In addition to exercise, Romney, 66, insists on getting at least eight hours of sleep every night to keep fatigue in check. Gerecke agrees that fatigue is a common MS symptom, and encourages her patients to determine its cause and consider treatment options. Gerecke says. For instance, some people with MS wake up frequently during the night to urinate. Gerecke says these symptoms are often alleviated after they make some dietary or behavioral changes, or by taking medications such as tolterodine Detrol and tamsulosin Flomax , which reduce urinary frequency.
If depression is contributing to fatigue, Dr. Gerecke may recommend cognitive behavioral therapy or antidepressants. Physicians also sometimes prescribe drugs that encourage wakefulness, such as amantadine Symmetrel and modafinil Provigil , she adds. Romney is not currently on a disease-modifying therapy, but she emphasizes that this may not be the best option for everyone, since MS symptoms are different for every individual.
Gerecke agrees. Romney credits acupuncture and reflexology with helping her manage certain symptoms. For example, in reflexology, pressure is applied to specific points on the hands and feet that are said to correspond to certain organs, which helps to alleviate much of her pain and numbness, she says.
The evidence on complementary treatments is mixed, partly because of the individual nature of the disease and because the severity of symptoms may differ from one person to another, says Dr. Since her diagnosis, Romney says she works hard to maintain a healthy weight and to eat a balanced diet.
I also drink a lot of green smoothies made from kale, spinach, and ginger," she says. Researchers are learning more and more about how diet affects MS, including that a vitamin D deficiency may play a role, says Dr. For example, a study conducted by researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health and published in JAMA Neurology in found that among people in the early stages of MS, those with higher blood levels of vitamin D had better outcomes during five years of follow-up.
Some data also suggest that a low-salt diet may reduce the risk of developing the disease. While Romney received a mostly positive response after revealing her diagnosis during her husband's presidential campaign, not everyone with MS is as fortunate. That's why the decision to go public is so personal, says Dr. For example, if someone has bladder dysfunction that causes frequent urination, that employee should be allowed to take bathroom breaks as often as is necessary without question, Dr.
Or, if a person with chronic leg pain has a job that requires prolonged standing, he or she should be allowed to have access to a chair for periodic sitting to minimize the pain and discomfort. Grateful to be in remission, Romney is doing everything she can to help others with MS.
She invites them to make their voices heard on 50MillionFaces. That's why she chose to open up about her disease. What surprised her most, however, was the fierce love and support she received in return. The Ann Romney Center for Neurologic Diseases supports research into new drugs and advancements, which may lead to cures.
Like many people with multiple sclerosis MS , Ann Romney says the day she received her diagnosis was the scariest of her life. Since then, she says she's been lucky to have access to the best care, treatment, and therapy. That, in turn, inspired the Romneys to establish a research center at Brigham and Women's devoted to MS, Alzheimer's disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis ALS , Parkinson's disease, and brain tumors.
In the case of Alzheimer's, he says, a vaccine could detoxify clumps of the amyloid-beta proteins that cause neurons to die. This type of MS comes and goes unpredictably. To reduce her symptoms, she combined traditional medicine with alternative therapies.
It was a crisp autumn day in when Romney felt her legs go weak and her hands became unexplainably shaky. Always the athletic type, playing tennis, skiing, and jogging regularly, Romney grew scared at the weakness in her limbs. She called her brother Jim, a doctor, who told her to see a neurologist as soon as she could. The numbness spread to her chest. The primary treatment for MS attacks is a high dose of steroids injected into the bloodstream over the course of three to five days.
Steroids suppress the immune system and calm its attacks on the brain. They reduce inflammation as well. Although some people with MS require other medications to manage their symptoms, for Romney, steroids were enough to reduce the attacks.
However, the side effects from the steroids and other medications became too much to bear. To recover strength and mobility, she had her own plan.
Then, Romney remembered her love of horses. At first, she could only ride for a few minutes a day. But with determination, she soon regained her ability to ride, and with it, her ability to move and walk freely.
A study found that equine therapy, also called hippotherapy, can improve balance, fatigue, and overall quality of life in people with MS. Reflexology is a complementary therapy that involves massaging the hands and feet to cause changes in pain or other benefits elsewhere in the body.
A study examined reflexology and relaxation for fatigue in women with MS. Researchers found that reflexology was more effective than relaxation in reducing fatigue. Romney also sought out acupuncture as a treatment. Acupuncture works by inserting slim needles into specific points on the skin. An estimated 20 to 25 percent of people with MS try acupuncture for relief of their symptoms. In her case it was tennis. We sort of had a no-face-punch rule, but we spent a lot of time on the ground.
The family would pile into their white station wagon for the hour road trip and guaranteed squabbling. Once they arrived at their destination, however, the summers were magical as the family took long strolls along the wide beaches and enjoyed conversation, dancing, games, tall tales, and homemade vanilla ice cream.
They made the trip every summer for 25 years. The families had become fast friends when the Romneys went on an Israel tour led by the Madsens. Such praise is not lost on the Romney sons. Benjamin P. She may have complained that she felt like a taxi at times, but I think she actually loved doing that. She made me feel special and unique, even the most important person in her life, not just one of five sons.
Today Ann tends to remember the good times, as does her family, but she also recalls that her husband—whose work frequently took him away—would assure her over the phone as their sons quarreled in the background that her work was far more valuable than his. Believe me, it was hard work. Throughout her various adventures in motherhood, including supporting her husband in an unsuccessful bid for a Senate seat in the early s, Ann had enjoyed the energy to be active and engaged in her family, church activities, and other worthy causes.
But in life tossed her a curveball. She noticed it first as fatigue and numbness in her leg. She tried to convince herself it was nothing serious. Maybe she had a pinched nerve or a lingering case of the flu, or perhaps she was exhausted from taking on too much. She began to fall, but she figured that everyone loses their balance at times.
Perhaps more sleep would help. With an MRI the diagnosis was clear—Ann had multiple sclerosis MS , an auto-immune disease where the body eats away at the myelin sheath that protects nerves. Mitt said hearing that Ann had MS was the worst day of his life. When her doctor told her the only treatment available—steroid infusions—would have to wait until the symptoms worsened, Ann was incredulous. Ann soon found herself in a lonely, dark place. Formerly lively and athletic, she began to believe she would never have another good day, and at her lowest point she wished she had a terminal disease that would take her life quickly; she did not want to be taken bit by bit.
Her family was devastated as the new reality set in. Son Ben, who was serving a mission when his mother became ill, took solace in the blessing he had received while being set apart.
In her darkest hour, Ann reached out to Dr. Come with me. Weiner allowed me to stop worrying and instead focus on getting better.
Weiner believed in attacking MS aggressively from the beginning—not waiting until symptoms worsened—to try to knock the disease into remission. With Ann that initially meant hour-long infusions of cortisone, which kept the disease from progressing. Encouraged, she waged a full-scale battle, finding strength in modern medicine, reflexology and other alternative treatments, yoga, and her faith.
And she turned again to horseback riding, decades since last riding a horse. So when the Romneys decided to build a residence in Park City, Utah, they had planned to include stables for horses. And with her balance problems, she was not positive she could sit in a saddle. Nevertheless, after moving to Utah, she looked into riding lessons.
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