{"id":386,"date":"2014-12-10T16:54:53","date_gmt":"2014-12-10T23:54:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/debbiepetrina.authorsxpress.com\/?p=386"},"modified":"2022-02-28T15:35:09","modified_gmt":"2022-02-28T15:35:09","slug":"how-do-you-manage-ms","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/debbiepetrina.com\/?p=386","title":{"rendered":"How do you Manage MS?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cWant some help?\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

Everybody wants a cure for MS, to halt the progression of it, and restore the damage it causes to us. But what do you do in the meantime until those things happen?<\/p>\n

You manage your MS effectively.<\/p>\n

If you ask people with MS how they manage it, most would respond by saying what treatments\/meds they are taking and then add that they may exercise, do yoga, etc.<\/p>\n

While this is true, it\u2019s only a small part of a big answer. Everything about MS is complicated: the diagnosis, the symptoms and relapses, treatments, health team support, relationships, the explanation\u2026\u00a0 ALL of these things have to be managed effectively in order to survive MS.<\/p>\n

One who manages their MS effectively is also helping to control their symptoms, relapses and the course and thus progression of their case. Yes, let me repeat that– One who manages their MS effectively is also helping to control their symptoms, relapses and the course and thus progression of their case.<\/strong><\/p>\n

I<\/em> know, and I know countless others who know. Beginning in 1980, I\u2019ve lived with it for 34 years, and have been actively involved in the MS community for nearly thirty years. An ordinary person of moderate means, I went through motherhood, had a career I had to eventually give up, managed a household, and enjoyed life.<\/p>\n

In a nutshell, these are the main objectives in managing MS:<\/p>\n

1.\u00a0Prevent sickness\/infections, physical problems, and long-term chronic stress.<\/span>
\nWhy?\u00a0 Because any of these will trigger a relapse. And relapses usually result in progression and nervous system damage.<\/p>\n

2.\u00a0Take care of\u00a0 your body in all ways to be healthy.<\/span>
\nThis includes getting enough sleep, exercise, eating sensibly, managing stress, being mentally and emotionally happy, etc. This also includes things like weight watching, no smoking, etc.<\/p>\n

Why?\u00a0 Staying healthy keeps one\u2019s resistance up to prevent getting sick (thus preventing relapses) as well as keeping symptoms from intensifying. In addition, maintaining wellness helps prevent your body from getting other serious problems like high blood pressure, diabetes, poor circulation\u2026<\/p>\n

3.\u00a0Carefully choose and monitor your treatments.<\/span>
\nWhile drugs are often helpful for treating symptoms, relapses and slowing progression of MS, there are downsides.\u00a0 First, one must remember that all drugs have side effects that add stress and other impairments to the body. Second, MS is a life sentence; one may live decades until a cure is discovered to halt progression or restore damage. Every drug taken is passed though the liver and has other risks. There is not a treatment that exists today that totally halts progression, relapses, or improves symptoms.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

4.\u00a0Use a 2-prong approach when managing symptoms.<\/span>
\nIn addition to using medications, there are SO many ways that MS symptoms can be managed non-medicinally\u2014pain, spasticity, bladder issues\u2026\u00a0 Often, using a combination of using medicinal and non-medicinal means together can be helpful as well. For example, I take baclofen and do stretching exercises daily to reduce my spasticity.<\/p>\n

In addition, alternative non-medicinal therapies\u00a0 have been successful like yoga, acupuncture, massage, pilates, etc. to help with symptoms.<\/p>\n

Managing MS effectively requires a tremendous amount of knowledge and support. It\u2019s hard, it takes time, requires change, but it works.\u00a0 However, learning to managing MS is a daunting task because we know that no two MS cases are alike and the disease is so unpredictable. Furthermore, because there is so much information available from so many sources, one can become overwhelmed and confused.<\/p>\n

Want some help?<\/strong><\/p>\n

My book \u201cManaging MS: Straight Talk\u2026\u201d is now available on eBooks for only $2.99<\/a>\u00a0. You can also check out my website below for oodles of info\u2014articles\/resources with links, videos, my MS blog of nearly seventy articles, my credentials… The information is accurate, easy to understand, and concise.<\/p>\n

My personal mission is to help others dealing with MS, and these two tools\u2014my book and my website\u2014will definitely help you with something. There is nothing to lose, and I guarantee something to gain!<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

**Video:\u00a0<\/strong> \u201cHow to Manage MS: Two Tools\u201d
\nhttps:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=iliPH66JCaw<\/a><\/p>\n

www.DebbieMS.com<\/a>
\nAuthor\/MS Counselor\/Living with MS<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cWant some help?\u201d Everybody wants a cure for MS, to halt the progression of it, and restore the damage it causes to us. But what do you do in the meantime until those things happen? You manage your MS effectively. … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,16,25,27,29,41],"tags":[56,164,217,234,235,283,295,305,403,413],"class_list":["post-386","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-alternative-therapies","category-education","category-managing-ms","category-ms-book","category-ms-information-2","category-treatmentsdrugs","tag-alternative-therapies-2","tag-living-with-ms","tag-ms-books","tag-ms-drugs","tag-ms-education","tag-ms-self-help","tag-ms-symptoms","tag-ms-multiple-sclerosis-managing-ms-ms-information-multiple-sclerosis-information-ms-treatments","tag-understanding-ms","tag-what-is-ms"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/debbiepetrina.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/386","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/debbiepetrina.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/debbiepetrina.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/debbiepetrina.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/debbiepetrina.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=386"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/debbiepetrina.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/386\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":489,"href":"https:\/\/debbiepetrina.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/386\/revisions\/489"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/debbiepetrina.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=386"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/debbiepetrina.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=386"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/debbiepetrina.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=386"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}