New and need help!

[bsox1822]

Hello out there:
I just have been diagnosed with MS this month. I am having symptoms such as intense head-aches, bilateral leg pain, memory problems, vision problems. As I am a teacher the memory problems are most difficult to deal with. I will be delivering a lecture that I have done countless times and I will forget certain words it is very frustrating.

[22cyclist]

bsox1822: Welcome to MS World! We are happy you joined! As for your problem with recall, can you use an iPad or tablet with your speech on it to aid in word retrieval, or que cards?

I am sorry you are having cognitive problems. A lot of us have them. Hopefully you will look around the message boards and participate. Also check out our chat rooms.

Let us know how your speech goes, and what worked for you, OK?

Take care,
Best wishes
Lisa
Moderation Team

[BigA]

If you've just been diagnosed, you should get better this year. Some healing can take more than a year. I suggest first thing; you get your vitamin D tested and supplement.

As for what you have to do... I find Ritalin gives me enough of a mental boost and a clarity boost that I take it when I have a meeting. You might ask your doc about it.

[hunterd]

WELCOME BSOX1822!!!!!!! it is great to have you with us! years ago, i was told to take evening primrose oil by an ms dr at the mellen center. i don`t know that it helped or not.

[misslux]

Hi and welcome.

If you've just been diagnosed, you should get better this year. Some healing can take more than a year.

Isn't that only the case for RRMS?

[MSer102]

Isn't that only the case for RRMS?

Yes but the vast majority of people who are newly diagnosed are RRMS. So the odds are very good that the flare of symptoms that led to diagnosis will get better as the remission phase comes on.

years ago, i was told to take evening primrose oil by an ms dr at the mellen center. i don`t know that it helped or not.

Evening primrose oil was popular for MS 15+ years ago. It seems to have fallen out of favor as better medicines have been developed. And over decades of time there didn't seem to be any significant proof that it helped much if at all for MS. Same for grape seed extract, pine bark extract and OPC's (oligomeric proanthocyanidins).

The aren't bad, and small studies showed that they had some value for other inflammatory conditions when little else was available. But nowadays there might be better things to spend money on. Back in the day I used to take all of them. I don't think they helped in any particular way. A good healthy diet may be more beneficial than individual supplements.

[Temagami]

George Jelinek is still pushing evening primrose oil.

Yes, the initial flare may very well improve immensely. The unknowing is a monster. Mindfulness exercises- How to Train a Wild Elephant (amazon) is useful as are mediations- Deepak Chopra has a free guided meditation library on his site.

I teach too- yes, it is annoying to run into the glitches as you cannot predict when it will happen. I have a colleague whose mother had MS- she said that I might as well laugh when those things happen as the alternatives are much worse.

Take care,
Temagami