* T o g e t h e r . . . W e   C a n *

If this disease takes my hands and I can't paint anymore I will shriwel up and die!!!!!!!

I will give a free communication on an Internet site (I will tell via E Mail all those people whose address I managed to get).

That will certainly happen before Christmas (I will take a little time because I must also explain the method that I use to limit my MS and I must have translated into English all that I have learnt serves to control this ailment). To improve and deepen the knowledge of the MS.

I would be interested to know if the people who have this "ailment" capture smells very well. If you can write to me, please do so, I will have at disposal a greater number of people to send this important communication to.

In the measures no use is made of medicine or magic potion. (ALL IS FREE) All this is very incredible, but fortunately for us people with MS, it is TRUE..

I am a physician, and I have many patients with MS in all stages and forms. I have found your site exceptionally useful.

As a home care physician, I am required to have and use a lot of creativity in my work with MS patients, many of whom find it extremely difficult to go to their doctors' offices, especially compared with the benefit many of them get from the arduous trip.

I certainly feel solidarity with your commitment, even though I do not have the disease.

Last 5 years several more symptoms, including bowel incontinence, acid reflux also oddly enough, constipation, hearing problems and numb spots. I couldn't afford all the expensive tests, poor insurance, so had to tough it out until Medicare.

When the shift was over, my leg was still numb, so my wife took me to the emergency room. During the examination, the doctor took a safety pin and, unknown to me, pricked me from above my left waist down to the bottom of my left foot. I did not feel anything until she got to the bottom of my foot.

She referred me to a neuro in Birmingham who referred me to another neuro who had a Mylogram and a Spinal Tap done. The results of those tests were forwarded to another neuro who ordered an MRI.

Following the MRI, I was told I had either MS or a brain tumor and was, subsequently, referred to a fourth neuro, Dr. Galen Mitchell. After a plethora of further testing, I was dx'd with RRMS sometime in April or May of 1998.

I thought it had taken forever to make a dx, but I have realized how fortunately rapid my dx actually was. In the ensuing months and years, I have continued to have problems with my left leg; I have lost 90% of the hearing in my left ear and 40% in my right. I have numbness on my face and head and have the common problems with fatigue.

In the spring of 1999, Dr. Mitchell moved to Philadelphia, and my case was taken and is still handled by a Dr. Bashir. At the time of Dr. Mitchell's departure, I went to Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Fla. for a second opinion. They concurred with UAB's dx.

While at Mayo, an over night sleep monitor was used for one night. Upon departing Mayo, I was advised to seek further testing for sleep disorder. After four sleep studies by two different medical groups, I have further been dx'd with severe mixed sleep apnea.

I have been outfitted with six different CPAP and BiPAP machines, each with some addition to help remedy the ailment. Every one only increased the number of times that I stopped breathing during what little sleep I was getting.

The doctors have done all they know of to try to control the apnea, with no success. they are in the process, now, of referring me to a doctor in Rochester, Minn.

There is some disagreement between the doctors, here, as to the cause of the apnea. Three out of four think it is MS induced. The fourth (my regular MS physician, whose opinion I value highly) feels that is highly unlikely.

One of the questions I am in the dark about is: If the symptoms of MS are determined by demylination of certain nerves, and there is no way of determining which nerves will be attacked or why they are attacked, then why is it that one nerve should be less or more likely to be affected than another?

I understand that there is very little data concerning MS induced sleep apnea, but from my position it certainly seems plausible. Frankly, getting an average of two hours of sleep a night (during which time I appear to stop breathing from fifty to seventy times an hour) for the last three months, I'm at the end of my endurance.

Although my last two MRIs have not revealed any increased activity, all of my previously mentioned symptoms are more pronounced. I have given up driving all but short distances, and my concentration level is becoming ever lower.

I have also had, prior to and after the vision problems, sensations in my skin like pins are poking me, hot and cold spots. I have had some light headedness. I have had so many tests for this and that.

Why is MS still a consideration after negative tests? I am about ready to say, "No more tests!" My vision has improved, it is not 100% in my right eye. My eye also sometimes throbs/aches. However, it is not double anymore.

I've had three sleep studies and been introduced to all the conventional treatments (CPAP, BiPAP, different concentrations, reserve air, nasal canula, etc.) all to no avail. I am averaging two to three hours of sleep a night, never more than four minutes at a time, and I never get past the first sleep stage.

I'm a single Mom raising a six yr. old boy, keeps me busy. I've found when you have a disease such as M.S., you finally realize what you want to do with your life. That has been Art and Writing for me. It's such an escape.

I have been searching the internet to find out everything I can, because I am the type person the more I know the better I can handle it.

My family and close friends are commenting on the changes they see happening. Aquaintances are making comments like: *You're limping, have you hurt yourself?*
*Oh, we all get forgetful, when we are stressed... etc, etc.*