sturdyteam registered for MS Walk 2012

sturdyteam at the 2011 MS Walk

We are once again completing the MS Walk (in Edmonton again this year) to raise awareness of and funds for MS research and related programs. As many (most, all?) know, I was diagnosed with relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis in 2009. The disease initially affected my vision and balance. I have been on 2 different medications in the past almost 3 years, Rebif and now Copaxone. (both are injectable - I have written about this before). I have also completely overhauled my diet, fitness, and lifestyle. I won't bore you with the details, but many of the links on the side of my blog lead to other sites that are in line with my changes. Things have been going very well with only small bumps in the road (mostly from the medications themselves). I do not know for certain how much of this is due to the medications, other significant lifestyle changes I have made, or just luck. I guess it doesn't really matter in the grand scheme of things. Nothing sounds sweeter than people telling me that "they had no idea" that I had MS. I hope to keep it this way. Please consider sponsoring us and supporting this worthwhile cause. 

sturdyrant: Getting a hate on for needles

I don't know whether this will be a recurring series of "rant" posts, but I am sure my wife, colleagues, friends, and neighbours will be happy to see me channelling my energy into writing blog posts that they can choose to ignore rather than me bending their ear for an indeterminate amount of time about things that irk me. The point of the post below is just that, a rant, and is my opinion alone, and not that of my employer, or of anyone else of importance. Just me. It is also not meant to serve as a "pity party". Just a rant. Pure venting.


I have been on a so-called "Disease Modifying Drug" (or DMD) since June 2009. I can safely say that any infinitesimal amount novelty that may have existed around the idea of injecting myself 3 (first DMD: Rebif) and then 7 times a week (current DMD: Copaxone) has long since vanished. Lately, I've been getting a healthy hate on for needles and the nightly "routine". 


Don't get me wrong, the current drug appears to be "working" (or is it my Whals-esque paleo style diet and lifestyle?) at preventing relapses, and maybe even reducing the number and size of lesions in my brain observed on a 4.7T (strong) MRI, but finding spots to "stick" it is becoming increasingly difficult. (This is at least a step up from the awful, flu-like side effects I had with the interferon and that it kicked the snot out of my bone marrow. I eventually dropped it after two failed "attempts".) Not to mention that I think I may be developing a spot of lipoatrophy on my abdomen as a result of the injections. (It's interesting to note that lipoatrophy caused by Copaxone is one of only two listed causes on the Wiki page, the other being caused by an adverse reaction to medication for HIV/AIDS.) I am not certain about the lipoatrophy, but it is worrisome. Besides appearing unsightly, lipoatrophy causes you to be unable to continue to inject in the affected location. If this happens enough and in enough locations, you may not be able to continue to self-administer your Copaxone. And here's the rub.


You need to maintain a "healthy" layer of adipose tissue to facilitate injecting Copaxone (a product that costs my insurance company almost $17,000 per year, by the way). No fat, or damaged fat, and no injections. Forget being healthy any avoiding all the other ills that can still befall an MSer (such as heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes, etc.) or the fact the the food you used to eat that made you chubby (and a good candidate for injections!) also very likely contributed in a real way (i.e., caused) your MS in the first place. No, don't worry about that. Just be sure to have a little extra junk in the trunk to pump the medication into each day.


In closing, I must add that my nurse, an RN who contacts me periodically to ensure that things are going well and to offer advice, has been excellent. This post has nothing to do with her. I am just choked in general about the situation that is fraught with contradictions.

It's all about you

People are becoming increasingly aware of the importance of good nutrition as a part of good overall health and well being. This is good. The problem is that everyone wants a quick fix to their problems, whether it is carrying too much weight, hypertension, digestive issues, or whatever. And they want their quick fix to "fit into" or to "work" with their very busy lives. 

But at the end of the day, the only person responsible for your health and wellness is you. Not your spouse, children, friends, relatives, neighbours, colleagues, and certainly not spokespeople for the current "solution" du jour.

You. 

And while you may be busy, or busier than the next person whom you compare yourself with, you control your health choices. And if you make poor, or suboptimal decisions, do you know who is going to pay the price?

You.

Oh, your family, friends and the like will be saddened that you have to spend time with doctors, in hospital or whatever. But they'll get over it. Eventually. You may not. In fact, your choices may result in very serious consequences and even contribute in a very real way to your eventual demise.

Now I'm not claiming that I have always made excellent, or even mediocre decisions at some points, when it comes to my health and wellness. It has been a long, ever-evolving process. I have made plenty of missteps along the way. I like to delude myself into thinking that I have learned from them and will avoid them in the future. Who knows? Only time will tell. 

What I do know is that each one of us as individuals have to decide for ourselves how to make the most of our time here, and that nutrition plays a key role. And nutrition starts with the consumption of food. Real food. Not as Michael Pollan calls it, "food-like substances". Food.

My own road has led me to adopt a Primal/Paleo style diet, that is leading more and more towards strict Paleo (started with no grains, legumes, sugar, processed food, and now moving towards an elimination of dairy too). I feel great, eat great food, and exercise in a manner that is consistent with our evolutionary history. 

I encourage everyone to more carefully consider their health and wellness as the primary focus at the centre of their busy lives, and not something peripheral that only needs to be dealt with when an MD directs them to "eat healthier and get some exercise".

Here's some banana-almond pancakes as a reward for reading this long-winded post.