Foot Tremor

Update! I am hitting my 4 month mark soon and I am excited to share I am still having improvements! I have had a horrible tremor and numbness in right foot, and numb tingly legs for years and years. I thought the benefits and improvements received from surgery were complete and I was going to have to live with tingly tremor filled feet forever. Not really complaining as ants having happy dance in your feet was something I was getting used to really, and I was really happy with all the other improvements! However in the past 2 weeks (with lots of work I might add, like exercise/yoga, regular chiro visits, supplements, water, you know the drill) I have improved immensely and my foot tremor I would say is non existent most of the day! Two weeks without the tremor, I can't believe it. I really can't. Nothing, and I mean nothing, made improvements like these before I had the treatment. I feel so blessed.

MS WALK!!

Well yesterday was our first MS walk. I was pretty emotional that day, I teared up a lot. A couple reasons...

1.Matt couldn't make it.
His nightmare trip back home from a week in Florida for work (all meetings no play). Ending up resulting a major storm which stopped him from flying out of Chicago and he had to spend a night on a cot with 200 other people in the airport.
I knew he couldn't do anything about it, but I was still shaken and just felt like I wasn't read to do this on my own. I NEEDED him by my side as one of my cheerleaders.

2. It was my first official "event" where I was recognized for having MS.
I don't why, but that kind of shook me. I guess seeing this event put on for people who suffer was very emotional for me. Wow, I am one of these people.
I have Multiple Sclerosis.
For so many years I have suffered with a nameless problem, but now that it has a name, and a big walk to go along with it, well, it seems so real. A little too real frankly.

3. The support of my friends.
My team (Team Blood Flow) and their children decided to take a chunk of their day to spend with me, simply to walk and cheer me on. This meant so very much to me. And I really did need them. At one point the walk was tough. The walk is a total of two miles. After about three quarters of the first mile, my legs began to feel pretty weak and tired and all I wanted to do was sit down.
I thought to myself,
"what the heck!? I can't be getting tired YET!!"
But usually I can give my legs a good rest between stretches of walking, or at least stop when I am shopping to give my legs mini breaks.
I was very unprepared at how quick my legs became weak and this was a lot tougher emotionally than I had expected.
I felt so weak.
But inside felt strong, and my leg strength wasn't cooperating with the rest of my progress.
So down streamed the tears as I kept trudging on.
My friends picked up on that I was getting slower and slower and all of them dropped back and encouraged me to the 1 mile rest stop. At the 1 mile mark there was a rest place to get water and snacks. All I could think of was where the heck are the benches!?
We have MS people!! I NEED TO SIT!!!!
So I just plopped on the ground my legs tingling like mad and screaming with fatigue. Thankfully they didn't hurt though.
As I sat there I started to feel crushed, so through my dark sunglasses, I let the tears swell.
Honestly all I wanted to do at this point was just morph myself back to my couch and have a good old self pity cry.

But again my friends quickly picked up on my mood, and kept talking about how far I had come since last year. They were right, there was NO WAY, I could of done that walk pre liberation treatment.
I know I am impatient. And my brain remembers how Dr. Arata said post surgery that it would take a long time for my legs to get stronger and to not see this as a set back...
I know this.
But I still didn't want it to be the case.
So we started the second mile trek back to the finish line and went even slower if possible than the first mile.
There were two other ladies that were slower than me.
I thought,
"Come on! I am considered minor in the MS world, why am I bringing up the rear here!?"
I should be leading the pack! Screaming
"Wooh hoo CCSVI!!! Look at me GO!"
So again, my friends came to my aid and consoled me that not too many MS people are able to do the 2 mile walk and most are walking for other people, so I should be very proud of myself.
So....
I guess I am.
Even if it takes some time to get there.
Maybe next year I can lead the pack...

Chiropractor

So I have been going to the same chiropractor for 8 years. Which is when some of the symptoms started to take a significant place in my life.
So as I would get more and more strange symptoms over the years, he was one of my biggest advocates to keep pursuing and not give up getting a diagnosis. He was also one one my biggest cheerleaders to get the CCSVI procedure done. When I told Dr. Decamp about it, he immediately was intrigued and pro active about learning more. Then the next time I saw him, he had done his homework. A lot of it. He kept saying, it makes so much sense! Each visit he would always say, I just don't see why anyone wouldn't be first in line to have this done. I sure would be.
I agree.

But that isn't why I bring him up. I bring chiropractic up because it has always been the one thing that has helped consistently over the years. Dr. Decamp could spew the medial jargon as to why chiropractic influences your veins, and brain etc...
But all I know is it works.
I was finding the last few weeks my legs has seemed more stiff, more periods of pain, and the foot tremor just seemed to be that much more twitchy and irritable.
I found that when I would give my legs a really good deep self massage trying to increase blood flow the the legs and feet, I could in fact improve the tingling, numbness and twitching in my feet. For at least a couple hours anyway.
So I started doing that several times a day. I thought if I can manipulate these symptoms positivitly, maybe getting a chiro tune up would also be beneficial. So yesterday I went to see my chiro and showed him my symptoms chart and he agreed that this was something we should explore.

The result???

Sure enough, I had some amazing results. The days after my CCSVI procedure I felt incredible warmth sensations in random spots in my legs and especially in my feet. It would feel like suddlenly from within hot lava had filled the area. It was an incredibly weird sensation and I still struggle trying to explain it.
Dr. Arata explained these sensations would come and go as blood is finding it's way to these parts of our body. I thought it was just a one time deal as it had only been a few days post liberation. However after I had my lower back adjusted and a tune up at my neck and back, the next day I had these feelings of incredible warmth all over again and best of all, legs returned to no pain, very little to no tingling and weakness and my trusty old foot tremor than never stops became but a little tiny tingle in that spot.

So make a note...see your chiropractor regularly post liberation.

MS Walk CCSVI T-shirts

So our team for the MS Walk wanted to have cool t-shirts that promoted CCSVI.
So I thought it would also be good to use my blog address so others could get more information. So I designed these starting with the wheel chair sign... to get some attention.
We definitely got a lot of curious looks sent our way.
But they had rave review! I even someone want to purchase them. Which I think is a great way to maybe help raise money for others to have the liberation treatment.
They also sparked a few great conversations about my own procedure and hopefully it will help someone out there.