Brunner MS and healthy

Scientifically proven recommendations for an active life with multiple sclerosis
1. Auflage 2023
ISBN: 978-3-347-72905-6
Verlag: tredition
Format: EPUB
Kopierschutz: 6 - ePub Watermark

E-Book, Englisch, 468 Seiten

Live self-determined - even with multiple sclerosis! The diagnosis can be frightening - but stick your head in the sand? Definitely not! Because there are many possibilities and ways how you can lead a happy and self-determined life even with multiple sclerosis. The only question is: where do I start? Which is the right path for me? This book clearly shows what options there are in addition to conventional medicine to positively influence the course of the disease in multiple sclerosis and to take your own health into your own hands. All proposed measures are scientifically proven. They also have the power to enrich one's life beyond the illness. Because MS is not the end, it is the beginning of a new chapter! What awaits you: * 9 Actionable Measure - 'Healthy Living for a Healthy Living!' The book shows 9 self-implementable measures that can positively influence the course of MS. It summarizes the essence of several hundred scientific studies. All recommendations are easy to understand and implement! * A Personal Story - 'From Diagnosis to Today' Accompany the author through her own medical history. You will find very personal insights from the diagnosis to experiences with fatigue and relapses, specially marked again and again throughout the book. * Background knowledge - 'Conventional medicine and lifestyle complement each other!' Therefore, everyone affected should know about the disease and have access to information about treatment options. You will find chapters that explain MS, but also show various basic therapies and their effectiveness. Use these chapters to deepen your understanding of MS and as a reference and basis for discussion with your doctor.

Claudia Brunner a étudié ´business economics´ et la philosophie avant d'occuper un poste dans un cabinet de conseil en gestion bien connu après avoir obtenu son diplôme. Le doctorat qui a suivi dans le domaine de l'économie d'entreprise a donné lieu à de nombreuses publications scientifiques. Plusieurs années de recherche ont suivi. Diverses formations complémentaires, dont une sur les sciences nutritionnelles (« Nutrition Science ») à la Stanford School of Medicine, ainsi qu'une sur « Evidence-Based Optimal Nutrition » à la Harvard School of Public Health ainsi que « The Brain » et « Brain Health » à la Elle est également diplômée de la Harvard Extension School afin de préparer au mieux son projet de livre. Aujourd'hui, Claudia Brunner travaille comme professeur et est mère de 3 filles. Elle a reçu son diagnostic de SEP en 2009.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Brunner, Claudia

Leseproben

1. Introduction

1.1 My personal history with MS

“Are you married?"
Those were his first words.

With incredulous amazement at the unexpected question, I looked at the neurologist across from me and said, "No." For some reason he continued, "Then you should do it soon! You can also have children normally. I have numerous patients with children."

I was completely unclear what those words were about. They did not fit at all with what I had been going through the last few days. I was also far from planning any children or wanting to get married.

With my 26 years, I stood in the middle of life. I was a healthy young woman. After graduating from college, I started working for a consulting firm a few months earlier. I desired to have a career, travel a lot, experience different cultures, and simply enjoy life independently and freely.

My medical history took its ominous course at a personnel interview about two months earlier. I had been told, not very charmingly, that I was to lose my job.

The previous year, there had been a major stock market crash in the U.S., and the economy in Germany had also been affected. The result was mass layoffs, among others at management consultancies. I was one of them.

As suddenly as a knife thrust and just as sharply, a terrible pain drove into my head. I could no longer think clearly and soon ended the conversation. Still in the office, the pain shifted behind my right eye. An unspeakable feeling of pressure developed. I had to get out. Ibuprofen and a flood of tears relaxed me somewhat and so the pain subsided.

Unfortunately, there were still a few weeks left until the end of my contract, so I continued to go to work the following days. The next morning I opened the door to the office. As if on cue, the feeling of pressure behind my eye increased. I spent this and the following days in the office looking for job postings and printing resumes on expensive paper. Still, the pain got steadily worse.

Only lunch breaks and off-hours relaxed my head. Every remaining day of the current month repeated the increase in pain in the morning when I went to the office, the brief relief at lunch, and the gradual improvement after work. Although there were these periods of relief, the pain increased daily. The feeling of pressure behind my eye steadily increased, and by the third day after the consultation, I felt like my eye was going to pop out.

At this point, it was already clear to me that I would not last the remaining three months under these circumstances. Gritting my teeth, I handed in my resignation, gave up two months of salary, but in return had my freedom after another 28 days - and hopefully no more pain.

***

There I was, unemployed and taking painkillers. The hoped-for improvement and relaxation, unfortunately, failed to materialize. Throughout the day I still had significant pain and pressure behind the eye. It was much better than the week before, but I still had to see a doctor. So my first visit on Monday morning was to our family doctor. With the dia- gnosis of an acute stress-related tension headache and a sick note for the whole month, I left the practice full of hope for improvement and with a zest for action.

My boyfriend was living in New York at the time. Since I could write applications from there as well, the decision was made quickly. The following five weeks in New York were wonderful, I felt better. The pain was no longer so frequent and strong. In addition, I had a new pair of glasses made by the optician shortly before I left. My visual acuity had deteriorated somewhat. And so, I suspected, the wrong glasses had also contributed to my pain.

Unfortunately, the optician had probably not measured so well and soon my pain became more frequent again. I also saw increasingly worse with my right eye. I did not conclude that maybe something was wrong with my head or that I was ill. Even the ophthalmologist I visited indirectly confirmed my assumption that I had nothing wrong. Except for dry eyes, he could not recognize any problem in my eye.

With the increasing duration of the pain and a worse and worse visual acuity, the vague feeling crept in that maybe something bigger was wrong. But I still held on to every straw like the eye doctor's and diligently used eye drops.

Only about a week after returning from New York, I started at my new job. With a long weekend immediately ahead, I was still in my old city and the move was on the schedule for later. My boyfriend was also back in Germany by now and we spent the weekend comfortably in my student apartment.

It was a Saturday when I complained about very strong pain again. My right eye felt as if it was being squeezed out of its socket. At the same time, I could no longer read books with that eye. Everything was completely blurred. Gradually, I also saw different shades of red in my eyes. On the left eye most beautiful fire red, on the right eye rather a swampy brown-red. I was desperate and paralyzed.

My friend finally made the decision and forced me to go directly to the doctor. We drove directly to the eye clinic in Munich and arrived there at 5 pm. The wait at the hospital felt eternal and finally, the doctor certified me with a visual acuity of less than 60% and false colors. By this time I was in tears and begged him to tell me what I had. The only answer was that he would have to discuss it with the attending. Waiting again. Finally, I was called in and shortly told that I either had an inflammation of the optic nerve or "something" was pressing on it. I should also go immediately to the university hospital, perhaps I could be "pushed into the tube today".

At this point, I could no longer think clearly. I just begged my boyfriend to do something, I don't want a tumor in my head…

He kept his nerve and we immediately drove to the university hospital in Großhadern. In the emergency room, we waited for a very long time in a dreary room with ugly corridors. The following hours are for me as if covered with a veil. Today I can only remember a few details. For example, my friend tore open the findings from the CT scan so that I wouldn't have to wait for a second longer. That he got me a burger at 2 a.m. and how the neurologist took my nerve fluid.

Finally being told I had optic neuritis and to come back the next few days for an infusion. With the words:

"Find a neurologist in private practice" I was ultimately discharged.

And here we were. After a visit to the radiologist ("Oh you have a follow-up"), we sat across from Dr. Neurology. After the introductory question about whether we were married, a dry: "You have chronic inflammation of the central nervous system. I'll give you some brochures to read about therapies.

It didn't last five minutes.

That moment stuck in my head like a movie in slowed-down images.

I stood up. He had black designer plastic chairs in the office. The floor is antique and dark wood. I turned toward the door. Just over the threshold, I lowered my gaze to the brochures in my hand.

"Living with MS" was written on it. Film break …

I didn't know MS at the time. To me, it was a nebulous disease and I didn't know much more than that it was incurable and people were in wheelchairs. Despite everything, I tried to explain to my friend that I was quite happy now. Now I would at least know what I had.

After the appointment, my friend looked for a specialized neurologist in the area for me. This appointment was not far off and was no comparison to my first visit to the neurologist. The doctor took 1.5 hours to explain the disease, its condition, treatment options, and the like. That day MS got its name. My inner hamster was baptized. One of the few happy moments of these days was reading the package insert of my new medication. It said that it was derived from the ovarian cells of the Chinese hamster. And so I simply named the MS "My Hamster", which made it a little more tangible.

And so the hamster came into my life. As probably everyone can imagine, a bad diagnosis is a massive break. Even those affected or even relatives know this first hand. For me it was exactly that, my world was shaken from the ground up. Everything I had hoped to achieve and create was initially shattered. In addition to all the changes in my life - a job loss, a new job, relocation - this was a very difficult time for me.

Over the following years, I would have to struggle with many hurdles. One of the biggest was to accept that the hamster belongs to me and is a part of me. To come to this acceptance, I needed years. I took countless detours, cried torrents of tears, spent weeks arguing with my boyfriend, forced myself to perform, did not admit any weakness, and even denied the existence of MS at times.

Especially in the first years after the diagnosis, I had a wide variety of relapses and symptoms. In addition to numerous sensations, such as numb legs, tingling arms, numb fingers, and the like, I had to fight above all with renewed optic nerve inflammations in both eyes. In addition, my left arm was almost paralyzed and I suffered from severe fatigue and headaches every day. Every noon I was without energy for about an hour and was unable to think a clear thought. The lunch break was dragged out with a coffee every day, and I recovered on the worst days in front of the computer, staring like a zombie at any articles I could not grasp.

Over these years, the condition of my...