March is Multiple Sclerosis Awareness Month. This one is near and dear to me, as I was diagnosed with MS in April of 2016. MS is an autoimmune disease that attacks your Central Nervous System. Basically, my immune system is in hyperdrive and it wants to attack everything, including the healthy myelin sheaths that cover my nerves. I short-circuit. The amazing thing about this is that having an immune system that works extra hard, in no way keeps me from getting sick; if I get a cold it will become a sinus infection. To combat more progressive forms of MS, are medications that try to put your immune system in check. I'll be starting one of these meds, Ocrevus on March 16th, I'm told that this infusion will be an all-day affair. To prepare for this I have spent the last couple of months getting various vaccines, (still waiting for the Covid Vaccination). MS is a game-changer, I've had to make a lot of adjustments and will continue to do so. There is pain, heat intolerance, fatigue, cognitive difficulties, balance issues, and reoccurring bouts of Optic Neuritis which has caused a good deal of damage to my right eye. This list though, that's personal to me. MS is called a "Snowflake Disease" it affects everyone differently; different combinations of symptoms affect people in various degrees. According to the National MS Society, there are 2.3 million people worldwide that have been diagnosed with MS and to be honest, it sucks.
Being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS) doesn′t mean your life is over. Everyone′s MS is different and no one can predict exactly what yours will be like. The fact is, lots of people live their lives with MS without making a full-time job of it.
For decades, this trusted handbook has helped those with MS and their families and friends to treat and understand their disease. Research brings us closer to a cure every day, but until that day comes, patients have, in this book, the very best tool for beating MS--the facts.
According to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, 15% of MS patients are diagnosed with the progressive form of the disease and experience symptoms such as tremors, poor coordination, difficulty walking, and other problems from the start. While an additional 50%, of those diagnosed with relapsing-remitting MS, will develop progressive MS ......
A diagnosis of MS can feel overwhelming, even terrifying. Though over 400,000 American's have received that diagnosis, succinct answers on the issues surrounding MS can be hard to come by. This guide is the definitive resource for those who need information on this debilitating disease. Organized in an accessible question-and-answer format, it includes information on diagnosis, epidemiology, and the condition's emotional, social, and economic aspects, as well as descriptions of common medications and helpful advice for managing symptoms.
Scholarly and wide-ranging, this new, extensively illustrated book provides a historical survey and social history of multiple sclerosis and is rich in sources and detail.
"A safe, comprehensive, and easy-to-use guide to using cannabis--including CBD and THC--to ease chronic and acute health issues such as pain, insomnia, inflammation, depression, anxiety, grief, stress, and more, from the founder of a global cannabis wellness network and an osteopathic physician"-- Provided by publisher.
Mental Sharpening Stones: Manage the Cognitive Challenges of Multiple Sclerosis provides real-life techniques garnered from MS patients and their medical providers, sharing their practical methods for pushing back against the disruptive and potentially disabling cognitive symptoms that affect MS patients. The book offers strategies that will assist those living with MS to retain their intellectual faculties through sharpening their mental discipline.
I love this book. My copy is well-worn and highlighted.
"MS and Your Feelings" is the first book to specifically address the emotional pain caused by the unpredictable, disabling chronic inflammatory condition multiple sclerosis. Psychotherapist and MS patient Allison Shadday offers readers effective strategies for dealing with the psychological trauma of this disease. Shadday shares real-life MS success stories and gives insightful professional advice derived from years of counseling hundreds of chronically ill patients. Her book offers readers hope, inspiration, and validation, teaching them how to come to terms with an MS diagnosis; strategies for identifying and managing stress triggers; ways to cope with fear, guilt, anger, loss, depression, and isolation; steps to enhance intimacy and develop a greater sense of emotional security; and more. Patient success stories illustrate the techniques described. Renowned neurologist and MS expert Dr. Stanley Cohan contributes discussions of the importance of treating MS's emotional symptoms, the latest medical thinking, and the promising future of drug research for this challenging condition.
Millions of people are challenged by problems with chewing and swallowing, especially those who are elderly and those who have Parkinson's disease, multiple sclerosis, AIDS, or head and/or neck cancers. This book offers helpful tips and techniques as well as recipes to help make eating and swallowing easier and more satisfying.
This comprehensive, user-friendly guide shows how to apply Yogic principles to the management of multiple sclerosis. Written by a medical doctor and a Yoga teacher who has MS, the book includes photographs and descriptions of each pose; explains effects, advantages, and contraindications; and contains "starter poses" for the novice or the physically challenged.
Because Multiple Sclerosis is a disease that someone will live with for years, or even decades, it is important for family and friends to understand what the person is going through and learn how to give support. Multiple Sclerosis used to be feared because it was so unpredictable and doctors knew very little about how to treat it. Thanks to good research and great doctors, people can live with MS even though there is not a cure yet. The Electrifying Story of Multiple Sclerosis is written to help people understand what it feels like to have the disease, how to help, and what symptoms people feel.
Memoir
"Keiler Roberts mines the passing moments of family life to deliver an affecting and funny account of what it means to simultaneously exist as a mother, daughter, wife, and artist. Drawn in an unassuming yet charming staccato that mimics the awkward rhythm of life, no one's foibles are left unspared, most often the author's own....Roberts can get lost in the rewarding melodrama of playing barbies with her daughter and will momentarily snap out of her depression. Her harmless fibs to get through the moment are brought up by her daughter a year or two later, yet without hesitation Roberts will request that her daughter's imaginary friend not visit when she is around. Her MS diagnosis lingers in the background, never taking center stage."--. Provided by publisher.
A New York Times Bestselling AuthorOffering reflections on her early life, her marriage, and her diagnosis and recovery, the sources of her faith, and the stories of others who overcame adversity and inspired her to keep going, Ann Romney has created a brave and deeply honest portrait of a family facing an unexpected blow, often in the most public of circumstances.
Autobiographical at its roots, reportorial, and expansive, Blindsided explores the effects of illness on raising three children and on his relationship with his wife, Meredith Vieira (host of ABC's The View and the syndicated Who Wants To Be A Millionaire). Cohen tackles the nature of denial and resilience, the ins and outs of the struggle for emotional health, and the redemptive effects of a loving family. And while he may not have chosen to live with illness, illness did choose him. Written with grace, humor, and lyrical prose, Blindsided presents a life brimming over with accomplishment and joy in adversity.
Fiction
Spotswood’s stellar debut puts a modern spin on classic hard-boiled fiction with a duo of female private investigators. In 1945 Manhattan, Lillian Pentecost, “the most famous woman detective in the city and possibly the country,” struggles with multiple sclerosis. Fortunately, Lillian can always rely on her sharp-witted assistant, Willowjean Parker. Lillian hired her three years earlier after Will, a runaway whose five years performing with a traveling circus gave her a unique skill set, used her knife training to save Lillian’s life from a gunman. Their latest case involves a wealthy woman who was bludgeoned to death with a crystal ball in a locked room during a party. It becomes personal when Lillian realizes that an old adversary, a fake medium and spiritual adviser, is entangled in the murder. Complications arise after Will becomes romantically entangled with the victim’s beautiful daughter. The deep and sensitive characterization of the two protagonists, coupled with rich description and tonally spot-on humor, make this a novel to remember. Spotswood is definitely a writer to watch. Agent: Darley Anderson, Darley Anderson Literary. (Oct.)
Publishers Weekly
Eighteen-year-old Muslims Adam and Zayneb meet in Doha, Qatar, during spring break and fall in love as both struggle to find a way to live their own truths.
As romance blossoms between her and Eli Fischer, Amelia Beiler is diagnosed with multiple sclerosis and faces a hard choice, since she will be shunned by her Amish community if she gets the treatment she wants.
After discovering her father has Multiple Sclerosis, Payton Gritas's life crumbles. Aiming to save Payton from denial the school counselor gets Payton to write Focus Exercises. But all Payton can see is the over-sized head of the boy who sits in front of her, Sean Griswold. Why does it suddenly seem so, um, gorgeous?!
Harriet Flores struggles with boredom and an unrequited crush while learning to manage her chronic illness through a long, hot, 1990s summer in Chicago. She uses her imagination to cope, which sometimes gets her into trouble, as she makes up fantastical fibs and wonders if there are ghosts upstairs. One neighbor, Pearl, encourages Harriet to read and write, leading Harriet to have a breakthrough and discover the power of storytelling.
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