Information and opinions on health from Julie 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/73654/index http://www.healthcentral.com/profiles/c/73654/rss self application/xml en-us 15 120 19 http://www.healthcentral.com/images/hc_logo_sm.gif http://www.healthcentral.com/profiles/c/73654/index http://www.healthcentral.com/multiple-sclerosis/c/73654/130002/suck Tue, 25 Jan 2011 13:08:49 -0500 Julie I don't think of myself as impaired or disabled or limited - most of the time. I work, I ride a bicycle, I host family dinners, I'm engaged in life seemingly as much as the next person.   But limitations have crept up on me and when I hit one, or it becomes glaringly evident, it sucks! A few weeks ago, I went to Hawaii and one of my goals while there was to conquer my fear of heights and go ziplining. Turns out, it was no problem. I leapt... http://www.healthcentral.com/multiple-sclerosis/c/73654/130002/suck http://www.healthcentral.com/multiple-sclerosis/c/73654/119036/solar Thu, 02 Sep 2010 12:21:26 -0400 Julie A study was just published by the American Academy of Neurology that showed a 2-fold increase in brain lesions during the spring and summer months. The study said that solar radiation could be the culprit.   I'm just stunned by this. All this time, I just assumed that sun and heat just brought on temporary symptoms - not that it could make the disease advance with new lesions.   Here's a link if anyone's interested:... http://www.healthcentral.com/multiple-sclerosis/c/73654/119036/solar http://www.healthcentral.com/multiple-sclerosis/c/73654/118027/tennis Tue, 17 Aug 2010 14:53:16 -0400 Julie My heart was just about beating out of my chest as I approached the tennis court. Would I be able to hit the ball, raise my arm to serve, move enough, last long enough, tolerate the pain, and deal with anything else MS wanted to toss my way? Would there be a way for me to adapt my physical issues so I could still participate in something I used to enjoy so much? I wrote several weeks ago about my desire to play tennis again. Of all the little... http://www.healthcentral.com/multiple-sclerosis/c/73654/118027/tennis http://www.healthcentral.com/multiple-sclerosis/c/73654/116030/tennis Wed, 14 Jul 2010 11:47:12 -0400 Julie I thought I'd share this little journey of mine since some of you might relate to parts of it. I consider one of my biggest losses since my diagnosis seven years ago is not being able to play tennis anymore. My legs have become too stiff, clumsy and a bit weak to chase balls - and a lack of stamina (that darn fatigue) doesn't let me play for long. Added into that, I have nerve pain on my left side that makes planning any physical activity... http://www.healthcentral.com/multiple-sclerosis/c/73654/116030/tennis http://www.healthcentral.com/multiple-sclerosis/c/73654/115182/tell Tue, 29 Jun 2010 10:45:53 -0400 Julie I'd like to toss my quandary out to all you helpful folks who understand the strangeness MS brings into our lives. I've appreciated all the input you've given me over the last couple years that I've posted here. Having a community of ‘friends' is so meaningful and keeps me from feeling so isolated with this disease. Ok, so here's my issue. My workplace is well aware that I have MS and they've been great about letting me reduce my hours to... http://www.healthcentral.com/multiple-sclerosis/c/73654/115182/tell http://www.healthcentral.com/multiple-sclerosis/c/73654/101868/enough Mon, 25 Jan 2010 13:04:49 -0500 Julie A couple of years I vowed that I would work "until I dropped." I like my job for a lot of reasons: it gives me a creative and intellectual outlet, provides an income, and daily social contact. Along the way, it also can be fun.   Lately, it's been a bit stressful. Maybe more than a bit. What used to come easily to me is now pretty challenging. I am easily distracted and occasionally confused. I have a hard time processing concepts or... http://www.healthcentral.com/multiple-sclerosis/c/73654/101868/enough 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