MY STORY......

CYRILOS(AT)aol.com
Fri, 13 Nov 1998 06:19:28 EST

In regard to THE RECENT COMMENTS REGARDING PRE TM LIFESTYLES AND EXPOSURES TO
ILLNESS.
I WAS 50YR OLD, HAD ONLY 5 MONTHS PRIOR SUFFERED THROUGH A DIVORCE, LASTING 8
YEARS, WAS FORCED TO MOVE OUT OF THE HOUSE I WAS LIVING IN, AS IT WAS BEING
SOLD, HAD TO RELOCATE MY OFFICE FROM THE BUILDING AND TOWN IT WAS IN, AS IT
WAS SOLD ALSO, WAS OPERATING ON VERY FEW HOURS OF SLEEP, 3-5 HRS PER NITE, IN
FACT SOME NITES I DID NOT GO TO SLEEP [HAD THINGS TO DO], REMARRIED
12/96.........PUSHING MYSELF TO THE LIMIT, A KIND OF MACHO THING, REVELING IN
THE COMMENTS OF MY FRIENDS AND FAMILY WHO WOULD SAY, " WOW, HOW CAN YOU DO
IT?" THESE SAME PEOPLE WOULD ALSO SAY, " YOUR BODY IS GOING TO SAY ENOUGH!
DID THEY SOMEHOW KNOW WHAT WAS TO COME.......JUST DIDN'T KNOW OF THE ENTITY,
TRANSVERSE MYELITIS.?
CONCURRENT WITH THIS STRESSFUL ACTIVITY, WHENEVER I WOULD COME DOWN WITH A
COULD, I WOULD DOSE UP WITH ANTIHISTAMINES, ANTIBIOTICS, KEPT PUSHING, DOSE UP
WITH COFFEE AT WAKEUP AND KEPT ON PUSHING. I WAS SPIRALING TOWARD A BREAKDOWN.
MY BODY FINALLY DID: ONE MONTH AFTER OUR MARRIAGE DURING FEBRUARY 97, A VERY
DEBILITATING FLU, FROM WHICH I NEVER FULLY BOUNCED BACK FROM,THEN END OF MARCH
THE PARALYSIS CAME:
OBVIOUSLY, STRESS AND FLU, BE IT VIRAL OR BACTERIAL, WERE CONTRIBUTING
FACTORS, TO SAY NOTHING OF MY STUPIDITY. MY LOVELY WIFE KEPT TELLING ME TO
LISTEN TO MY BODY; GIVE IT REST AND RECUPERATION. AND SO NOW, MY LIFE HAS BEEN
DRAMATICALLY ALTERED, NO MATTER HOW FAR I RECOVER, PHYSICALLY, MY APPROACH HAS
CHANGED. I'VE LEARNED TO APPRECIATE THE MORE IMPORTANT ASPECTS OF LIFE, THE
LOVE ONES, MY HEALTH; I'VE LEARNED TO SAY "NO". [BOY WAS I STUPID]
HOPE I HAVE NOT BEEN TO VERBOSE, BUT I WANTED TO PAINT A WINDOW OF MY LIFE IN
AS UNFRAGMENTED A FASHION AS POSSIBLE.
THE FOLLOWING: I WISH TO COMMUNICATE MY CURRENT EMPHASIS ON THERAPY, WITH THE
SPECIFICS.

1] POSITIVE ATTITUDE KEEP MY MIND FOCUSED ON AN IMAGE IN THE MIND OF PERFECT
HEALTH, AVOID LISTENING TO STATISTICS THAT "1/3 OF THOSE WITH TM ONLY
PROGRESS TO HERE OR IF I DON'T EVOLVE TO THIS LEVEL OF IMPROVEMENT IN A SET
TIME SPAN, I WON'T, ETC." IN OTHER WORDS, TRY TO APPROACH MY HEALING PATTERN
WITH THE SAME VERVE WITH WHICH I PURSUED MY SELF-DESTRUCT MODE, BUT WISELY.

2] ADEQUATE, DAILY SLEEP, LISTEN TO MY BODY.

3] PHYSICAL THERAPY, ONCE WEEKLY [MY THERAPIST HAS BEEN A MAJOR FORCE] FOR
STRETCHING, AVOIDING ATROPHY.
HYDROTHERAPY,REGIME DESIGNED BY THE PT[3-4X PER WEEK]; FOR 1/2 HOUR I
STRADDLE A NOODLE AND TAKE GIANT WALKING STEPS AND FOR 1/2 HOUR I HOLD ON TO
THE EDGE AND WITH MY BODY PARALLEL TO THE SURFACE STRAIGHTOUT I KICK MY FEET.
EQUESTRIAN THERAPY,I AM SCHEDULED TO EXPERIENCE THIS NEXT WEEK, AS I HAVE
JUST LEARNED OF THE EXISTENCE OF THIS IN MY AREA.
4] MEDICATIONS, HAVE STRIVEN TO RID MYSELF OF AS MANY AS POSSIBLE. WAS
ABLE, AFTER XANAFLEX, VALIUM, XANAX,TEGRETOL TO NARROW MY USE TO BACLOFEN FOR
SPASMS. DUE TO THE CONSTIPATION FROM THE BACLOFEN I WAS ON LACTULOSE WHICH I
DID NOT LIKE BEING DEPENDENT UPON, NOW I FOUND 2000MG OF VIT C DOES THE TRICK,
ALTHOUGH ABOUT ONCE A WEEK I HAVE HAD TO USE LACTULOSE, BUT ONLY 1 TSP AND NOT
THE 2 TBS I WAS ON. IN THE LAST THREE WEEKS I HAVE BEGUN SLEEPING ON MAGNETS
[BOY WAS I A SKEPTIC AND RESISTED THEM FOR ABOUT 3 MONTHS]. SINCE THEIR USE I
HAVE CUT MY BACLOFEN BY 2/3 AND ABOUT 2 OUT OF 7 NITES I ACTUALLY SLEEP
THROUGH THE NITE. NEUROLOGY SAYS THE GREATEST AMOUNT OF NERVE HEALING,
REMYELINATION, OCCURS DURING OUR SLEEPING HOURS. I AM EXCITED BY THIS TREND
WITH THE MAGNETS AND HOPE TO CUT THE UMBILICAL CORD TO BACLOFEN SOON, ALSO
REMOVE THE CONSTIPATION PROBLEM.
5]IMMUNE SYSTEM, WE ALL NEED TO ACHIEVE AN OPTIMAL LEVEL IN OUR IMMUNE
SYSTEM. I FEEL IT IS IMPERATIVE THAT I BE ON A SOUND REGIMEN, BALANCED. BY ONE
MANUFACTURER,OF MINERALS, VITAMINS AND ANTIOXIDANTS; AND I DON'T MEAN ONE A
DAY. AT THE ENCOURAGEMENT OF MY PT EARLY ON IN MY ILLNESS, I BEGAN TO RESEARCH
NUTRITION. IN THE 1 AND 1/2 YEARS OF MY ILLNESS I HAVE NOT SUFFERED ONE COLD
OR FLU. I WANT MY IMMUNE SYSTEM OPTIMAL...NO RELAPSES, I.E. IF VIRUSES ARE
INVOLVED WITH GENETIC MIMICRY OF MY MYELIN SHEATHS, I NEED MY IMMUNE SYSTEM IN
PEAK FORM AND KEENLY ACCURATE SO I DO NOT FALL VICTIM TO FRIENDLY FIRE AGAIN
AS I DID WITH THIS ILLNESS WHEN MY SYSTEM ATTACKED THE MYELIN AT THE T5/T6
AREA AND THEN SAID OOPS! [[[[[[[[THIS IS THE INTERPRETATION OF MY TM AS I HAVE
CULLED FROM MY READINGS AND THE FOUR NEUROLOGISTS I HAVE INTERACTED
WITH]]]]]]]]]]]
HOPE THIS INFO MAY HAVE BEEN OF ASSISTANCE TO ONE OF YOU TMERS OUT THEIR IN
YOUR RECOVERY; IT WILL MAKE THIS WORTH THE EFFORT.
CYRIL M.
NEW YORK