Health Expert Merely Me shares health management news and commentary at HealthCentral.com. 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/profiles/c/73302/index http://www.healthcentral.com/profiles/c/73302/rss self application/xml en-us 15 120 19 http://www.healthcentral.com/images/hc_logo_sm.gif http://www.healthcentral.com/profiles/c/73302/index http://www.healthcentral.com/multiple-sclerosis/c/73302/90426/circle Mon, 12 Oct 2009 14:40:45 -0400 Merely Me As I write this I am thinking about the first time I posted on this site.  I had MS for a little over a year and was writing about my experiences on my personal blog. I was so grateful for the help and information I had received that I wanted to give back.  And my writing was a way to do that.  I joined Health Central in the late summer of 2008 and so I have been writing here over a year now.  And so I have come full... http://www.healthcentral.com/multiple-sclerosis/c/73302/90426/circle http://www.healthcentral.com/multiple-sclerosis/c/73302/89470/waiting Mon, 05 Oct 2009 11:08:10 -0400 Merely Me Shortly after my diagnosis with Multiple Sclerosis I would be in a public place and see people who I suspected had MS.  It was as though I was more oblivious before my diagnosis to people who had difficulty walking, were using a cane, walker, or wheelchair.  Now all of a sudden my attention was riveted towards others who were having mobility issues.  Coincidentally I met a man in a medical waiting room and he just happened to have... http://www.healthcentral.com/multiple-sclerosis/c/73302/89470/waiting http://www.healthcentral.com/multiple-sclerosis/c/73302/89013/central Thu, 01 Oct 2009 15:34:26 -0400 Merely Me Hi guys!   First of all...wanted to tell you that I finally took one of those Baclofen pills.  I was having some spasms this morning and decided to take the plunge and try this medication.  I think it did help.  I definitely didn't have any more spasms today and it made me feel pretty darn relaxed.  So far...it has been a good experience.  Just made me a little loopy and sleepy.  Thanks to all who gave such... http://www.healthcentral.com/multiple-sclerosis/c/73302/89013/central http://www.healthcentral.com/multiple-sclerosis/c/73302/88544/class Mon, 28 Sep 2009 16:38:02 -0400 Merely Me There are firsts for everything.  We remember our first day of school, the first time we rode a bike, or the first time we were able to dive into the deep end of the pool.  But when you have a disease like Multiple Sclerosis it is like starting over.  Everything we do becomes a first again with the tag line..."It was my first time doing such and such after my diagnosis with MS."  And so it was recently that I took my first... http://www.healthcentral.com/multiple-sclerosis/c/73302/88544/class http://www.healthcentral.com/multiple-sclerosis/c/73302/88134/central Thu, 24 Sep 2009 17:59:33 -0400 Merely Me Hey everybody!   Well...here is it the end of September already.  How did this happen?  I am always amazed by the passage of time...it is just speeding by.   Okay...a question!   I was gonna research this but why not just ask you guys.    Do you feel that stress makes your MS worse?  I have read mixed things on this.  Some people say that stress exacerbates their MS symptoms but does not... http://www.healthcentral.com/multiple-sclerosis/c/73302/88134/central http://www.healthcentral.com/multiple-sclerosis/c/73302/87619/ms Mon, 21 Sep 2009 10:55:54 -0400 Merely Me I know many of you are still in limbo and not yet diagnosed with anything.  And I know it must be maddening.  I was in limbo only for a very short time period.  But even during that time, I remember feeling a bit nuts, wondering what could be causing all these weird symptoms.  And in my research on the Internet I did find some plausible alternate explanations.  Turns out for me that I did have MS after all but it was... http://www.healthcentral.com/multiple-sclerosis/c/73302/87619/ms http://www.healthcentral.com/multiple-sclerosis/c/73302/87235/central Thu, 17 Sep 2009 22:16:14 -0400 Merely Me Hi all!   How is everyone doing this week?  Is the MS bully staying away?    Okay...time for a new question.    Oh!  Wanted to say...I went to my first yoga class.  It was very good.  It was slow paced and much of it was about relaxation.  My teacher didn't know what Multiple Sclerosis was though.  She asked me if I was at the point of being very congested.  I think she was... http://www.healthcentral.com/multiple-sclerosis/c/73302/87235/central http://www.healthcentral.com/multiple-sclerosis/c/73302/86765/diary Mon, 14 Sep 2009 15:17:49 -0400 Merely Me I bet that each one of us can recall that moment when we were first diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis.  For some of us this moment was preceded by months or sometimes years of testing. The details of the journey can become a bit hazy.  But the words, "You have MS" will always ring with bell like clarity.    I have been a blogger for many years now.  And during the time when I first began to have symptoms of MS, I was... http://www.healthcentral.com/multiple-sclerosis/c/73302/86765/diary http://www.healthcentral.com/multiple-sclerosis/c/73302/86269/chronic Thu, 10 Sep 2009 16:47:29 -0400 Merely Me Hi all!   Just a little preface here before presenting the writing of Doctor Nitin Sethi.  We have been talking a lot this week about something called Chronic cerebrospinal venous insufficiency (that sure is a hard phrase to spell!) and the latest research of a Dr. Zamboni who claims that MS may really be a vascular disease instead of an autoimmune one.  If you haven't already read about this,  here is my introductory post... http://www.healthcentral.com/multiple-sclerosis/c/73302/86269/chronic http://www.healthcentral.com/multiple-sclerosis/c/73302/85991/patient Tue, 08 Sep 2009 19:01:34 -0400 Merely Me In my previous post I introduced the theory of a researcher named Doctor Zamboni who believes that the Multiple Sclerosis is not primarily an autoimmune disease but a vascular one.  The theory that Multiple Sclerosis has a vascular cause is called Chronic Cerebrospinal Venous Insufficiency which is abbreviated to CCSVI.  Basically the theory is that the neurological damage one sees with Multiple Sclerosis is really caused by blockages... http://www.healthcentral.com/multiple-sclerosis/c/73302/85991/patient