Category: Multiple Sclerosis

Multiple Sclerosis

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an invisible chronic illness which could have a profound impact on your life and opportunities. But there is hope and you can fight the MS monster!

First a funny: I like to call MS my zombie sickness: my immune system is eating my brain. Fittingly, I got my diagnosis on Halloween (2017). After my diagnosis, I found out that it is not a death sentence, it’s a life sentence. Still remembering how worried I was before my multiple sclerosis diagnosis.

Thanks to my diagnosis, I actually could figure out what adjustments are needed between my wants and my abilities. Not only that, I learned how to get stronger, notwithstanding my MS.

Here are some of my favorite multiple sclerosis articles:

MS and Exercise

• Getting Strong. Exercises for MS and which Facebook group you should join for multiple sclerosis support.
• Yoga: Start Where You Are. Any chronic illness patient can benefit from yoga.
• Winter hiking with MS. During the winter, spoonies just want to snuggle up at home. Instead, read these tips and tricks how to stay active during the winter.
• Surfing with MS: a challenge; Can’t go to Waikiki and not surf!
• My MS Challenge Got Featured! Enjoy my warrior experience in Hawai’i.

Medical Aspects

• MS, MRI and claustrophobia. How to deal with the inevitable MRI scans;
• LoveYourBrain yoga for MS. An in-progress study to determine whether LoveYourBrain yoga for TBI patients also works for MS;
• Copaxone Shots: My Experience. When I heard I would have to inject myself, I thought I could never do it. It wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be.

Travel for Spoonies

• Travel Tips & Mistakes to Avoid. After finding out about my chronic illness, I had to learn how to improve my travel experience. Don’t make my mistakes!
• Bungee-Jumping off the Space Needle. Surprisingly, we found out that even spoonies can bungee-jump off the Space Needle in Seattle! Find out how.
• Top Ten Tips for Travel with Copaxone. When you live with a chronic illness, you might wonder how you can get your needles and medication through TSA.
• Hiking Diamond Head in Oahu with MS.
• Makapu’u Lighthouse Trail: Whales for the Win; Even an unsuccessful hike can be a win for the average spoonie.
• Manoa Falls Hike. At least there were birds! Since Jurassic Park was filmed there we kept an eye out for stray dinosaurs, but no such luck!