs through this vertabrae so if it is just slightly off center, it cuts off "power" to your body... causing numbness, heart palpitations, ringing in ears.... and sooo much more.

6) Exercise.  Okay, this word isn't my favorite and never has been.  I don't go lift weights or run marathons, but just getting out and walking 20 minutes a day helps stress so much.  Or a 30 minute yoga video.  Something to take your mind off work, kids, and the monster itself. 


Resources that I would highly recommend are:
Ann Boroch - http://www.annboroch.com/
Ann Sawyer and Judy Bachrach - http://msrecoverydiet.com/
Montel Williams - Read his books and research what he has to say about MS!