Now we have to plan the rest of our lives,carefully - MS isn't the end of the world! See text #4 - Personal - http://maxpages.com/happymspage/Lets_make_the_best_of_our

We don't like to think that MS is
progressive, but it is for nearly all
of us. Some very fast and some very slow.
By now most of us take or are thinking
of taking one of the so called ABC drugs,
Avonex,Betaseron or Copaxion. If we read
the results of any of these drugs we will
notice that they are not cures, but only
ment as controls on the beastly MS.

How good do they control? From the reports
the results are encouraging . While not
a 100% control there is results of 60% can be
expected. For many of us the results will
only slow the beast for a while,but that is
better than nothing.

In too many cases my MS buddies I have
seen this disease race through and take them
from cane users to total wheelchair users.
Some have done that in just several years.
most of those that I speak of haven't taken
any of the ABC drugs. For them their
progression was because the insurance firms
said they were not elgable for benifits such
as betaseron, which was the first one.
I fought through appeals to keep having
my betaseron even though they rated me
primary progressive MS

Now the secondary Progressive MS patients
are able to get in on one of these drugs.
But even with Betaseron or one of the
others many of us will still slowly be
changing and find the beast slowly creeping.
Personally I have found that to be the case.
But we are still better off than we might
have been, and better products are coming.We
are better off than a generation ago.
RET 9-16-98 New material 10-15-98RET
We need to take a look at the record of
betaseron in the European trials.They were
so good that betaseron is as of now so good
at slowing progression in those with secondary
progressive MS.Being a seondary progressive ,
myself, I'm very happy. I actually feel the
difference if I miss a day when I should
have given myself the shot.
Some people in in wheelchairs for several
years have been helped to the degree that they
have been able to take a few steps with crutches.
WE now have to wait for new products yet to
come that will remyelinate our nerves. THe ones
in the spine might be the hardest to treat.
Out side of the three ABC drugs there is promise
in the research of a cure for MS. revised 4-13-99
RET
Revised 6-19-99 We are also better off because we
are understanding the problems that come with MS,
such as bladder infections,bowel constapation,and
other things that come to us on the side.
The life spans of MS affected people have risen
faster than the general population since 1983.
A added note to the expanded life span. I have a friend
with MS living over on the Florida coast. He just had his
78 birthday, still health,except for the MS. Has worn
out three power wheelchairs. Everytime I go over there
it's a job for me to keep up with him on myAmigo.

Eileen Lukeman and Richard Tanner

FL.

Eileen(Lobosgirl) and Richard (RET1000) both at aol.com

Visitors: 05752

Page Updated Sat Jun 6, 2009 11:37am EDT