February 2006 Meeting Newsletter
Hello Everyone,
My own observations of people with MS show me that in general we are all trying to learn as much as possible about this disease - how it functions in our bodies and how we can best treat it so as to enhance the quality of our lives.
Unfortunately, more so than many other people, we must devote a lot of mental and physical energy on this awareness. We glean information from many sources to enable us to do this. Knowledge is power, and it seems that the more we learn the easier it is to face our challenges.
Saturday, Dr. Evye Szanto presented us with an overview of a few neurological aspects of MS as well as an explanation of how the interferons and Copaxone work differently with the T Cells to influence our immune systems. These are new and sometimes confusing concepts to some of us, however, very interesting, important information. As she said, she could talk for hours about most of this stuff, but her condensed talk was very good and much appreciated.
Among her topics, she stressed the value of beginning immunomodulating drugs as early as possible. There are many studies to back up this important fact. Another point was that people need be very cautious about using alternative therapies because in most cases there is no scientific information to back up the claims. There is a big difference between alternative and complementary therapies. Complementary therapies are things in addition to your basic drug treatment such as vitamins, massage, etc. These can be a good thing. Alternative therapies replace the basic treatment and are usually based on heresay.
Our first Adaptive Yoga class is doing so well that we have hopes of continuing it on a long term basis. We need to know what times work best for people who may be interested so that we can continue to reach everyone. The benefits of the breathing, stretching and personal reflection do wonders for the body, mind & soul.
We have got a few good ideas for the social the NMSS is offering us in June. Give us your input…so far ideas include an Exercise social at a gym, Dinner & bunco or table games, the Shasta Dinner Train and Turtle Bay Dinner and Jazz.
One more thing, we have been given donations of several walkers and they are available to anyone who wants one, free of charge. Another person is offering us a free small wheelchair. If you would like any of these, please e-mail us at info@hope4ms.org or call me at 222-7277.
It was good to see many new faces on Saturday as well as old friends. Our next self help group will be Saturday March 4th at Redding Christian Fellowship Church. I hope to see you there.