Tick-Tock, Tick-Tock

My students don't much like the metronome either. LOL.



(Note: These are not my kitties. But they are cute anyways.)

New Members of the Online MS Community

Please welcome these new MS Bloggers and MS Websites to the Community.

Lauren - Living and writing in a world of disAbility and challenges

Matt - Multiple Sclerosis Daily News

Kaz - Positive About MS

Kelley - Lifting My Spoon

Ms Andisue - MS, Music and Me

Laurie - Living, Loving, and Laughing with Multiple Sclerosis

Nancy - Dancing with Dachshunds and the Art of Living with Intention

Mary - It is what it is, until it isn't what it once was

Jamie - MS Mates

Simeon - But You Look So Well

Tammy - My Life with Multiple Sclerosis

Lori - Too Late to Save the Brain

Megan - It's not Megan, It's Megan

Sarah - The Sheer Truth

Linda - Thy Grace is Sufficient

Emme - Moms Vs. MS

Linda - Multiple Sclerosis Relief

Dissonance and Harmony - Working Together

Wonderful Dueling Cellos!!

I needed to see/hear something like this today.  It speaks to me on so many levels too complicated to explain.



Rather than competing, these two artists are working in beautiful harmony. Listen to this arrangement of Prelude by Dmitri Shostakovitch. So soothing.



Don't forget to vote for 'Brass and Ivory' for Best Patient Blog  -
http://www.medgadget.com/2010bestpatient.html

Vote for 'Brass and Ivory' as Best Patient Blog

The polls are now open in the Seventh Annual Medical Weblog Awards Sponsored by Epocrates and Lenovo!  This is the fourth year that Brass and Ivory has been nominated for Best Patient Blog and the third year that Brass and Ivory has been named a finalist.

It would be wonderful if this were the first year that Brass and Ivory WON!!  Please go to Medgadget and place your vote.  Or go directly to the Best Patient Blog voting poll to place your vote.  Only one vote per IP address or smart phone.  Yes, you can vote with your mobile device.  THANK YOU!!

Carnival of MS Bloggers #81

Welcome to the Carnival of MS Bloggers, a bi-weekly compendium of thoughts and experiences shared by those living with multiple sclerosis.

New Year, New Beginnings, and Brain Games

This is the Year of the Rabbit. Happy New Year!

Things That Make You Say, "Hmmm…"

from Matt of Multiple Sclerosis Daily News

I feel like for the last week I've been waking up from my diagnosis. It's kind of like waking up with a hangover and asking, "Now what did I do for the last six months?"

I think the biggest thing for me is realizing my mortality. There's going to be an end to things. The thing is, it's sort of a blessing. Knowing there's going to be an end but also having it be in the future gives us time to appreciate our experiences. I really do appreciate life so much more now.

I'm oddly less disturbed by my fading abilities now. Maybe because I've been able to read so many other people's stories. When I read a story about someone only being able to walk to the mailbox after 15 years I think, "Oh, you can still walk to the mailbox? Awesome!"

The other day I was at a meeting where a person with advanced MS rolled over to a counter and then stood up to get something. I thought to myself, "Oh, you can still stand? Awesome!"

I thought that being handicapped was going to be so much worse than that. I know that for some people it is, but even they seem relatively happy day to day. They still have passions and thoughts, they're literally still alive.

I don't know what I was thinking was going to happen. I mean, when I could barely put my socks on, that was scary. But really, potential sock problems are pretty easy to deal with compared to even current problems I have.

I don't know. I'm not saying it's great, but it just doesn't seem so scary anymore. It's a hard road, but at least it's a road.

9 Days!

from Dave at My life with Multiple Sclerosis

Well I met with my neuro yesterday and got some blood tests back. Sticking with the plan and getting visits to everyone prior to treatment!!!! I want base line with everyone.

I am not sure why but today a light bulb went off in my head. A few of you probably already had these thoughts. Neuros treating MS patients are really only a monitoring station/service. They can prescribe the "drugs", the pain pills, the depression pills, sleep aids, etc. etc and after that…there really is nothing. They can do more tests. They can see if things have changed. They can poke and prod you. Then, frankly after that there is absolutely nothing they can do…..They can say, “Keep your chin up, buckaroo” or “Let’s try a new drug” (if you take them)…..but in the end….there you are…nothing…..ZIP.

Off my soap box and back to my appointment. Overall it went very well. My blood tests were great except my B12 1900 is in the stratosphere. After that I listened to the "drugs" talk again. The "drug" conversation, which in no way was over bearing or anything, went pretty smooth and we moved on. Reviewed my changes in symptoms, talked about sleep apnea (creeping into my life), and of course had what I will call a weak neuro exam. As an example and I will leave this alone I didn't have to walk, take an eye test, or take my shoes off. Then the 800 pound gorilla came in the room.. I asked about his thoughts on CCSVI and guess what. What is that….:(? We then discussed it for a bit. We discussed the trials going on. He asked if I had tried getting into them. Of course I replied yes in fact I have and was denied. Then the next bomb..tic..toc… I am going for the treatment on the 11th!

To me and my wife's surprise this is where things took a great turn. My neuro said 3 HUGE things to us. One, I am not against learning from my patients, two if the interventional radiologist in NY needs any test done please let me know and three he would talk with some local IRs about CCSVI and see what they may or may not be doing. KUDOS! Then there was me and he wanted to be in the loop on what happens. I got his email address and will be forwarding him some information on CCSVI some testimonials and my information so far. This part could not have gone better for us.

So to close this out it was a worthwhile trip to the neuro. I now have a neurological resource willing to learn and grow along with me as I go on with my MS. Good stuff.

9 days……

Cognition Issues in MS/ CCSVI

from CCSVI {M}ammanannys{S}tory

I often said only half jokingly that of all the things MS had taken for me, I missed my mind most. I couldn’t remember where I put things, important dates or even what day of the week it was sometimes. Thoughts I wanted to express were not the words that came out of my mouth. During remissions, I did not get total relief from these problems. When I progressed to SPMS, I was afraid I might really lose my mind. I taught adult classes until my ability to concentrate was severely compromised. My neurologist ordered cognition therapy for me when I couldn’t repeat simple sentences word for word. I had to use materials that were more suited to an elementary student than a 50 something well educated woman. I was determined to do all I could to exercise my brain until somewhere, somehow, I could break through the cog fog that made me ashamed to be around my own family. I had a great deal of difficulty keyboarding but I knew there were free resources available online and I used them to get me through the last few years. If the angioplasty procedure did nothing else but improve my cognition, I would have been ever so grateful.

Many people with this condition have cognitive problems. It’s important to do whatever you can to stay sharp while you for your procedure. I have listed a few websites with free games and resources to help you. You might even enjoy playing some of them with your children, grandchildren or friends.

Some people are telling us that we cannot repair the damage already done to our brains. I agonized over that possibility before I had the procedure. Thankfully in this regard the naysayers are wrong. This is just another piece of the CCSVI puzzle where we can take control of our bodies and minds.

There are many resources other than these and I’m not advertising for anyone. These should all be free although some may have “upgrades” to pay for if you want all the bells and whistles, but they aren’t necessary at all.

www.lumosity.com
Lumosity trains your brain with 30 targeted brain games and exercises. The specialized brain training web application comes in both free and paid subscription versions. The library of games relate to speed, memory, attention, flexibility, and problem solving. The full suite of games is open to subscribers only, though those with a free account can play quite a few games across the board.

The games are well designed: the Birdwatching game works on your visual processing skills and concentration. Lumosity also has multiple courses designed by experts that bolster weak areas like weak memory, problem solving, math skills, and also brain related medical conditions like ADHD and TBI. Don’t forget to take their free Brain Grade test.

www.sharpbrains.com
Sharp Brains is actually a blog that keeps tabs on the brain fitness and cognitive health industry. So expect to find a lot of articles on brain health and the use of digital tools to enhance our mental muscles. The site also tries to raise social awareness on the importance of regularly exercising our mental faculties. One way is through the site’s newsletter. But if you are itching to put your brain through the paces head straight to the Teasers section. The large lineup of links to brain games, puzzles, and illusions could keep you occupied for some time.

www.braingle.com
Braingle is a community driven website that says it has the largest collection of brain teasers, riddles, logic problems, quizzes and mind puzzles on the web. 20,000 of them is a large number. Being a part of the community helps as enthusiastic members constantly keep the site updated with the freshest picks of games. As a free member, you can also subscribe to the daily teaser. Check out the Mentalrobics section for some cool brain workouts and articles on topics like stress management and memory.

www.smart-kit.com
At Smart-Kit, you get to cross train your brain on a variety of puzzles and games. All games are meant to be kid safe and designed to stimulate free thinking and problem solving. Some games like the Memory Match Game are easy while you might have to scratch your head when it comes to playing Take Something Literally. The Lateral Thinking games (which comes under the category marked – More) deserve a special mention here.

www.braintraining101.com
Games by their very nature call for a lot of co-ordination and mental skills. Take a game like Tetris or the classic Simon Says and you can ‘reverse engineer’ it as a game for brain exercise.


This concludes the 81st edition of the Carnival.

The next Carnival of MS Bloggers will be hosted here on February 17, 2011. Please remember to submit a post (via email) from your blog of which you are particularly proud, or which you simply want to share, by noon on Tuesday, February 15, 2011.

Thank you.

Comments for this post.

Copying with MS Pain

Multiple sclerosis is not a painful disease, right?  Wrong.  The pain associated with MS can vary from an occasional annoyance to a constant, excruciating distraction.

For years, it was believed that MS was a painless disease.  However a systemic review of the literature discussing pain in MS revealed that almost 50% of people living with MS report having pain.  Of those reporting pain, 75% of patients had experienced pain within the month prior to the assessment or survey.

If my experience had been included in one of the surveys, I would have been included in the 75% reporting recent pain.  The type of pain I have is called neuropathic pain which is caused by nerve damage in the brain and/or spinal cord.  When the myelin (insulation for the nerve fibers) becomes damaged, the nerve signals can become distorted and ‘short circuit.’  The result is unpredictable and often painful.

My neuropathic pain began with a case of shingles which emerged shortly after my first round of solumedrol in 2005.  Shingles took over the left side of my face and left me with what is called post-herpetic neuralgia (PHN).  However, PHN is supposed to eventually fade away.  Mine never did.


Read this post in its entirety:

Coping with the Fluctuating Face of Pain when Living with MS