Natural medicine?! Moi?

The title is a bit cryptic yeah? I wanted to express that I am on a MS medication and I would never change. As well, no one should take what I say as medical advice and you should always, I repeat always, talk to your doctor about any supplements or natural medicine you want to take. 

With that being said, I have found some things that help me manage some side effects associated with MS and high blood sugar. 

Fatigue

First of all food! Heavy foods make me sleepy, and meals that are high in carbohydrates make me sleepy because of the blood sugar spike and fall. Saying this I try to keep my meals pretty balanced and/or follow a low carbohydrate diet. While I was going through chemo all bets were off on this one. I ate what I could. Since meat literally tasted like dog food it was hard to find a good balance. I managed mind you but it was HARD. So I totally understand when things are in your way like work, kids, school, and just life in general. It really is worth it to take the time to try to change your eating habits even if it's just a little at a time. 

A vitamin B Complex and B12 - This helps me a lot. I'm low on B12 so I take a liquid supplement (under the tongue) always take a liquid or a pill you can put under your tongue (sublingual) because your stomach acids will eat most of the B12 and you won’t get the benefits.  

Exercise - This has worked the best for my MS fatigue. If you're in a flare it's better to rest and you have to know your limits. If you can only sit in a chair and raise your arms for 10 minutes that should be your exercise. My honest recommendation is to find a Physical Therapist who understands MS and that MS does not mean you'll be disabled, and work with them to set limits for yourself. 

Blood Sugar

Cinnamon - Yep, that little spice helps with my blood sugar. However, I don't use to it sprinkle on food I actually take tablets that have cinnamon in them. Cinnamon dramatically helps my blood sugar and unless you’re allergic to cinnamon, I have never heard of someone ODing from cinnamon consumption (smile). 

Fenugreek - I can tell most of you are like "Huh?" but it is real and it is out there. Fenugreek is a common Indian spice and is used a lot in curries and other Indian dishes. If you’ve ever had Indian food the likely hood that you've had this spice is 100%. Fenugreek has actually been studied and has been proven to work on blood sugar. I use it in some of my foods, like chili and tomato soup, but I also take it as a supplement (because I love Indian food but not everything should take like Indian food). You can buy it at any local vitamin store; I get mine from The VitaminShoppe. 

Exercise - I don't have to explain this one right? Good. 

Those are a few things I use to help me manage my MS and my blood sugar. I'm also a bit more of a hippy and use meditation and other herbs for other things. That's for another post (smile)

Day Four MS Awareness Week - The Fatigue Monster

Today I want to talk about Fatigue and MS (dramatic music plays). 

(putting aside the fear by sharing a funny Korean baby) 

This is me with my big head (not really) cause I'm Korean (that's real).

Everyone OK? Good. Fatigue is one of the most common symptoms of MS. It's also (in my opinion) is one of the most debilitating. 80% of those diagnosed with MS will suffer from fatigue. We even have a a cool name for the type of fatigue we have it's called Lassitude (it has it's own name - how great right?). This type of fatigue is characterized by the following:

• Generally occurs on a daily basis
• May occur early in the morning, even after a restful night’s sleep
• Tends to worsen as the day progresses
• Tends to be aggravated by heat and humidity
• Comes on easily and suddenly
• Is generally more severe than normal fatigue
• Is more likely to interfere with daily responsibilities

The other amazingly fun thing about MS fatigue is that they don't know what causes it. As you know, you can't effectively treat something when the cause is unknown, just like MS itself. Fatigue is my worst symptoms of MS. When I push myself to far, either at work or home, not sleeping enough, or horrible amounts of stress, my fatigue can get so bad I can't function. I fell asleep at a stop light once after a very stressful week at work. 

There are ways to combat fatigue - such as keeping cool, but fatigue can just come on and overwhelm you. I think I've said it before but it feels like someone has thrown a wet blanket on top of you. As quickly as it comes I've had it leave just as fast and it's one of the oddest feelings you can have. Exercise also helps with fatigue but I'll talk about exercise in another post.

There are also medications such as Provigil (a narcolepsy medication) and Ritalin (an ADHD medication). I personally use Provigil. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. As well, you should always get checked for other medical conditions that may cause fatigue. 

If you think you need help with your fatigue you should talk to your neurologist. Before I was diagnosed with MS I would get in my car, drive to the store, and then decide walking from my car to the store was to much trouble, and go home. I felt like a fat, lazy, slob and I was so embarrassed by this that I never told a soul. After diagnosis I spoke with someone who also had MS. I asked her about fatigue and shared the story I just shared with you. She laughed and told me that had happened to her many times. I started to cry. 

So, my suggestion is talk to someone else who has MS, talk to your Neuro, and don't be embarrassed  Now with exercise and managing my stress and time, and with the help of Provigil now and then. I always get out of the car when I go to the store, much to the horror of my bank account (smile). 

(looking around cockeyed) or Thank you Nom Nom Paleo!

Two things here. First I'm going to whine and vent and second I'm going to give huge Kudos to Nom Nom Paleo (CLICK THIS LINK CHECK THIS OUT!).

What the hell is going on? I'm SO TIRED again. I slept for 14 hours the other day. Literally came home from work, cooked, ate, went to sleep, and my little Asian eyes didn't open again until I was trying to find my alarm. Which is my iPhone, which was missing somewhere on my bed in the blankets and pillows. I was a 'wee' bit angry. This does not feel like fatigue so I wonder what the hell this is! Grrrrrrr

Maybe it's because I've been cooking (laughing). Today I made Salisbury steak with garlic herb gravy, and cauliflower rice. So good and I am stuffed! I lost 25 lbs before I started my leptin reset and I've been holding steady at that. I wanted to slow my weight loss down and it has. I am really happy about that! I was losing way to much to fast at first.

Shallots, onions, spices from tea and spice in Winter Park, grass feed beef and pork, ghee, and cauliflower rice! YUM!

To bad I didn't take any photos of the rice (big smile).





 NOW To give KUDOS to a site and two people that deserve it! Nom Nom Paleo is an amazing website. Click here RIGHT NOW -------->  Nom Nom Paleo

What drew me in at first was the amazing photography. The second was that it was all Paleo (Hence the name of the site - pretty tricky huh?) and that there are a LOT of great recipes. Cauliflower rice people! (smile)

They recently (Friday) released an iPad app full of amazing recipes and all kinds of bells and whistles!

Well, I have a first gen iPad and this app was optimized for the new High Res screen in the new iPad. Unknown to them, the optimization effected the performance of the app on the first gen.  I found out after I purchased it (sad face) but this was not their fault and I was happy to purchase it! They promised a update would come to help fix the problem!

Well I commented on their blog. Something like "Drat, I have a first Gen and I already got it!". To my utter shock, they sent me an iTunes gift card to make up for the issue with the app!

I'm not shocked that they cared and would do it (They seem like lovely caring people that like to cut up sides of cow and eat pigs) but I guess in this day and age you don't expect someone to be considerate.

So a huge hats off to Nom Nom Paleo for being the best site for Paleo foodies, and for being amazing people that take others into consideration!

Oh, and  for being able to butcher a cow by hand! 

No, I'm Not Tired

I'm not tired at all. I have mind numbing, bone aching fatigue.

Those not familiar with the feeling will never know how horrible it really is. Tired does not cover it, although that's the only feeling most can relate too. Pretend you have the flu, that horrible weak feeling you get, and then pretend someone has forced you to walk around an amusement park in the heat all day, and then at the end of that day you ran 5 miles.

Now times that by 10.

Yes it is that bad. Not all the time but right now I feel like I can't move. I go to the doctor and I feel like I've worked an 8 hour day and went for a run after I played with my god daughter for an hour or so. I have not felt like this since I was first diagnosed over two years ago and this is kicking my ass.

For me, a person with MS who does a lot and exercises, works full time, and manages a second business, stopping and resting is hard. Not stopping and resting has lead to this. Fighting it for the past two and a half weeks, I fell asleep at the stoplight on my way home from work. I'm lucky I didn't fall asleep on the ride home.  Trust me when I say it was touch and go for awhile and that I really took a chance driving home that day.

I was having nightmares and not sleeping at all but instead of taking it easy and staying home to rest, I went to work and tried to push through it. Someone without MS would have been exhausted and stupid for doing what I was doing. With MS I really put myself in a bad situation.

Now I have to rest. (smile) My body is going to force me to rest. To my chagrin I admit I did this to myself. Well MS did it to me but I know better.

I'm not mad or depressed. It is what it is. I'm a bit frustrated with myself but there is nothing I can do about it now except not do it again. So I will rest and admit I can't do it this week. The fog will lift soon and I will take my Nuvigil and see if it helps me break through quicker.

I still walk with my pups, no running of course, which I will admit I was doing until just yesterday (silly smile) but no work and no driving until I'm sure I wont fall asleep.

Here is to MS everyone and to learning the lesson again that it is OK to slow down sometimes!

Cold Joy! AKA Fatigue Sucks

A lot of people know I have MS at this point. I outed myself on Facebook and to my surprise, it didn't really cause much of an uproar. I am not ashamed of my MS or want to keep it hidden, I just don't lead with "Hi, nice to meet you. I have MS" seems a bit like a strong introduction (smile).

I'm sick this week with a cold. A cold or a phlegm demon that has taken up residence in my chest. It seems to be going around at work and I was the unlucky recipient of it! My poor boyfriend was woken up by me last night many times coughing a lung up.

Having MS means that since I'm sick I'm psudoflaring. I've talked about a psudoflare before but in general what it means is that crappy MS stuff that I've had before comes back to say hi. My right arm hurts, my eyes are spazzing a bit, and I am EXHAUSTED. I've ran 20 miles before and I have not been this exhausted.

So, not only do I have this amazing cold but I feel like I can't move. I could sleep 20 hours a day and it wouldn't make a different. I could take my Provigil but then I'd be sick and on my wakey wakey pill. Which seems a bit like a waste of my very expensive wakey wakey pill.

One of the major problems with being sick and getting this fatigued is that I can't work. I'm usually perfectly able to work and do my normal life stuff, but when I'm sick I'm dead and good to no one. The funny part about this? I just spoke to HR about the fact that I have MS. I haven't told HR up until this point that I have MS. As I said above I'm not embarrassed by it I just don't lead with it (smile). I also think work is a need-to-know type of situation. I'm a bit gun shy about telling employers about my MS. It's a personal choice that I make because of the industry I am in.

So, here I sit literally sick and tired waiting for my cold to go away and for my fatigue to lift. At least I have a chance to catch up on reading blogs and playing facebook games (smile).

Rip Van Winkette (thats me)

Once in a great while my MS likes to pop out of nowhere and slap the shit out of me. It does this to remind me that it’s there. Not that I don’t think about it every day as I’m jabbing a needle into my tummy but sometimes like a jealous dog, it wants to make sure I really know it's still there. 

Last weekend a group of friends and I threw a baby shower for our awesome friend Squishy! Unfortunately, it was 100 degrees where we were and I spent eight hours there so I got overheated. I run and get very hot but I’m able to cool down pretty quickly. I guess the extended overheating really got to me because I think I slept three days straight. 

I went to work for the first part of the week but spent most of Thursday Friday and Saturday asleep. I got up to eat and use the facilities before going right back to sleep. Today is the first day I’ve woken up and been able to function normally. I also promptly went for a jog and went shopping (smile). I feel good though still and cold showers do wonders for cooling down and the skin. Hehe

This brings me to a new theory about Rip Van Winkle. He wasn’t bewitched - he had MS!