medical marijuana and ms

Medical Marijuana: What the Research Shows Print Email Reset Font Size By Bara Vaida WebMD Feature Reviewed by Michael W. Smith, MD Dustin Sulak, DO, is a doctor on the front lines of medical marijuana. Sulak has recommended various forms of marijuana to his patients and has seen striking results. Patients with chronic pain needed fewer prescription pain meds. Patients with multiple sclerosis had less painful muscle spasms. Patients with severe inflammatory bowel disease began to eat again. “These responses are the most impressive to me,” says Sulak, who practices at Maine Integrative Healthcare in Manchester. Maine is one of 20 states, along with the District of Columbia, where medical marijuana is legal. “With irritable bowel syndrome, we’ll see patients who were at death’s door turn around dramatically.” Sulak’s experience is powerful and adds to the large body of personal stories -- dating from 5,000 years ago -- about the therapeutic value of marijuana. But the scientific evidence behind the drug’s benefits remains elusive, even as 10 more states consider legalizing medical uses in 2014. The problem: In 1970, the federal government classified marijuana as an illegal, highly addictive drug with no medical value, making research harder to do. FULL STORY HERE http://www.msviews.org/msviewsandnews4/index.php/2012-05-28-00-15-54/2012-05-28-00-17-44/24-research/701-medical-marijuana-what-the-research-shows

Most of the myths swirling around multiple sclerosis aren’t true. Here, we separate fact from fiction.

The science of multiple sclerosis is changing so rapidly that perhaps people with multiple sclerosis, their families, and even their doctors can be forgiven for holding on to some outdated multiple sclerosis myths and misconceptions. With more knowledge of the condition, people with multiple sclerosis can live more healthy, high quality lives. Here are some of the most common, outdated multiple sclerosis myths. Read More Here at: http://www.everydayhealth.com/news/multiple-sclerosis-myths/?xid=aol_eh-ms_3_20140317_&aolcat=AJA&icid=maing-grid7%7Chtmlws-main-bb%7Cdl32%7Csec1_lnk3%26pLid%3D455323

Possible Links Between Endothelial Health and MS

Possible Links Between Endothelial Health and MS

If you or a loved one suffers from MS, you know how debilitating, painful, and incapacitating that condition can be.  Consequently, every new development and treatment in the field has the potential to bring real change to the lives of those affected with the condition.  Recent studies have been indicating possible links between endothelial health and MS.  Let’s take a look at this possible link, and the implications.

First, you have to start with a basic understanding of endothelial health, as well as how the mechanism of that physical system intersects with the pathology of MS.  We will start with multiple sclerosis; as you are likely already aware, MS itself is a condition in which the coverings of nerve cells are damaged, impacting their ability to communicate properly.

The endothelial system, on the other hand, is the protective system of your body’s circulatory system.  Much how the nerves have ‘coverings’ which are damaged to cause MS in the first place, your circulatory pathways are protected by endothelial cells, which  line the insides of your veins, capillaries, and arteries.

Until fairly recently, endothelial health was not even recognized as something important to a body.  The endothelia were thought of as being relatively inert, simply there to protect the circulatory cells.  This all changed when people began to realize that endothelial health plays an integral role in the circulatory and endocrine systems themselves.  Within a circulatory context, endothelial health is responsible for regulating your blood pressure, coagulation, and several other incredible important functions.  Within the context of hormones, the 60,000 cumulative miles of endothelial cells within your body are extremely important for the secretion of enzymes, hormones, and other chemical compounds.

So how do the two systems tie together?

Usually, it will start with a person causing damage to their endothelial health.  This can either be due to genetic factors or lifestyle choices (stress, eating bad fat, sleep deprivation, and more all can cause endothelial damage).  Once damaged, this leads to an imbalance in your nitric oxide levels, which then can impact the endothelial signaling inside your body.  At that point, it then disrupts the circulatory and endocrine systems, and it is these larger systemic disruptions that can aggravate MS.

Taking care of your endothelial health can offer many benefits; not only will you reduce the risk of developing numerous medical conditions such as MS, but you will also make reduce the risk of heart disease and blood pressure issues at the same time.

tecfidera (bg12 update - 3 weeks in, side effects and none.....

So here's my 3 week in update on tecfidera (bg12). Lets begin with flushing. The flushing was much more apparent in the first week and barely noticeable now. If I am flushing I recognize it by a brief runny nose, similar to niacins effect on me personally. Niacin however is much more harsh and the flushing on niacin in my personal experience is one hundred times stronger.

Stomach upsetting side effects have not been a symptom that I have experienced yet although I did one evening have a belly ache three days into augmentin treatment for a sinus infection. Coincedentally I aquired an upper respitory infection 3 days into my dosing and was immediately placed on augmentin which in itself causes the same symptom of stomach disturbance. I am certain that it wasn't bg12-tecfidera,or a decreased white blood cell count that caused me to fall ill, because the rest of my household fell prey to the same bug which was introduced to us by my notoriously sick preschool goddaughter.

One thing that I will say that has become a drastic improvement with the BG 12 treatment is in my bladder function. I never associated waking up in the early am hours like 5 am daily to urinate with ms. Actually I thought it was a sign of old age and have heard my mother complain of this for years. But since I began this therapy I have not once woken up to empty my bladder. Perhaps that's part of the anti-inflammatory properties. The tingling in my left arm dissipated as well even when I feel stress. This is all good stuff so far ......fingers crossed

 

One of my greatest concerns initially when taking this drug was interactions with other ones. Its so new here in the USA, and its not like we can pick up the phone and call a skin/psoriasis doctor in Germany to ask these questions..... So with experience I can tell you whats ok so far with my own trials and tribulations. For me that is. Let me run a list of drugs sampled while on tecfidera. Obviously you should check with your doctor , as im not in the medical field, holding only a degree in MS survival from the university of life experience.

 

xanax- .25 mgs at night for sleep

fluvoxemine - 50mgs hmmm, not depressed, guess i use it to retain the extra 20 pounds it initially put on my hips and belly.

augmentin - sinus infection

advil - liquid gell

magnesium

vitamin b d,c,and omega

elderberry occasionally

Hope you found this helpful, because being a crash test dummy for a newly marketed drug can be a very scary proposition! Off I go to swallow my daily vitamins since I neglected breakfast this am......