This Is MS Multiple Sclerosis Community: Knowledge & Support

MrSuccess-

I get where you're coming from with MS being around for so long. But I can't simplify the potential harmful effects of chemical agents I work around and their potential to affect disease progression simply because MS was around before these man-made chemicals.

I'll be the first to agree with you that you can't simply worry about each and every little thing you eat or drink and so on. I guess you can, but it will drive you mad.

But, as a 35-year-old husband and father of 3 young daughters with a fourth on the way and being a newly diagnosed MS patient, I'm mindful of the things that could most affect the progression of my disease. I know the countless neurotoxic effects that these products have. The MSDS's are available with the punch of a button. Yet, I'm smart enough to know that there is no long-term research showing their potential relationship to neurodegenerative diseases. Money will not go to that effort anytime soon.

It's the same old story. It takes a lot of time and a number of deaths to link a chemical to disease. Benzene is a great example. Guys used to wash their hands in it to remove grease. Now, it's a well-known carcinogen. Same thing with asbestos. No one would dismiss that removing old asbestos without an asbestos-approved respirator is no big deal because lung cancer has been around for 150 years. Take a look at some of the CDC cancer maps. The heaviest cancer populations are riddled along the banks of the Ohio and Mississippi. It's no coincidence that these two river's banks are the most industrialized in the nation.

I can appreciate the fact that you seem to be telling me not to worry so much. I really can. And, I would agree with you to a large degree. Excessive worry is bad for any MS patient. But, I can't simply ignore the potential relationship between the chemical agents I'm exposed to and MS simply because it's been around for 150 years, other people are living to 100, or other people exposed to these agents never develop MS.

There's quite a difference in someone breathing tiny amounts of toxic chemicals and someone that is 'directly' exposed to these chemicals 8 hours a day, 40+ hrs. a week.

Leaving this job may not make a bit of difference on my disease progression. But it might!

Lance , I understand where you're coming from. What a difficult situation to find oneself in.

I'm sure that you will find TIMS a very helpful source for MS information . Lot's of great people here that provide many great thought provoking ideas.

Exposure to harmful chemicals certainly makes sense. Well worth investigating any potential links.

I have followed the CCSVI story from day one . It made perfect sense then ... and still does . I believe the next logical step is the developement of Biodegradable stents made from something your body will not reject , nor need pharma .

I suspect someone somewhere is mad at work creating this. They will be billionaires over night ..... and pwMS will be in far and away better condition.

Let's hope that day is tomorrow.

MrSuccess

lance, please keep in mind ms is only a word. symptoms are what we are all dealing with.

you are young, you seem to plenty smart and it sounds like you have a beautiful family to be there for. so, don't leave any possibities unexplored if you can.

one thing for sure is nothing is for sure and this crap shoot someone named ms has made a lot of money for those that have helped to brain wash patients into thinking we are all the same.