Information and opinions on Multiple Sclerosis from Julie at MultipleSclerosisCentral.com. The HealthCentral Network, Inc. (www.HealthCentral.com) is one of the top health destinations on the Web, with more than 35 condition-specific, wellness and general health Web properties. http://www.healthcentral.com/multiple-sclerosis/c/73654 http://www.healthcentral.com/multiple-sclerosis/c/73654/rss self application/xml en-us 15 120 19 http://www.healthcentral.com/images/hc_logo_sm.gif http://www.healthcentral.com/multiple-sclerosis/c/73654 http://www.healthcentral.com/multiple-sclerosis/c/73654/96024/holida Mon, 23 Nov 2009 12:21:26 -0500 Julie Here come the holidays! Warm and comforting, family and visitors, shopping and cooking, hectic and tiring. Yes, it's a bit of everything. We have some family arriving this week, staying for several days. I'm looking forward to the visit and also feeling my stress level rise a bit too. I need to get the spare room ready, fresh sheets on the beds and towels set out. I need to meal plan and grocery shop. Do a little cleaning. When they arrive,... http://www.healthcentral.com/multiple-sclerosis/c/73654/96024/holida http://www.healthcentral.com/multiple-sclerosis/c/73654/78369/what-it Mon, 13 Jul 2009 16:16:37 -0400 Julie It is what it is. I'm trying to focus on those simple words. It's so easy to get into the ‘what if' game. I know because I do that all the time! What if my fuzzy vision today turns into blindness tomorrow? Yikes! What if my pain levels increase? Oh no! What if I lose my job, what if my husband gets fed up and divorces me, what if the next time I stumble I fall on my face, what if, what if, what if! Once I get started, there is no end in... http://www.healthcentral.com/multiple-sclerosis/c/73654/78369/what-it http://www.healthcentral.com/multiple-sclerosis/c/73654/71482/whine Mon, 18 May 2009 22:02:13 -0400 Julie  When I was little, I read the dictionary. I wanted to know every word there was to know and what each word meant. That way, there could be no surprises and the world would be clearly defined. Yeah, I was the kind of kid that liked math too. 1+1 always equaled 2.    Nice.   Fast-forward 40 years and here I am with an undefinable disease. That is the worst part of MS for me. I'm like a 3-year-old when I visit my... http://www.healthcentral.com/multiple-sclerosis/c/73654/71482/whine http://www.healthcentral.com/multiple-sclerosis/c/73654/69923/prime Wed, 06 May 2009 11:43:12 -0400 Julie One of my favorite pastimes is watching the TV series "House", a show about a cranky brilliant doctor who diagnoses the most puzzling critical cases. The part I always wait for is the moment that comes in virtually every single show - when someone says "Looks like MS." My family and I groan together when it turns out the patient doesn't have MS. So far, in several years of the series, not a single patient has had MS. We groan because it's a... http://www.healthcentral.com/multiple-sclerosis/c/73654/69923/prime http://www.healthcentral.com/multiple-sclerosis/c/73654/69735/fooling Mon, 04 May 2009 21:45:48 -0400 Julie It's hard to plan for visitors and MS at the same time. I know I have limitations but they change from day to day. Some days I feel pretty darn good and MS hides in a corner of my mind, which is a good thing. On those good days, there is still a twinge or two as my medication dosage time approaches. But once I've taken the Trileptal, things tend to improve and all is well again.   Some days, of course, are bad days. MS takes over body,... http://www.healthcentral.com/multiple-sclerosis/c/73654/69735/fooling http://www.healthcentral.com/multiple-sclerosis/c/73654/64448/athlete Tue, 24 Mar 2009 18:39:57 -0400 Julie On a recent beautiful spring day, I struggled with nerve pain in the morning and then in the afternoon went on a long hike in the hills with my dogs. Is this confusing or what?   This confuses me - and am sure it would greatly confuse others who see me limp along the hallway at work or use my handicapped parking badge. Why is it so hard to walk short distances or to stand still for five minutes, but seemingly effortless to hike two miles... http://www.healthcentral.com/multiple-sclerosis/c/73654/64448/athlete http://www.healthcentral.com/multiple-sclerosis/c/73654/59089/flop Wed, 11 Feb 2009 11:51:37 -0500 Julie Do you ever have a symptom that creeps up on you so slowly that you don't realize it's there until it's as obvious as the nose on your face? Makes you feel a little foolish, right? That's how I felt earlier this week as I walked down a basement hallway at work that has concrete floors. I was wearing these very comfortable hush puppies shoes with these wonderful rubber soles. Just lovely shoes! My feet are so happy in them. After years of... http://www.healthcentral.com/multiple-sclerosis/c/73654/59089/flop http://www.healthcentral.com/multiple-sclerosis/c/73654/57085/telling Mon, 26 Jan 2009 16:41:48 -0500 Julie I was browsing a brochure recently about how to tell your kids you have MS. It reminded me of advice I read once on a completely different topic - how to tell your kids about sex. Really, the advice was pretty similar. Make it age appropriate, don't give them more information than they need, and focus on answering their questions rather than telling them everything at once. That's the way I handled both subjects with my kids. I guess it's more... http://www.healthcentral.com/multiple-sclerosis/c/73654/57085/telling http://www.healthcentral.com/multiple-sclerosis/c/73654/56418/symptom Wed, 21 Jan 2009 14:07:06 -0500 Julie There are so many weird symptoms that go along with MS. Some are just annoying (buzzing sensations, foot drop), some are frightening (eyes going fuzzy, legs going numb) and some are really painful (feet burning, electrical shocks). But I'm finding there's another type that I'm not quite sure how to categorize. So I'll just tell you what's happening. I'm less sympathetic to other people's boo-boos. See? By calling them boo-boos, I'm dismissing... http://www.healthcentral.com/multiple-sclerosis/c/73654/56418/symptom http://www.healthcentral.com/multiple-sclerosis/c/73654/54784/stress Wed, 07 Jan 2009 12:45:43 -0500 Julie I love the Chinese calendar which declares each year and month falling under a different animal personality. I'm a rabbit, which fits me perfectly. My husband is a rooster. Need I say more? I'm not sure what animal is in store for this coming Chinese new year. In my mind, this year already has been given a moniker: The Year of Stress. No, not very positive or comforting. But it's what the media is conveying, it's what the government is warning... http://www.healthcentral.com/multiple-sclerosis/c/73654/54784/stress