OT July Chit Chat

[Howie]

And Suze, I did see your question about my brother, but no, and I don't want to talk about it because I don't even understand it myself.

[Virginia]

BBS, I assume the algae is not where you are - can't imagine that you would be surfing in that!!

Agate, I understand what you are saying about mentioning anything to a relative. My two brothers here are much younger than I am and both need to make eating changes due to heart problems. I learned not to mention it if I want to keep seeing them or hearing from them. I mean I can't even hint at what they are eating when we are out. If either of them order French fries I try to look the other way because it hurts me to see it. One lost weight about a year ago, but gained it back. The other one was on a diet earlier in the year and for awhile I thought he was going to stick it out, but I have noticed that he hasn't. I can only guess at how you worry about your son. I am their Sister and it upsets me to no end. While they are not obese, they really need to lose due to heart problems.

Cat Dancer, so glad you are going, or are probably at a party right now - CELEBRATE, CELEBRATE!!! This is wonderful news not only for you but for TC. So when do you start cooking again?

Jeanie, maybe if you put Lacy in bed with you tonight and keep her up close she might be comforted, at least somewhat. I can't imagine anything weighing 4.5 lbs.

[stillstANNding]

Hi all. Four pages already!

Congratulations for enduring,Cat. I'm glad you are eating such tasty food and going to the party. Rock on!

After supper tonight we went on a walk to deliver books we have read or think we don't want to read to three book boxes close by. My calves got very tight and painful so we changed our route to just two of the boxes. The calves still hurt. Is this what you guys use magnesium for?

ANN

[Virginia]

Ann, yes it is supposed to help with cramping, etc. I hope your calves get back to normal very quickly.

[Howie]

Go team go, go team go, go.....oh sorry, I got caught up in posting pages. I'll try to do better.....Go team go, go team go..........

[SuzE-Q]

My calves got very tight and painful so we changed our route to just two of the boxes. The calves still hurt. Is this what you guys use magnesium for?

ANN

ANN, if you find anything that helps your calves, please let me know. I also suffer from agonizing calf pain, and nothing helps. Magnesium doesn't help me at all since I'm not deficient, mine is MS-related, I don't even know if it's muscular or just sensory-gone-awry. I'm desperate for an antidote, the pain is so bad it wakes me up from sleep at nights.

Howie - gotcha.

[Jeanie Z]

:) I don't get leg cramps at night since I started putting a bar of Ivory soap under the bottom sheet near my calves. The last time my linens were changed the bar got left out and sure enough I got cramps.

I don't know why it works, but it does. I read about it several years ago in the Pharmacist article in my local paper. Before that I used to get the cramps almost every night. Jeaniue :)

[agate]

ANN, it sounds as if your calf pain is an ongoing thing in the daytime?

I don't have that but get bad cramps in one calf or the other in the middle of the night. I can't move my lower leg at all when that happens.

About a week ago I found that I've been taking 5,500 IU of vitamin D3 daily instead of the 5,000 IU I thought I was taking. I cut it down to 5,000 and would like to think that I've been having fewer leg cramp problems but it's too soon to tell. And I doubt that 500 extra IU of vitamin D would cause leg cramps even at the high dose I'm already taking.

[Pegakafarmgirl]

Cat.. I for one am thrilled that you are doing so good,, keep up the good work

Our "little house" got moved today, on a hay rack,, fascinating watching these big burley men tear it apart, and load it.. Saturday they begin to assemble it,,

Virginia,, the drug that I am infused with is,,Methotrxate,,it really seems to work,, so far so good,,

Yes,, I love riding,, but I don't ride like I once did {barrel racing, team penning}, I use a safety belt for balance reasons,, and we walk,, I priced saddles for the disabled,, a little to pricey, like $9000 dollars,, no way,, and I will get a picture soon,,

later,,

[Sunshine]

Suze, does it feel like non stop cramping? If so, will Baclofen help?

[Sunshine]

Virginia, I have surfed even in hurricane waves, but algae is a no go. It's toxic, no way I would surf in algae . Our beach is the next beach north of where all the algae beaches are. The current so far has kept ours algae free, or at least that what they say. I didn't see any yesterday. Surfing again in a couple of hours.

Surfing is also s social outing for me, as I surf with a wonderful bunch of women. Ten are showing up this morning! We are a force to contend with :)

[SalpalSally]

Yeaaaaa Cat, you go girl.
My arthritis is getting worse and it's harder for me to type and reach for things.
So doing less and not having a good time. Will stay here as long as able though.
love you all.

[SuzE-Q]

To all you summer babies born without a/c, remember too that temps have increased dramatically in recent years, and we're experiencing the hottest years...ever.

LOL, speaking of season of births...

JAMA Neurol.
2016 Jun 27. doi: 10.1001/jamaneurol.2016.1463. [Epub ahead of print]

Time- and Region-Specific Season of Birth Effects in Multiple Sclerosis in the United Kingdom.

Rodríguez Cruz PM1, Matthews L1, Boggild M2, Cavey A1, Constantinescu CS3, Evangelou N3, Giovannoni G4, Gray O5, Hawkins S6, Nicholas R7, Oppenheimer M1, Robertson N8, Zajicek J9, Rothwell PM1, Palace J1.

IMPORTANCE:
The reports of seasonal variation in the births of people who later develop multiple sclerosis (MS) have been challenged and attributed to the background pattern in the general population, resulting in a false association.

OBJECTIVE:
To study the seasonality of MS births after adjusting for temporal and regional confounding factors.

DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS:
A study was conducted using case-control data from 8 MS-specialized centers from the United Kingdom, MS cases from a population-based study in the Lothian and Border regions of Scotland, and death records from the UK Registrar General. Participants included 21 138 patients with MS and control data from the UK Office of National Statistics and the UK government office regions.

The seasonality of MS births was evaluated using the Walter and Elwood test, after adjusting for temporal and regional variations in the live births of the UK population. The study was conducted from January 16, 2014, to September 2, 2015.

MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES:
Diagnosis of multiple sclerosis.

RESULTS:
Analysis of the general population indicated that seasonal differences are present across time and region in the United Kingdom, with both factors contributing to the monthly distribution of live births.

We were able to demonstrate that, when adjusting for the temporal and regional variations in the live births of the UK population, there was a significant season of birth effect in patients with MS, with an increased risk of disease in the peak month (April) compared with the trough month (November) (odds ratio, 1.24; 95% CI, 1.10-1.41) and 15.68% fewer people who developed MS being born in November (observed to expected birth ratio, 0.840; 95% CI, 0.76-0.92).

CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE:
Season of birth is a risk factor for MS in the United Kingdom and cannot be attributed to the background pattern in the general population. The reasons for the variations in birth rates in the general population are unclear, but not taking them into consideration could lead to false-positive associations.

[Catdancer]

Bummer. Just learned that a niece is being tested for MS. facebooked me with a bunch of questions....

[SuzE-Q]

Suze, does it feel like non stop cramping? If so, will Baclofen help?

Hi BBS,

I don't think it's spasticity, so not sure if baclofen would help. I tend to think it's sensory messages totally out of whack creating this gawd-awful sensation of tightness. It's gone on for years and years now intermittently, but now almost daily.

I'm reminded of Grassman's caution a very long time ago when he said how baclofen weakened his leg muscles so much that it caused him to fall and he never recovered from it. I've been scared to take it and never forgot reading his warning ever since, I know muscle weakness is listed as a side effect since that's how it works on spasticity, by relaxing those contracting muscle signals. I think I'm at higher risk now because my legs have become weaker over the years.

I'm just so happy that you are still able to enjoy your surfing, and you still go out, despite the problems that arise as you exert yourself and the heat affects you.

I so hope the IVIG helps both your immune deficiency as well as your MS. Funny, I saw my pcp this past week and there was a "student doctor" who came in first (it's a teaching clinic, she actually studied in India and is going through the process to qualify here, she said). When I told her that I had MS, she actually asked me if I was on IVIG! When I asked her why she thought I'd be, she said it was a common treatment approach. Not sure if she meant in India since I wouldn't have thought it was so common here, it's not exactly considered a conventional first line treatment like the ABCR and now the more recent meds like Tysabri, Gilenya, etc.! That took me quite by surprise, I thought of you when she mentioned it!

Oh, your algae problem was on the news last night!

Jeanie, I tried that soap thing a long time ago, but unfortunately it didn't help me.

Agate, I wouldn't think an extra 500 iu of D3 would cause problems either, but I guess it all depends on what level your circulating D3 is, it could be enough to tip it over if it was borderline. But you probably wouldn't need such a high dose if you were anywhere near that level. My neuro asked me if I took Vitamin D the last time I was in, maybe there's enough support that they think we should all be supplementing?

Sally, is your ipad or device capable of voice activated typing? Keeping in touch is so important, there are so many assistive programs available now to make it easier. Is it one arm/hand or both? I just type using a stylus with one hand only...it's slower, but still ok. (((hugs)))