Miscellaneous

Greetings fellow OMSers
It has been a few years since my last update.

I feel like I fought and fought and fought this disease with love, kindness, calm and tranquillity, flaxseed oil, salmon and less than 20 grams of saturated fat per day to get to a point where I boldly made a recovery declaration in 2014 after developing MS in 2011. How amazing it is to feel better after feeling so crap for a couple of years. No only did I look so well I was well and really got back into and thoroughly enjoyed golf, tennis, gardening, swimming, surfing etc.

All around me continued to be amazed at my good health. But the further the years passed the whispers and scepticism grew about my diagnosis. I stopped going to the MS Peer Support meetings because they didn't think I had it - they attributed my recovery to excision of brain tumour in 2013 which was a separate disease. My work colleagues and friends also seemed to suggest it too remarkable and when it came to meals I started to feel uneasy about having my 'special' meal and having people ask why I was so special.

The first couple of years I executed the program perfectly in terms of diet and exercise and was pretty good at meditation. Then I had the odd slip of one off naughty foods being ingested but I was 98% compliant and always kept taking my daily flaxseed oil. That was the proof those around me needed and to a certain extent I needed that I could get away with just a little lapse here and there.

Silly me! In December 2018, I made the decision to enjoy the staff Christmas lunch and declined my regular special meal. I then continued on with Christmas at my in-laws and really let my hair down on my 20 year wedding anniversary celebrations. I continued on happily rediscovering the 'joy' of eating animals of all description, eating cheese, coconut milk, eggs, chips and dark chocolate. I was living a 'normal' life again and didn't reorder my expensive flaxseed oil when the supply ran out in January. Guess what - silly me?

Fast forward to late August 2019 and I wake up with numbness in right arm. I must have slept funny on it but then during the day and subsequent days it came back and went again. Then, a few days later I was in the kitchen doing stuff and all of a sudden the room starting spinning and an intense 10 minute episode of vertigo ensured which caused me to lie on the couch. Bugger, bum, blah, blah, blah. Man, was I shit scared!

I immediately reordered another box of flaxseed oil and started back on the diet. But of course the damage was done. My body was out of balance again and the relapse train had left the station on it's way to me.

On Monday 14 October I woke up with a headache, cognitive issues, fatigue and limping a bit. By Wednesday my walking had deteriorated to the extend I needed a wheelie walker to get around which has been quite distressing for family and alarming for friends and work colleagues. I am waiting to have MRI and to see neurologist but I'm calling this a relapse.

Silly me! This was all predicted by our good Professor. You follow the program and your body heals, lesions shrink - this happened to me. He also said you go off the program and symptoms return - this happened to me too.

I'm now 2 months back on the program and looking forward to maybe only another couple of years or less until I can again make the recovery claim. Despite my relapse, I feel positive and hopeful which is in stark contrast to how I felt in all other relapses.

So, OMSers don't be fooled by your wellness and let the program slip. We are a special club with many delicious things to eat on our diet. To avoid relapse and strife stay on OMS for life!

Good to hear from you Alex, though sorry you are here for not the reasons you would like them to be, but well done for sharing your experience for your self and other's to gain strength from. You are your journey, not those around you let them do what other's commonly do and eat but you know I do not want that freedom to eat or do that stuff as with it comes imbalance and they will likely have their own mountain just they have not tripped over it yet.
Look back at the achievements you made when you were strong, that house you sit in, draw strength from that now in return for the strength you put into making it..
Stay strong and be well.

Hi Alex
Thank you so much for sharing this. This is a line of thought that I could get easily fall into, so a big thank you for sharing all of your journey. I wish you a speedy recovery back to full health and many tasty OMS meals

Hi Alex

Sorry to hear about your relapse. I hope you're back on the wagon soon!

Thank you for posting about your experience, having moved away from OMS. I think it's really important for people who may be feeling well to understand why they should stick with OMS. I haven't 'recovered' as I have found my MS to be quite aggressive, but I am certain that the diet is keeping me in a much better place than I would be otherwise. I was recently treated with Lemtrada, which caused me very few side effects. Having read other (non-OMS) people's Lemtrada stories, I can see that diet plays a huge part in both recovery and protection.

Wishing you al the best for a speedy recovery.

Rachel

Hi Alex

Sometimes (and I know how hard this is) we have to ignore outside influences! Being kind to yourself is all that matters. Sometimes that is the hardest thing but necessary! Remember that always!

Be kind to yourself
Valley
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Be kind to yourselves!

Hey gang,
Thanks for the replies.

Veg, what a legend, it's been years, so great to see a familiar face. You're so right about we all have our own journey. The other poor so and sos just don't realise until it's their turn.

hfox, hey I'm a silver fox, you know how parents vicariously live through their children well I'm just tickled pink that you're vicariously living through my cheating and relapse so you don't have to. It's a cautionary tale alight.. Cheating equals sickness, OMS equals wellness.

Rachel77 thanks for your comments. Girl stick with it and believe that good health may not happen today or tomorrow but it will turn around for you. By your call sign you may be 11 years younger than me so you've got plenty of time and heaps more energy - you go girl!

Valley your advice is so right for me. I'm a people pleaser and am having terrible trouble with a narcissist boss but for my own good health I am going to write this on my whiteboard and post it notes all around me - be kind to yourself. That's empowering, thank you.

A quick update, my good wife took me to the park on Saturday for a walk to sort me out. We left the walker in the car and man it was challenging. The park was kinda busy with lots of people staring - I could almost read their minds - so we took a secret path off the beaten track. I didn't walk very far and felt exhausted enough to have to stop and sit down but at least I did it. Next day Sunday I did it again and it was a little easier once I got into a rhythm - it feels like walking on stilts. I was concentrating really hard to keep my legs going and then this lady walking behind me stepped on a stick that made a loud crack like a gun shot, well I threw my hands up in the air and let out a loud yell in fright. I then apologised to the poor lady who wondering what on earth was wrong with me. Anyway, I literally didn't stop laughing for 5 minutes at how bad my nerves were.

As of Monday evening at around 7pm my world changed again. I was hobbling along after a long day and feeling very satisfied with the work I'd completed despite my fatigue, brain fog, and limping. All of a sudden I felt this rush, feeling of strength, like God himself had blown into my legs and made them strong again and ....I found I could walk normally. What the?

I was stunned for a bit and thought well if I can walk I wonder if I can run. So there I was in my blue suit and leather shoes and off I jog - oh my Lord, hallelujah I could run! It was the most beautiful, humbling experiences, the sense of relief was incredible. As you know, it's a roller coaster so it will still take me a few weeks to fully recover but I've ditched the walker and put it away at the back of the garage so I can remind myself next time I feel like chips, chocolate, chops or cake.

Thanks for all your positive thoughts, they really help.

For anyone reading this who isn't feeling that great right now, don't give up there are good days and times ahead for you. The good Professor's program works but it just takes time and perseverance and a prayer or two I reckon is invaluable. Replace the feelings of pity, despair and hopelessness with love, peace and hope.

Wishing good health to all!

Thank you, Alex. You've given me a positive boost, and I am sure many others will benefit from your wise words and positive attitude.

Keep on jogging!
Rachel

Glad to hear you're feeling better - great news. Yes, yours was a very timely post for me. I'd recently been given good news by my neurologist (who also appeared to be questioning my original diagnosis because I am doing well.) I had literally, that morning, been discussing whether I could start eating lean chicken the odd time at social occasions to make it easier for friends/family/restaurants to cater for me. Then that evening, I looked at the forums for the first time in months and your post was top of my unread list. I'm taking this as a sign and sticking to OMS.

Hope you continue to recover strength quickly. All the best, Helen

Hi Alex, Veg and all the old timers. I too was diagnosed in 2011 and went on the program straight away as well. Don’t worry Alex, I’m sure you have had a big enough scare now and I also attended a retreat when George did warn us all about coming off the program. I’m sure after a while you will stabilise again. Don’t be too hard on yourself.

I’ve stuck to the diet, flaxseed oil, vitamin D and exercise heaps. The only thing I’m not good at is meditation but I use swimming as a place to meditate. I’ve been relapse free and no new lesions for years so have just had the go ahead from my neurologist to go off Copaxone.

Stay strong!!

Sharon

Hi Alex you started the same year as me, I remember seeing your first posts.
Thankyou for your update it’s a timely reminder for me because last week I actually ordered a Seafood Thai red curry with coconut milk in it! My wife said come on it’s been so long surely you can cheat a bit?
I am sorry to hear of your relapses but, it’s great your back with us and once again your experiences will keep me motivated as well.