11-07-08   I have been rather consistent with exercise lately especially during the vertigo episodes. There was not much else to do so I decided walking around was not a good idea, but while I was just sitting on my butt, I should do isometric exercises with my butt, quads, inner thighs, arms, whatever I could think of. Of course I did not do them all at the same time, but my butt muscles feel stronger. I continue to do those and now I have some other exercises I will incorporate to work on getting my body stronger. I have 1 year and 4 months before my drivers license will need to be renewed. If it were today I would absolutely not be getting my license, I guess we'll see in 2010. Only time will tell, and I will do my absolute best to recover enough so that I could drive again, I hope so but it wouldn't be the end of the world. Only time will tell, so I'll be diligent with the anti-inflammatory diet & consistent exercise! Here is another exercise I had not really put much thought into. For me my brain is most effected, finally being honest with myself I have even had a bit of dementia. "Deterioration of intellectual faculties, such as memory, concentration, and judgment, resulting from an organic disease or a disorder of the brain. It is sometimes accompanied by emotional disturbance and personality changes." I went through a time where I actually seriously believed I could run a successful Ebay store, I pretty much ended up just putting myself into further debt, nearing bankruptcy. My short term memory is not great but it has improved since the dietary changes and the 13 months I used the SF1019 vaccine. A very slow process! I decided I really need to exercise my brain so I got a subscription for "easy" crossword puzzles. That has really helped in two ways, making my brain think out of the box and also I was writing with larger block letters, and just realized if I make the letters smaller it really exercises my fingers to the point that my finger muscles are a bit sore. Typing today I have noticed I'm not making as many errors. Crosswords are more simple for me to do, so I thought I'd tax my brain a bit more so I also ordered a subscription to easy Sudoku puzzles, OMG, that is really taxing my poor little scarred up brain! Those take a lot of logic which is not my strong suit, spelling has always been much easier for me. Most of my symptoms have always effected my right side so obviously my left brain has quite a few lesions. This is a little sick, but I do find this whole crappy MS experience fascinating! Never give up! ~ Lisa

10-31-08   It has become quite apparent that the vaccine days are over for me, but I am doing pretty well without it.  Though stress does always lead me back to needing to use steroids. I had yet another 'bout of vertigo so it was back to 60mg daily for 2 days then 50mg for 1 day and since 40mg which will be done on 11-02-08, then 20mg until the 9th of November, and then 10mg from the 10th - 16th. I detest steroids I hate the bloating but know how fortunate I am that they help me I know so many MS patients where they do nothing at all for them. The vaccine tops that treatment, no side effects accept for the insulin needle puncture. No bloating or insomnia like the steroids can do. For me the vertigo always happened once I sat up, then the spinning would begin until I was steadily upright. There was not a lot else I could really do I was not feeling strong enough to do laps around the inside of the house, dizzy & walking don't seem to mix well. So I decided to just start using isometric exercises while I was just sitting around on my big butt. I just started contracting first my glutes eventually up to 100 squeezes, several times a day, then I started isolating the inner thigh area for as many as felt comfortable, then I would while sitting raise my calf muscles as if I were standing on my toes. Squeeze the backs of my thighs I would even curls my toes as if I was grabbing a pencil with them. I have a low arch so my feet have been hurting some when I have overdone the walking around. My brother Brian has completely flat feet so I guess I once again should not complain. I am now able to walk around often with no cane at all, but my balance is still unchanged so if I don't have the cane I need to be near a wall. I next need to work on my arms and abs...today! My low back aches a bit after I walk around which is likely because my abdominal muscles need to be exercised on a regular basis. I used to do over 100 sit ups a day many years ago, that is another goal. The dietary changes are helping, but it does take quite some time. I'll wait I will never give up. I have a long way to go also concerning my short term memory though I can see improvements with that since I have been using Xanax on a regular basis and can actually sleep! I never knew what I wanted to do for college so I just got married and had my wonderful son. The marriage lasted 18 years but could not make it through MS. My brain has a long way to go, as I stated above my short tem memory is slowly recovering. My son A.J. is quite smart he is going to college, which has actually plated a "seed" in my brain to work for a degree in nutrition. I will need to be patient, a better short term memory is necessary to achieve this. I will just continue to be patient, stick to gluten free foods and get serious with exercise. Have a great weekend! ~ Lisa

10-10-08   I'm again weaning off prednisone, now 10 mg. I notice I am able to exercise more if I have been able to sleep decently, which I have had a handle on for the most part by using Xanax. I've had to kind of "play" with the amount to get it right and take a break for a time so my body does not get used to it and then feels the need for more. I have been walking around quite a bit lately, maybe too much because my right leg feels a bit weaker. So, I have to remember to rely on the wheelchair a bit more when my leg feels weak like that. That is where being stubborn can get me in trouble! I was able to walk so much more while I was using the vaccine, I hope I will be able to resume that sometime soon. I will never sway away from my diet of eating only anti-inflammatory foods, I really feel that between the vaccine and the diet that just maybe some of my symptoms can be cleared up a little quicker than through diet alone. Only time will tell! ~Cya

09-19-08    This has still not been my strong suit, I know I need to work on getting and keeping my muscles strong. Now that I am not presently using the Immunosyn I have needed to go back to using some Prednisone. It was only a week, I'm not using them anymore, but my legs are still a bit weak. I can see such a difference between using Prednisone as opposed to the Immunosyn. The latter works so much better, no water retention just major inflammation relief. But in my opinion, as with the dietary changes one must be patient with the vaccine as well. MS may basically be the same disease but I think we all know that our symptoms often vary from patient to patient. As often it seems one treatment that may work for one may not work for another, but it did take quite some time for me to notice real differences with the vaccine, it is very subtle and at some point will be more obvious. I will continue with stretching and such but will not push the walking too much. All in due time. Have great weekend! ~ Lisa

08-22-08   I have been over doing the exercise but to my surprise I have had no exacerbations! I personally believe that is because of the dietary changes I have made of eating non inflammatory foods. Inflammation is the enemy, I believe that my past exacerbations have happened because of this. Now that I have completely changed my diet to eating non inflammatory foods it appears I can push myself a bit more with exercise and not have any symptoms crop up. If I had deep pockets I think I could recover even quicker if I could continue using the Immunosyn vaccine. However since that is not the case I will use whatever means I need to continue with my recovery, food is the only thing I can use now. I continue to do laps within the house and I also do sit ups, stretches, dumbbells, and some Pilates.  I will be really excited once I can take my little Daisey dog for a walk (she will be too) but I know I'm not ready for that yet! Maybe in the fall, but I will need someone to come with me just in case I need to run, that I cannot do. I'm so hopeful though, I know I will be able to do that one day in the future! Cya~ Lisa

05-18-08   I am realizing that I really need to get serious about exercise. I am also aware that in the past I have simply done too much and paid the price with exacerbation of symptoms, so I am sometimes too cautious about this.  For me at this point I believe that will be the most difficult aspect, finding a happy median. If you have been reading my experience with the SF1019 vaccine and the dietary changes I would speak about how I would walk with my cane very slowly as I was able to use the cane more than the wheelchair. I think we each have to be realistic about what our individual bodies can handle. I want to give a realistic view of my personal circumstances.  I have not been confined to a wheelchair for decades it has really only been about 2 years, but I have had to use a cane more consistently since 1984 after breaking my ankle in an aerobics class, I found out later that the ankle had a hairline fracture and I did not know that it then broke the rest of the way in 3 places. yikes!  I just want to give a realistic idea of how my MS was affecting me and how it is now. I know many MS patients who have been confined to a wheelchair for decades, that is not my case.  I have always been able to walk to some degree be it a shuffling careful step or later stronger steps.  I could not run to save my life.  After breaking my ankle, I was always thinking that I must get back to exercising somehow.  I had always enjoyed ballet since I was a little girl, so my mom & grandma Winnie (who will be 100 on August 14th!) bought me a ballet barre, I have since given it to my niece Carly who is a very good dancer.  I would slowly start doing plie´s and stretches this took many months, in the beginning it was difficult to even stand up next to the barre but as my legs got stronger I could do more exercises.  So today I decided to get serious and think of an exercise routine I could handle since I am rather weak, I feel I am weaker than I was previously after I broke my ankle in '84.  I have been walking within the house using my cane for about 2 years, I elaborate on my SF1019 page.  I decided to try something a little different this time, today I started using isometric exercising I thought it would be interesting to see if I would actually feel sore muscles after using only my "sucking in" my abs or flexing my leg muscles, we shall see...   I am not a personal trainer or schooled in that area of expertise I am just making up my own exercise routine that I believe will help me. Wish me luck!

05-20-08   It makes sense but I was not 100% certain, I am now! My muscles absolutely felt sore.  I squeezed my upper abs and then lower abs obliques on both sides for a count of 50-100 my abdominals are quite sore today!  I also then squeezed the muscles in my buttocks and then inner thighs for a count of 50-100, then my calf muscles and finally my arm muscles in 4 different positions for a count of 50-100.  My muscles feel nicely sore not too much and I did not move from sitting against the couch.  I also stretch quite a bit I will be repeating this routine today.