To _Butterfly, Asiagn and Others Who Feel They Must Do Dangerous Drugs

[Guest guest]

I know, it is such a scary thing when we are first diagnosed or told that we

will most likely be diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. We get terrible images of

ourselves in the worse case scenario. Life on wheels and lost control... losing

all possibility of normal life. In 1993 or 94, I was given brochures about ms

and I totally blocked it out until I found these pamphlets years later in a

bunch of stuff from my storage locker. I turned off Oprah's show on ms as she

was going through some of the beginning symptoms because I had too many of them

and wanted to be in denial about it.

I am reviewing this because I understand how doctors can sometimes connive us

into any possible treatment that might keep us from getting to the most

detrimental stages of ms. The fact is there are very few pharmaceuticals that

have really done anyone any good. I was on a downhill path when I was a guinea

pig to neurology. It took losing my health insurance to get me to go completely

homeopathic, even though I had been educating myself about nutrition,

supplements and other forms of homeopathy and I trusted it more than

pharmaceutical drugs. I am a member of numerous online multiple sclerosis

communities and there are only 2 people I know of who say they have benefited by

taking Tysabri. (1 I know personally, who also has the same neurologist who is

the best neurologist I've seen).

Although it took 5 years of non-medical, non-pharmaceutical treatment, I

regained my ability to walk without a stick in 2006. I started practicing

running behind a grocery cart in 2007 and now feel confident enough to sprint to

catch a bus without worrying so much about falling. Last year I didn't fall one

time! That was a milestone for me. My balance is much improved. My speech is

better. I still have exacerbations. I am going through an exacerbation that has

been going on since last September with the 'hug' and just got worse in the last

week or 2 because now I am having bouts of severely painful neuropathy in my

left arm, sometimes in my legs and spasticity in my right foot and ankle. I

can't tell you what kind of major thing it would take to get me to allow any of

the pharmaceutical drugs that are currently out there for ms into my body! In

2008, I made a bad decision to see some medical doctors and allow their

prescriptions and treatments and

thought I was going to die! Ultimately, it was just weeks of mini-strokes. I

will admit, I may be more sensitive to some compounds than the average person,

but I think many of us with multiple sclerosis are sensitive like that. We need

to be EXTREMELY CAREFUL about what we put into our bodies.

Just because a drug is approved by the FDA does not mean it is safe or healthy.

Everyone has to make their own decisions about treatment and what they feel is

best for themselves. I'm not here to tell you what to do, but asking you to

please read all you can about everything that you may consider putting your body

through. There are marvelous stories out there from people who have recovered

from multiple sclerosis without CRABs, without Tysabri. Alternative medicine,

fasting, supplements and diet have helped people like Kopera, Dr Terry

Wahls, Yvette (the leader of this group), and others to be completely recovered!

People are being treated with venoplasty/angioplasty for CCSVI. I ask you to

research exactly how many people you can find out there who have recovered and

how many people have gotten worse using any of these pharmaceuticals with their

long lists of warnings. Did they get worse because of the disease progression or

did they get worse because of the drugs they were scared into taking? (you get

no smiles from me about

wondering what helped, because I don't think it's funny).

Just to refresh, out of literally hundreds of people whom I either know

personally or read from my online groups, there are only 2 who feel they have

benefited from Tysabri. There may be some who feel the drugs they have taken

have stabilized their deterioration, but not made them any better. With these

odds, I can't see any logical reason that would make me want to subject myself

to dangerous drugs like that.

Please be careful in whatever you decide.

" Taking joy in living is a woman's best cosmetic. " - lind Russel