Day: December 30, 2009

Ramblings · Sarcasm

I have a food confession…

Tracy4 Comments

I try so hard to live by my paleo lifestyle. It helped me to lose 20 pounds and feel better. It did not allow me to walk or ‘cure’ my MS. [MS CANNOT be cured, but it can be controlled for some] What the paleo lifestyle did was help my fatigue, my dizziness, my IBS/colon issues, and an array of other little issues. As stated before, it even helped me to lose weight with minimal exercise.

So, what is my confession you ask?  [I know u r asking] I have fallen off the wagon for a bit as of late. For the last 3 nights we have McD’s. The most evil food in the world. I am so mad at myself for eating it and for allowing my kids to eat that crap!! The breads alone will make you sick.

I know better, which is why I am so pissed off at me. I know I feel better when I eat the right way. So WTF is my problem??  I eat this crap and then hate myself for it. HELLO…wake up Tracy!

I quit smoking 3.5 years ago.

That was [so far] the hardest thing I have ever given up. Do i feel better for it, YES. Do I miss it every day…YES. But, I do not pick one up and start again. So, why can’t I quit the shitty foods?! And yes, they are shitty for EVERYONE!! Why do we think The USA is the ‘fattest’ Country. We are made to believe that it is ok to eat fast food. They have nutrition guides and use better oils!!  Ya, and I fell off the turnip truck yesterday!!

Ok, ok I’ll get off my soapbox… for now! We will be discussing this at a later date in my ‘Living with MS’ blog series anyways. Bet ya cannot wait!!

Anywho, I needed to come clean and confess my food splurge!! Even though it is all I ate on those days, it is still the worst things I could have put in my body. I will be paying for it for the next few days. It is already starting. Time to water up!

Blessings and Hope…

ps…if you need to find me, I’ll be in my bathroom!

Fear · Health · Multiple Sclerosis

Living with MS – part one

Tracy5 Comments

I’m going to start a series of blogs on, you guessed it, Living with MS. Each blog will have a theme to it, ie: newly diagnosed, medications, family issues, friendships, exercise and nutrition.

My mini disclaimer: All of the blogs will be from my perspective on my life with Chronic Progressive Multiple Sclerosis. I am not a doctor and will never tell anyone what they should do for their MS. We are all different in our MS journeys as we are in our lives.

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My Journey for the truth began after the birth of my son in 1994. I was overly fatigued and started to fall quite often. It was chalked up to bad ankles [from ankle breaks when I was younger] to postpartum depression. I had been diagnosed with CFS in 1986 at the age of 22, so they added that to the list. In May 1996 my twin daughters were born and walking became quite hard. I slept downstairs with the girls in their bassinets for the first few months. Fast forward to July 1997. For months my left ankle would twist and I would have serious trouble walking.  I had been to the doctor any times during this year and told the same things as before; bad ankles, postpartum depression, CFS. Finally I got mad and made yet another appointment. This time I saw a Physicians Assistant, he talked to me for a bit then asked me to walk for him. The next thing I knew he was setting me up for an MRI…a What? The next month was kind of a blur. Mri’s, evoked potentials, spinal taps. Then then the results, Mrs. Radford, you have Multiple Sclerosis. Silence!

I do not remember too much of the next months. More tests, learning how to inject a 1.5 inch needle into my thigh, crying, denial, more crying, then complete anger! At that point I had ‘the good’ MS. REALLY?! Relapsing-remitting MS. I may never progress, might be in a remission for forever even. Well, my remission never came, but my progression did.

During the next 7.5-8 years I got two second opinions at the UCLA MS Clinic by their top MS Neurologists. Damn, both said, “Mrs. Radford, you do in fact have MS.” Bummer!

From 1997, I went from ankle braces to crutch canes to walkers to manual wheel-chariots to my now power wheel-chariot.  Not really where I expected to be at 45 years old.

So, in a quick nutshell, this begins my journey. I am in the battle of my life. For some, this may not be the worst battle out there, but it is my battle and it is happening to me, so it is the worst out there. Living with MS is a journey for those with MS and the people who love them. Maybe, in some small way I can help someone through a rough time or even share a few laughs. Hope to hear from you.

Blessings and Hope…