Hello, WOW What a great board--now convince my wife
Posted: Fri Sep 18, 2009 1:56 pm
Hi, everyone. I stumbled upon this board and for the first time in years I actually am getting excited about the possibility of some improvement in my wife's MS. She was diagnosed in 2005 with relapsing remitting MS, multiple lesions and lumbar puncture confirmed the neuro's diag. Her original symptoms were blurry vision in the right eye which occured when overheated or stressed out and numbness on the left thigh. Her condition got worse over time and her balance went next, then incontinence started and a general inability to multi-task or come up with the correct words. Did I mention the PMS and constipation? They make her MS symptoms unbearable. She was forced to quit a wonderful job which she loved. About 2 years ago her feet began to get purple if she was on her feet too long. The GP she went to did not seem alarmed. She spent more and more time in bed. She now has extreme leg pain and will literally freak out if her feet are down for more than 30 seconds. Transferring from her bed to a commode or a wheelchair is a risk for a fall. She tried compression hose, but this just kept the blood down in the feet and made things worse. We have found that dairy products or things high in saturated fat will make her symptoms 10x worse. She has a doctors appointment coming up and I want her doctor to refer her to a vascular specialist for the doppler scan. She had this done in 2008, but only on her legs, and they found nothing. I'm not sure they had the latest technology at the hospital she went to. What I would like to know is:
the exact name of the test(s) she needs done
the machine needed to perform these tests
what will medicare + blue shield pay for?
is there any correlation between the leg issue and ccvi?
are there any members willing to email her privately and share their experiences with the surgery either improvements or complications?
She has had a lot of mistreatment and is wary of the medical profession. She was started on Copaxone right away at diag. but had horrible site reactions. She tried hyperbaric oxygen therapy, but it made her optic neuritis worse. She was hosptialized in 2006 and put on a course of steroids. They just made her bitchy and when she quit them without tapering off she felt like a zombie. The whole hospital was a a teaching hospital where she was experimented on an rediagnosed for the benefit of interns and insurance money. The failed lumbar puncture, the many missed veins in IV administering made her want to never go back. Since then he's been given all kinds of supplements by a "Lyme Literate" doctor who sees every malady known to man as a result of Lyme disease. We tried 2 months worth of oral antibiotics, with only stomach pains to show for it. We even own a Rife Resonant Light Therapy machine which makes a weird pulsating neon light show, but has yet to cure anything. This same Lyme doctor recommended heat baths to "kill the spirochetes". We drew the line here. She is unable to handle even the slightest fluctuation in temperature, I am sure these baths would have killed her. So, when I say she is skeptical and paranoid it is not without reason. I tell her--this is different. At least get the scans done. They are non-invasive. And if they show there is a blockage, getting it fixed could only help. So, here I am/we are reading this thread and I am just trying to not get my hopes up yet again....too much. Thanks, I feel better. Andrew (Sharon's husband and caregiver)
the exact name of the test(s) she needs done
the machine needed to perform these tests
what will medicare + blue shield pay for?
is there any correlation between the leg issue and ccvi?
are there any members willing to email her privately and share their experiences with the surgery either improvements or complications?
She has had a lot of mistreatment and is wary of the medical profession. She was started on Copaxone right away at diag. but had horrible site reactions. She tried hyperbaric oxygen therapy, but it made her optic neuritis worse. She was hosptialized in 2006 and put on a course of steroids. They just made her bitchy and when she quit them without tapering off she felt like a zombie. The whole hospital was a a teaching hospital where she was experimented on an rediagnosed for the benefit of interns and insurance money. The failed lumbar puncture, the many missed veins in IV administering made her want to never go back. Since then he's been given all kinds of supplements by a "Lyme Literate" doctor who sees every malady known to man as a result of Lyme disease. We tried 2 months worth of oral antibiotics, with only stomach pains to show for it. We even own a Rife Resonant Light Therapy machine which makes a weird pulsating neon light show, but has yet to cure anything. This same Lyme doctor recommended heat baths to "kill the spirochetes". We drew the line here. She is unable to handle even the slightest fluctuation in temperature, I am sure these baths would have killed her. So, when I say she is skeptical and paranoid it is not without reason. I tell her--this is different. At least get the scans done. They are non-invasive. And if they show there is a blockage, getting it fixed could only help. So, here I am/we are reading this thread and I am just trying to not get my hopes up yet again....too much. Thanks, I feel better. Andrew (Sharon's husband and caregiver)