By Ed Lash
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There are numerous contributing factors involved in multiple sclerosis (MS): age, geography, genetics, immune regulation, environment, nutrition, stress, emotions, and so forth. Self-help explores all factors, but concentrates on those which we can control.
Consciously, or unconsciously, we are all participants in our own health. We have the responsibility to give our bodies sufficient nutrition, sleep, exercise, water, recreation, and all the other necessary ingredients for health and fitness within our own limitations. We also have the obligation to avoid the toxins, indulgences, emotional overload, and anxiety that place a drain on our systems and have a negative effect on our general health, as well as on our MS symptoms.
Self-help can be defined as a positive approach and an active attempt to become more aware of these factors and how they can adversely or positively affect the body with respect to MS.
Self-help is not intended to replace medical treatment, but rather is used with the help of all appropriate professionals in a team effort. The neurologist and other health professionals add to this team effort the best that medical science has to offer at this time. The patient with MS brings his or her own resources of mind and body to provide the best environment for healing and management, and to make the most out of what may be possible.
MS can place unusual demands on patients. We must examine day-to-day activities to learn if any might be contributing to our illness. We must recognize that we can relieve some of our symptoms. When a bad day occurs, we can ask, “Am I getting enough sleep, or have I been burning the candle at both ends?” “Am I getting sufficient exercise?” “Am I following my doctors advice?” “Do I need to change some old habits, or adopt some new ones?” Most importantly, we must accept the responsibility for helping ourselves as much as possible.
Much of the recent MS literature gives worthwhile advice. In the publication What Is Multiple Sclerosis?, the National MS Society responds to the question “Can MS be treated?” by discussing medication for specific symptoms. Then it goes on to say: “There are other treatments that help. Counseling to decrease emotional stress; physical therapy; exercise programs; attention to diet and adequate rest—all of these are extremely valuable in helping a person remain independent and able to lead a full and productive life.”
Some patients, as well as some doctors, however, show little or no interest in the self-help philosophy. Patients sometimes feel they would rather wait for the cure—a “pill” that will bring everything back to normal. (After all isn’t that what we pay the doctor for?) Or, they may have tried to fight MS at the beginning with little apparent success and may have given up too soon. We sometimes fail because we are simply overconfident, not adequately prepared, or unrealistic in our expectations. Also, some people may have believed an erroneous prognosis given by a doctor, or may have read pessimistic or outdated literature about MS. Often, attitude is the real obstacle.
On the positive side, did you know that the latest statistics have shown that two out of three people with MS remain ambulatory over their lifetimes? Could a few beneficial changes improve your chances of being included with the majority?
Note: Self-help is not intended to replace medical treatment. It should be used together with the help of appropriate professionals in a team effort.
Ed Lash is a United Spinal member who lives in Trumbull, Connecticut. This essay is adapted from his book, MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS, Self-help . . . A Patient’s View (Vantage Press 2001), which is available for $16 ($13.95 plus $2.05 for S&H) by e-mail from edlash.ms.selfhelp@juno.com, or by phone at 203-445-0118.
