When I received the call confirming my multiple sclerosis diagnosis on April 1, 2010, my immediate reaction was wondering if the neurologist was playing a bad April fools joke on me, he was not. I was 29 years old and recently had broken off my engagement when I started experiencing vision issues. Since I wear contact lenses on a regular basis, I assumed that my prescription needed an adjustment not anything more. I went to the local eye glass shop and the optometrist did her evaluation of my eyes. She instructed me to make an appointment with an ophthalmologist as the vision impairment seemed to be more than just adjusting my prescription. I made an appointment with a local ophthalmologist in Boulder and did not think twice about the upcoming visit. For those of you unfamiliar, as I was, the key difference between an optometrist and an ophthalmologist lies in their scope of practice and level of training. Optometrists are primary eye care providers who focus on vision care, prescribing glasses and contacts, and managing common eye conditions. Ophthalmologists, on the other hand, are medical doctors specializing in eye diseases and surgery, able to treat a wide range of eye conditions. I went to my appointment with the ophthalmologist, and as I sat on the stool reading letters on the wall, having my eye balls inspected in detail, he stated that he felt I was suffering from optic neuritis. I had never heard of this before and figured it was a condition and he would tell me what I needed to do to make it better. I was not ready for him to say, this may be a symptom of multiple sclerosis, you should make an appointment to see a neurologist. Whoa, back it up! How did I go from thinking I needed a new prescription for my glasses to my possibly having an autoimmune disease, multiple sclerosis?! Ironically, I was familiar with this disease. When I was growing up, my mom was a social worker and I remember one patient she worked with having multiple sclerosis. We participated in Walk MS in the mid 90s, little did we know that 15 years or so later I would be diagnosed with multiple sclerosis.
For those of you unfamiliar with multiple sclerosis (MS), it is an autoimmune or immune mediated disease that attacks the central nervous system. The central nervous system (CNS) is comprised of your spine, brain, and optic nerve. When one has MS, the immune system attacks the myelin sheath, the protective covering of nerve fibers, within the CNS. This damage disrupts the communication between the brain and body leading to a variety of symptoms. MS may be a progressive disease over one’s lifetime, and it may even progress in a matter of days, weeks, months. Being given this diagnosis at 29 with no other prior health issues, proved to be quite a shock. With the support of family, friends, and doctors I navigated the steps with my diagnosis. For years, I followed the traditional path of meeting with neurologists that specialized in MS, and going on a disease modifying therapy (DMT). I tried one medication for the first three years, I seemed to do alright mostly during this time. Then I started going downhill with the disease in 2013, having heavy fatigue, brain fog, and tore my ACL skiing. That spring my doctor and I decided I should try a new DMT that had recently been approved by the FDA. I did quite well mostly on this new medication for 9 years, though I never accepted being on a daily medication indefinitely. I had yet to learn about the importance of lifestyle and how it affects our mental, physical, and emotional states of being, this would come.
January 2020, right before COVID hit, I decided to start trying to heal myself from the inside out. I discovered so many people who had been researching how to heal yourself from MS naturally, holistically, without medication. This clicked with me and I threw myself into the ring. My husband and I started to follow a strict nutritional ketogenic diet for 6 months, within 2-3 months I had noticed significant positive changes and felt like myself again. Fast forward to the fall of 2022 when I decided to stop taking any DMTs and continue to heal and support my body through holistic and homeopathic modalities. It is amazing what our bodies are capable of when we give it what it needs. Healthy clean food, movement, strength training, detox from toxins, limit stress, meditation, stretching, laughter, community to name just a few essentials to have a thriving lifestyle. I became a health coach throughout this journey because I want to help others heal themselves and support themselves now and in the future no matter what they may or may not deal with in the present. I want to encourage people and support them knowing they have the power to improve their health each and every day. It may not always be drastic measures depending on your situation, but consistency is a key factor that I have discovered along the way. I have learned so much in my health journey and I look forward to seeing what I continue to learn and discover. 15 years ago I was diagnosed with MS and I can honestly say that I am thriving in life. I look forward to seeing what the next 15 years hold!
