Hi, my name is Karen and I am a 29-year-old wife and mother of two boys, 8 and 2. When I was 25, my hand started going numb. I was going back to school to get degree, so naively, I thought maybe I had been writing too much. I wish! As the numbness crept up my hand, I began to get concerned. Since I am a hairstylist, I thought maybe it was carpal tunnel. I didn’t share it with anyone for about a week, and when I did, my mom suggested I go to the doctor. The doctor was able to get me in thankfully being that it was a Friday. My husband drove me to the doctor and waited in the car. When I came out of the office, it was all I could do not to burst into tears. I told my husband the news; it could either be a virus or MS! What! How could I have MS, no one in my family has it, I was fine last week, and what the heck is it? Just knowing that it was a disease was enough to rock both of our worlds.
I went to see a neurologist who gave me an MRI, which was just like a REALLY loud tanning bed! When my results came back, it showed I had lesions. The doctor really down played it, and said that we should really just monitor my numbness, come back if I have any other symptoms, and it may go away and never come back. My husband pressed and pressed about the MS but the doctor said he was not prepared to be concerned unless I get more symptoms.
During this whole process of doctors and MRI’s, it was about three months. Three months of numbness on my whole right side of my body. Sometimes I would trip since I could not feel my foot, my hand just did not want to hold the curling iron tight, and I had tough time writing. But, it eventually it went away, and I never thought about it again. I really felt like I had pushed myself to my limit of stress and I created it myself.
Life went on and I had another baby. About 10 months after I had my baby, my right foot went numb. I thought it was the shoes I wore to work that day, but after a few days of that, the numbness was creeping again.I knew! I tried so hard to wish it away. I went online and tried to webMD my symptoms, but it kept leading me to MS. After about two weeks, I couldn’t deny it anymore so I told my husband. I went to the neurologist again and he wanted to do more MRI’s. After waiting for referrals (you know how HMO’s are) it had been about 1 month. It was Super Bowl Sunday, my husband just left me at home with my two boys to go run an errand and all of a sudden, my left side of my body cramped up. Now I don’t mean a leg cramp that you can flex away, I mean it started in my toes and went up to my ribs. I fell to the ground and screamed in pain. My oldest son freaked out. Five minutes later, it happened again. then again. I literally cramped up for 2 weeks, sometimes minutes apart, sometimes hours, but not much more than that. On Valentine’ Day, I got the official diagnosis, I had MS! I cried.a lot, and then I went to have sushi (whatever helps). Another month or so went by with sporadic cramping and burning feeling on certain areas of my body. My neurologist suggested that I think about taking medication.
I went home and thought about it, for days with the notion that I don’t have any other choice; if I don’t I am going to be in a wheelchair, maybe never be able to hold my children, or play catch with them. I really thought I would be better off dead!
Then I did some serious research. I found that some people have really good results from natural treatments and that MS is so different in everyone. Yes, some people are in a wheelchair, and others have had it many years having minor issues, therefore, I could be anywhere in between. Honestly, I may not have thought about going the natural way if all I had to do was take a pill for the rest of my life, but an injection everyday, it was worth another look.
I went to a holistic chiropractor who gave me some supplements for inflammation, suggesting that my nervous system is more affected since the foods I am eating are causing inflammation, even saying this is a treatment for all autoimmune diseases. The supplements were REALLY expensive, but if it works, then no more shoe shopping for me! My sister had begun to sell vitamins, to which I was a HUGE pessimist, but I was desperate, gave her the ingredients to the supplement and said, find me something with those ingredients so I don’t have to spend so much money. She told me it has a small amount of glutamine but way less than is acceptable to take. So I researched it, and found that not only does it help body builders with their muscles, but aids the immune system, has been known to help treat many illness such as cancer, and enhances brain function.
While my painful burning sensation was not going away on the last major episode, I tried the supplement the doctor gave me. Immediately it started disappearing, but only days into it, I switched to Ultra Vitality liquid, Genesis and straight glutamine, and decided if it took the rest of my pain away and stayed away, I am sticking with it, if not, I would just have to spend a fortune to keep that supplement. Well, it was totally gone by 8 days. I feel like I am getting different things from these three supplements. Rest is important when you have a diseases, your body cannot fight off anything if it is weak. In addition, the Genesis helps me sleep and fights off infection, I am getting fewer colds now, and trust me when you have kids you get everything. The Ultra Vitality gives me energy and vitamins that I don’t get from food. If I skip anything for even a day I can feel my body getting tired more easily.
I am starting to get to know my body now, it’s too bad it took a disease to do it, but if my foot started to bother me, like it is going numb or feeling like it will cramp, I will double dose my supplements. The funny thing is, the reason why I am so passionate about this is that I thought I would stop everything for a while, I just think I am feeling better and am able to forget about the MS, but after a week my whole leg went numb. When I started back up again, it took about three days for it to go away. I am a firm believer in the Symmetry products and know that without them I would be on medications for the rest of my life. With these products, I am able to live as normal of life as one can with MS. I have the determination not to be in a wheel chair and am going to continue a more holistic approach to fight this disease.
I have been working on removing foods that are inflammation free, purifying my foods, exercising, and drinking almost all water. This is way more challenging than taking three supplements; however, it is my goal. I still have a long way to go, but I plan to live as pain and symptom free as possible, for my family, but also for me. I would suggest this combination to everyone with MS. It really has been a life saver for me!
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For more information on products, please email me at lisasurvillas@healthiestlife4me.com
This week my favorite is getting stronger. Each new week I am feeling stronger in a new body part. This week it was back…135 lb lat pulls for the last set and was able to do 6 of them all on my own! 55 lb bent over rows for the first time…8 of them! And the best feeling is when I look over at the 20ish year old guy next to me doing the same exercise with less weight! HAHA!! I LOVE IT!! And for all those women out there who think they are gonna get bulky if they lift heavy…you are WRONG!! 
A personal not so favorite this week. My least favorite thing this week is the feeling that I can’t get back on track with my diet. I have had a week of cravings and giving in. I am not happy with myself, but am going to refocus and start over tomorrow. Need to try to hit two weeks of PERFECTION and NO CHEATING. SO here goes the second try of the year!!
At the moment, I am a long term sub at El Cerrito Middle School in an elective class that is a Consumer Science (Home Ec type class). It has been a lot of fun. I am half way through this job and am gonna miss it a ton when it’s over. I have some great kids and enjoy all their personalities so much. Right now the kids are creating menu’s for their own restaurant on the classwork days and cooking on the lab days. We have made Easy Cookies (a quick oatmeal cookie), Sweet Potato Fries (with yams not sweet potatoes because there weren’t enough at the store) which the kids were pleasantly surprised that they liked, some of my classes (the extremely good ones) made Baked Mozzarella, and Chocolate Chip Cookies. Last food lab is this week and I am still trying to decide what to make with them. Then we have testing for a week with this group of kids. Since I teach the elective class, they switch every 5 weeks and I will get a new group for a week, but won’t get to have much fun with them because it is a testing week also! 
