MS Brain: I have been told by the doctors that I have some scarring in my brain because of Multiple Sclerosis, but is there anything that can help to improve how well our brains function, regardless of the problems that Multiple Sclerosis lesions can cause to the Brain? The answer is YES!!
The statement “you can’t teach an old dog new tricks” is pretty much what the medical community used to think about how our brains function. They used to think that the neural pathways in the brain developed as we aged, but after a certain point that the pathways became fixed and unchangeable. Medical science is changing their tune about this. There are a group of neureoscientists from different countries that came together for a joint effort project where they did further research on how the brain functions. What they found is that the brain can be retrained because it is more “plastic” and changeable than they thought before.
Multiple Sclerosis Brain Exercises can help to improve more than just the Brain, but how does this work?
Exercising the brain is like exercising muscles. If the brain is exercised in certain ways, that target particular parts of the brain, then the neural pathways can be redeveloped and retrained to make the brain actually work better. If done over a period of time these “Brain Exercises” can actually help the brain to become “stronger” or have more developed neural pathways that actually can help the brain, and the rest of the body start to function better again.
How does this help in the case of Multiple Sclerosis brain function problems?
This is good news for those that have been affected by the symptoms of Multiple Sclerosis, because the brain is the master controller for the body because the brain sends signals to the rest of the body to tell it how to function. There are several things that can help retrain the brain in different ways, but some things need to be done in a doctor's office and some can be done at home.
Examples of what I am talking about are EEG Biofeedback and LENS (a different form of Biofeedback).
Both EEG and LENS Biofeedback are performed in a doctor's office. I've personally under gone periodic sessions with both EEG and LENS Biofeedbacks over a few years time and it has dramatically improved how well my brain has been functioning, from my first visit. EEG Biofeedback is performed by placing sensors on the forehead, while LENS is performed by placing sensors on the scalp in various locations on the head. Both EEG and LENS Biofeedbacks are used to stimulate and retrain the brain in different ways, depending on what is more helpful for the patient, based on their brain function problems. In EEG Biofeedback, the brain responses are amplified and fed to a computer program, specifically designed for use with EEG Biofeedback that uses graphical tracking of the brain response and tones to help retrain the brain's responses to increase them above a base reference line. If the response of the brain drops below the baseline, then a tone is given off. Either a movie or a video game can also be used during the EEG Biofeedback sessions, to help to retrain the brain, to increase the response of the brain.
Sessions of using the LENS, have been found to help improve the brain function and ability of the MS patient to function in different ways that can help the person improve with cognitive function, improve their ability to stand and balance, reduce the over reaction of the nervous system to stress, reduce the problems with one side of the body being weaker than the other, and help to reduce otherr symptoms that are typically associated with MS.
Another thing that I have found are a few software programs that you purchase and install on your computer that use brain exercises to retrain the brain that are targeted to help strengthen and improve how well different parts of the brain can function. This can be done at home, allowing you to be able to set your own schedule as to when and how often you have set for yourself to actually do these exercises. These brain exercises need to be done on a regular basis, just like working out at a gym, for the person to see any measureable results. The various brain exercises don't help as much if they are not done on a regular basis.
For more information about what Alternative and Natural ways that I have found that reduce symptoms of Multiple Sclerosis, go to http://www.TamingMultipleSclerosis.com/ to learn more.
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Friday, October 31, 2008
Thursday, October 30, 2008
What Cognitive Problems go with MS?
Multiple Sclerosis Cognitive Problems:
Multiple Sclerosis can cause scarring in the brain or possibly even some damage to the neurons in the brain, which can result in several sets of “symptoms” that can make it difficult to function each day. Daily tasks may become more difficult for the person who has been given a ms diagnosis, especially if the brain function problems are more moderate to severe.
Cognitive problems, which are often associated with Multiple Sclerosis of brain, can include misinterpreting what other people say to you, misinterpreting what you read, being easily confused by things that previously were relatively easy for you (prior to MS), scrambling what you see or read (dyslexia), losing track of what you are talking about in the middle of a sentence, being unable to figure things out (compared to before MS), in addition to memory problems (long term and short term) – to the point where you write yourself a To Do list and don’t remember that you even wrote the list!
These cognitive problems can be mild to severe in nature. Depending on how strongly you are affected, you may still be able to function on your own, to some degree, or you may need more assistance for some daily tasks. If you have more severe cognitive problems, you may end up being more disabled, either from a brain function point of view or maybe even physically disabled, making it difficult or almost impossible for you to function on your own.
How the brain functions can be affected by MS symptoms, including how we can misinterpret the information that we take in through our 5 senses (seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting, and touching). Our brains are composed predominantly of a large concentration of nerve cells (possibly around 80 to 90 percent of the brain) and our bodies are at least 50 percent of nerve cells. Since MS can cause scarring or nerve damage throughout much of the body, this decreases how well our central nervous system, including the brain, can function enough to interpret the huge amount of information that enters into our brains through the outside world. If we misunderstand or misinterpret some or much of the information that our brains gather, on a daily basis, this can make it very difficult for us to understand the world around us and connect with people and all living and non-living things in the world that we live in.
This can also be unnerving and maybe even frightening for those of us battling with Multiple Sclerosis symptoms, depending on how mild or severe the scarring and/or nerve damage, resulting from MS is for each of our particular cases of Multiple Sclerosis. The scarring or nerve damage can block the signals from the brain to the other parts of the body, or it can even cause certain parts of the brain to function very little.
The medical community, overall, used to think that the brain became fixed in the way that it functioned as you grew older and this made it impossible to change anything when it came to how our brains tend to decline in functionality as both our bodies and our brains age. But within the last few years, medical research decided to test a different theory and what they found was astounding! The medical researchers have found, based on their own research, that the brain is much more “plastic”, than they thought that it was previously. They have found that the brain can be exercised, like a muscle and they have come up with a set of “Brain Exercises” that can help to retrain the brain.
This is GREAT news for those of us that have been diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis, because this means, that even if you have some scarring in your brain, as a result of the scarring caused by MS, the brain can be retrained and adapt to return functionality back to our brains by redeveloping neural pathways that allow the signals to travel between different parts of the brain to help it to function better again.
If you would like more information about what I have found out about this amazing research and about how it has been helping me to regain more of my brain’s ability to function better, while dealing with some scarring in my brain, as a direct result of Multiple Sclerosis then go to http://www.TamingMultipleSclerosis.com/ to find out more!
***
Multiple Sclerosis can cause scarring in the brain or possibly even some damage to the neurons in the brain, which can result in several sets of “symptoms” that can make it difficult to function each day. Daily tasks may become more difficult for the person who has been given a ms diagnosis, especially if the brain function problems are more moderate to severe.
Cognitive problems, which are often associated with Multiple Sclerosis of brain, can include misinterpreting what other people say to you, misinterpreting what you read, being easily confused by things that previously were relatively easy for you (prior to MS), scrambling what you see or read (dyslexia), losing track of what you are talking about in the middle of a sentence, being unable to figure things out (compared to before MS), in addition to memory problems (long term and short term) – to the point where you write yourself a To Do list and don’t remember that you even wrote the list!
These cognitive problems can be mild to severe in nature. Depending on how strongly you are affected, you may still be able to function on your own, to some degree, or you may need more assistance for some daily tasks. If you have more severe cognitive problems, you may end up being more disabled, either from a brain function point of view or maybe even physically disabled, making it difficult or almost impossible for you to function on your own.
How the brain functions can be affected by MS symptoms, including how we can misinterpret the information that we take in through our 5 senses (seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting, and touching). Our brains are composed predominantly of a large concentration of nerve cells (possibly around 80 to 90 percent of the brain) and our bodies are at least 50 percent of nerve cells. Since MS can cause scarring or nerve damage throughout much of the body, this decreases how well our central nervous system, including the brain, can function enough to interpret the huge amount of information that enters into our brains through the outside world. If we misunderstand or misinterpret some or much of the information that our brains gather, on a daily basis, this can make it very difficult for us to understand the world around us and connect with people and all living and non-living things in the world that we live in.
This can also be unnerving and maybe even frightening for those of us battling with Multiple Sclerosis symptoms, depending on how mild or severe the scarring and/or nerve damage, resulting from MS is for each of our particular cases of Multiple Sclerosis. The scarring or nerve damage can block the signals from the brain to the other parts of the body, or it can even cause certain parts of the brain to function very little.
The medical community, overall, used to think that the brain became fixed in the way that it functioned as you grew older and this made it impossible to change anything when it came to how our brains tend to decline in functionality as both our bodies and our brains age. But within the last few years, medical research decided to test a different theory and what they found was astounding! The medical researchers have found, based on their own research, that the brain is much more “plastic”, than they thought that it was previously. They have found that the brain can be exercised, like a muscle and they have come up with a set of “Brain Exercises” that can help to retrain the brain.
This is GREAT news for those of us that have been diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis, because this means, that even if you have some scarring in your brain, as a result of the scarring caused by MS, the brain can be retrained and adapt to return functionality back to our brains by redeveloping neural pathways that allow the signals to travel between different parts of the brain to help it to function better again.
If you would like more information about what I have found out about this amazing research and about how it has been helping me to regain more of my brain’s ability to function better, while dealing with some scarring in my brain, as a direct result of Multiple Sclerosis then go to http://www.TamingMultipleSclerosis.com/ to find out more!
***
Monday, October 27, 2008
MS Spasms: What are they? Reducing Spasticity?
Multiple Sclerosis Spasms: Often people with MS, ask about spasms, twitches and ticks about what they are. Spasms, ticks or twitches are uncontrollable responses from any muscle group throughout the body. The most common spasms that are seen, in the majority of the cases of Multiple Sclerosis, include spasms of the hands, arms, legs and feet, but spasms can also be seen more often in the face or shoulder muscles too. This means that the muscles can move involuntarily (on their own - without any effort on your part). This looks like the knee jerk response that you see when a doctor checks your reflexes by tapping your knee with a small rubber hammer.
With my own case of Multiple Sclerosis, I have found that I had more spasms, of my arms, hands, legs and feet, shortly after I was diagnosed with MS. But the spasms that I have experienced off and on, within the last year, have been greatly reduced in the severity, frequency and how uncontrollable they can become.
Doctors are not totally certain as to what causes the spasticity, which is seen in most cases of Multiple Sclerosis, but based on what my doctor has told me for my particular case of MS that I have a more severe deficiency in magnesium most of the time. Calcium and Magnesium tend to work together to aid in absorption and in how both of these vitamins can be used throughout the body. Vitamin D, C and E are also important for aiding in the absorption of calcium and magnesium. It appears in my particular case that the more extreme deficiency of Magnesium, Calcium and vitamin D appear to play a significant role in the spasms that I tend to have more often. After I was prescribed supplements containing extra magnesium, calcium and vitmain D, my spasms were reduced to verry mild and fairly infrequent spasms. Doctors have also found that if the magnesium deficiency is severe enough, this can contribute to heart arrhythmias, where the heart beats erratically, instead of its regular even rhythm and increasing the magnsium, calcium and vitamin D intake helps to reduce or maybe even eliminate the heart arrhythmias.
I have found that a few things have helped to reduce how severe and how frequent the spasms can become, with my case of MS. If you are deficient in magnesium, like I am most of the time, there are a few things that can help to reduce this problem. Magnesium is the vitamin that helps to relax the whole nervous system, including the muscles, the nerves and the brain. A more severe case deficiency will contribute to those that have been diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis, for the legs, feet, hands, and other parts of the body to have more frequent and more severe spasms. You can take magnesium until bowel tolerance and then reduce it some to avoid diarrhea, but if you can’t tolerate taking higher doses of magnesium, there is are a few better ways to boost the amount of magnesium in your system.
Multiple Sclerosis and Vitamins: Vitamin D, calcium, vitamin E and vitamin C all enhance the absorption and vitamin E, as well as other vitamins and minerals, that also help to boost the immune system and increase how well the body can absorb and use the magnesium by the body. But as an added benefit, vitamin D, vitamin C, vitamin E, as well as other vitamins and minerals help to boost the immune system, as well, which also help to strengthen the immune system and making it easier for our bodies to be able to defend itself against infections. There are also food based supplements that I have found that have helped to reduce the hand, arm, foot and legs spasm to a larger degree. The supplement is freeze dried barely greens.
Do not take any supplements on your own, since some elevated levels of certain vitamins in the blood can actually cause more harm than good. Any information that you read, see or hear about, without discussing the information with your doctor to determine what is needed for your particular case of MS.
Did you find this information helpful?
To learn more about what I have found that has helped reduce my symptoms of MS, go to http://www.TamingMultipleSclerosis.com for information.
***
With my own case of Multiple Sclerosis, I have found that I had more spasms, of my arms, hands, legs and feet, shortly after I was diagnosed with MS. But the spasms that I have experienced off and on, within the last year, have been greatly reduced in the severity, frequency and how uncontrollable they can become.
Doctors are not totally certain as to what causes the spasticity, which is seen in most cases of Multiple Sclerosis, but based on what my doctor has told me for my particular case of MS that I have a more severe deficiency in magnesium most of the time. Calcium and Magnesium tend to work together to aid in absorption and in how both of these vitamins can be used throughout the body. Vitamin D, C and E are also important for aiding in the absorption of calcium and magnesium. It appears in my particular case that the more extreme deficiency of Magnesium, Calcium and vitamin D appear to play a significant role in the spasms that I tend to have more often. After I was prescribed supplements containing extra magnesium, calcium and vitmain D, my spasms were reduced to verry mild and fairly infrequent spasms. Doctors have also found that if the magnesium deficiency is severe enough, this can contribute to heart arrhythmias, where the heart beats erratically, instead of its regular even rhythm and increasing the magnsium, calcium and vitamin D intake helps to reduce or maybe even eliminate the heart arrhythmias.
I have found that a few things have helped to reduce how severe and how frequent the spasms can become, with my case of MS. If you are deficient in magnesium, like I am most of the time, there are a few things that can help to reduce this problem. Magnesium is the vitamin that helps to relax the whole nervous system, including the muscles, the nerves and the brain. A more severe case deficiency will contribute to those that have been diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis, for the legs, feet, hands, and other parts of the body to have more frequent and more severe spasms. You can take magnesium until bowel tolerance and then reduce it some to avoid diarrhea, but if you can’t tolerate taking higher doses of magnesium, there is are a few better ways to boost the amount of magnesium in your system.
Multiple Sclerosis and Vitamins: Vitamin D, calcium, vitamin E and vitamin C all enhance the absorption and vitamin E, as well as other vitamins and minerals, that also help to boost the immune system and increase how well the body can absorb and use the magnesium by the body. But as an added benefit, vitamin D, vitamin C, vitamin E, as well as other vitamins and minerals help to boost the immune system, as well, which also help to strengthen the immune system and making it easier for our bodies to be able to defend itself against infections. There are also food based supplements that I have found that have helped to reduce the hand, arm, foot and legs spasm to a larger degree. The supplement is freeze dried barely greens.
Do not take any supplements on your own, since some elevated levels of certain vitamins in the blood can actually cause more harm than good. Any information that you read, see or hear about, without discussing the information with your doctor to determine what is needed for your particular case of MS.
Did you find this information helpful?
To learn more about what I have found that has helped reduce my symptoms of MS, go to http://www.TamingMultipleSclerosis.com for information.
***
Sunday, October 26, 2008
MS Pain: Can anything Help Reduce the Pain?
MS Pain, or ms nerve pain -- in my opinion, is one of the toughest symptoms to “live with” that can be associated with some cases of Multiple Sclerosis
It appears that sometimes the scarring that remains after MS attacks the nerves throughout the brain and the spinal cord, or maybe even any other nerves throughout the body, can sometimes result in an over stimulation of nerves. This over reactive response of the nerves can cause a feedback type affect, that over stimulates the pain center of the brain and can result in intense MS nerve pain.
The MS nerve pain can appear in a few different ways:
* MS Hug
To read the rest of this post and to find out about the ways that can help to reduce MS nerve pain, CLICK HERE .
***
What are the Effects of MS on Vision?
What Multiple Sclerosis Vision problems are commonly reported after people have been diagnosed with MS?
MS Vision problems can include problems with focusing, dimness of your vision (it appears like someone turned the lights down very low -- making it difficult to see), foggy vision (you’re looking through a fog), double vision or over strained eyes and difficulty focusing. To compound the eye problem, if certain other conditions, like candida albicans, are also part of your particular case of MS, then floating fuzz before your eyes can also be present. If any of these symptoms persist or become bothersome, see your medical doctor and ask which type of scans can be performed to test your optic nerves to see if damage or any scarring to the optic nerve may be present. Also discuss with your doctor if an MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) test is needed to scan the brain for the presence of MS scarring to see if there is scarring present in the parts of the brain that may trigger eye pain that you can also be battling with.
What are the Multiple Sclerosis Eye problems that can be associated with MS? In addition to Vision problems, MS can also cause other Eye problems, including MS eye pain and possible scarring or maybe even nerve damage to the optic nerve, that can also affect vision.
Eye pain by itself, is not necessarily MultipleSclerosis, since there are other conditions that can also involve eye pain, but if you haven’t been diagnosed with MS and you have other symptoms, besides the eye pain, you should see a doctor to be evaluated to see if Multiple Schlerosis may be the cause of your symptoms. Doctors use MRI testing to evaluated people to determine if scarring is present in the brain or on the myelin sheath on the spinal cord (this is called demyelinization of the spinal cord).
Multiple Sclerosis is the term that is used, when multiple plaques or scarring is present in the brain, on the spinal cord or is present in other nerves thoughout the body, that can sometimes include the retinal nerve. Often Muliple Sclerosis can attack the myelin sheath that protects and insulates the spinal cord and cause demyelinization that results in the presence of scarring to the damaged nerves.
If you have already been diagnosed with MS, there may or may not be scarring present in the optic nerve. Sometimes MS brain scarring results from the M S attacking nerves throughout the body, that can be almost anywhere in the body. M S can even attack and cause damage to the optic nerve. This can either create scarring that interferes with the signal from the brain to the eyes that can cause problems with vision or the damage caused by Multiple Scerosis can cause the nerve signals to become confused and over stimulated, resulting in MS eye pain. The eye pain can result, even if there is no visible scarring on any of the test results for the optic nerve itself.
MS Vision problems can include problems with focusing, dimness of your vision (it appears like someone turned the lights down very low -- making it difficult to see), foggy vision (you’re looking through a fog), double vision or over strained eyes and difficulty focusing. To compound the eye problem, if certain other conditions, like candida albicans, are also part of your particular case of MS, then floating fuzz before your eyes can also be present. If any of these symptoms persist or become bothersome, see your medical doctor and ask which type of scans can be performed to test your optic nerves to see if damage or any scarring to the optic nerve may be present. Also discuss with your doctor if an MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) test is needed to scan the brain for the presence of MS scarring to see if there is scarring present in the parts of the brain that may trigger eye pain that you can also be battling with.
What are the Multiple Sclerosis Eye problems that can be associated with MS? In addition to Vision problems, MS can also cause other Eye problems, including MS eye pain and possible scarring or maybe even nerve damage to the optic nerve, that can also affect vision.
Eye pain by itself, is not necessarily MultipleSclerosis, since there are other conditions that can also involve eye pain, but if you haven’t been diagnosed with MS and you have other symptoms, besides the eye pain, you should see a doctor to be evaluated to see if Multiple Schlerosis may be the cause of your symptoms. Doctors use MRI testing to evaluated people to determine if scarring is present in the brain or on the myelin sheath on the spinal cord (this is called demyelinization of the spinal cord).
Multiple Sclerosis is the term that is used, when multiple plaques or scarring is present in the brain, on the spinal cord or is present in other nerves thoughout the body, that can sometimes include the retinal nerve. Often Muliple Sclerosis can attack the myelin sheath that protects and insulates the spinal cord and cause demyelinization that results in the presence of scarring to the damaged nerves.
If you have already been diagnosed with MS, there may or may not be scarring present in the optic nerve. Sometimes MS brain scarring results from the M S attacking nerves throughout the body, that can be almost anywhere in the body. M S can even attack and cause damage to the optic nerve. This can either create scarring that interferes with the signal from the brain to the eyes that can cause problems with vision or the damage caused by Multiple Scerosis can cause the nerve signals to become confused and over stimulated, resulting in MS eye pain. The eye pain can result, even if there is no visible scarring on any of the test results for the optic nerve itself.
I, myslf, first experienced eye pain, just before I was given the Multiple Sclerosis diagnosis. After I was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis, the doctors had a scan done on both of my optic nerves, to see if any scarring was present. The retinal scans revealed that there was no scarring with my optic nerves.
When I had the scan done for testing my retinal nerves, the test was performed by having me sit in front of a monitor, which had changing patterns, colors and shapes on the screen that were flashing. This was to test the response of my optic nerves. Since technology is advancing so quickly, the test itself most likely is different now, than when I had it performed on me.
Can anything be done to help reduce MS vision problems that are often associated with MS? Well, I have tried many things to deal with what I went through. I found that taking the herb, Bilberry, helps to improve blood flow to the eyes, reducing the problems with the dimness. Taking the green sea algae, called, Chlorella, also helped. I also found out within the first few years of my diagnosis of MS, that I had a problem with elevated levels of Mercury (a heavy metal) and taking the Chorella helps to reduce the levels of heavy metals in our bodies, especially mercury. Mercury, at higher levels in our bodies, loves to attack nerves and it can also nerve damage, similar to the nerve damage that occurs in most cases of MS.
Our brains have no way to detoxify for toxins, including heavy metals. Our brains are protected by what is called the Blood Brain Barrier (BBB) to prevent toxins from attacking the brain. The Blood Brain Barrier is a membrane that surrounds the brain. If the BBB is damaged, then heavy metals and other toxins can enter the brain and wreak havoc on the brain. Heavy metals can attack nerve tissue and cause nerve damage, with mercury being the worst offender. Elevated levels of mercury, a heavy metal, can punch holes in the BBB, and allow other toxins to enter into the brain. This is not a good thing, since the brain has no natural ways of detoxifying from toxins that can enter the brain, once the BBB has been compromised. This damage to the BBB because of mercury attacking the nerves throughout the body, may possibly set our brains up for the scarring that is seen on ms brain mri tests, but no one really knows this for sure.
Was this information helpful?
To learn more about what I have learned that has helped reduce my symptoms of MS, go to http://www.TamingMultipleSclerosis.com/ for information.
***
Can anything be done to help reduce MS vision problems that are often associated with MS? Well, I have tried many things to deal with what I went through. I found that taking the herb, Bilberry, helps to improve blood flow to the eyes, reducing the problems with the dimness. Taking the green sea algae, called, Chlorella, also helped. I also found out within the first few years of my diagnosis of MS, that I had a problem with elevated levels of Mercury (a heavy metal) and taking the Chorella helps to reduce the levels of heavy metals in our bodies, especially mercury. Mercury, at higher levels in our bodies, loves to attack nerves and it can also nerve damage, similar to the nerve damage that occurs in most cases of MS.
Our brains have no way to detoxify for toxins, including heavy metals. Our brains are protected by what is called the Blood Brain Barrier (BBB) to prevent toxins from attacking the brain. The Blood Brain Barrier is a membrane that surrounds the brain. If the BBB is damaged, then heavy metals and other toxins can enter the brain and wreak havoc on the brain. Heavy metals can attack nerve tissue and cause nerve damage, with mercury being the worst offender. Elevated levels of mercury, a heavy metal, can punch holes in the BBB, and allow other toxins to enter into the brain. This is not a good thing, since the brain has no natural ways of detoxifying from toxins that can enter the brain, once the BBB has been compromised. This damage to the BBB because of mercury attacking the nerves throughout the body, may possibly set our brains up for the scarring that is seen on ms brain mri tests, but no one really knows this for sure.
Was this information helpful?
To learn more about what I have learned that has helped reduce my symptoms of MS, go to http://www.TamingMultipleSclerosis.com/ for information.
***
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