Saturday, April 16, 2011

MS without drugs

Here's a note from a friend in Ottawa who has MS:
I just saw a neurologist for the first time in a few years now. I chose to consult with one not affiliated with Mark Freedman and the MS Clinic of Ottawa because all they ever wanted to do was push drugs on me. It is very interesting what this new neurologist had to say about my first MRI that I had taken during my first attack a few years back. The doctor at the MS Clinic in Ottawa that diagnosed me told me that I had a very heavy lesion load for a first attack and warned me that I would be in a wheelchair within 6 months time if I didn’t start taking Avonex immediately based on the severity of this MRI. I refused to take Avonex after I researched it and this made the neurologists VERY unhappy with me. I returned a year later to show them that I was doing well and had no need for a wheelchair but they did not congratulate me or show any kind of happiness toward my state of stable health. The neurologist I consulted with this week read that same MRI from a few years ago and told me that my lesions were extremely tiny and not significant enough to warrant putting me on an immunotherapy drug! She also told me that given how well I’ve done since my diagnosis without any drugs that she would recommend I not take any. As you can imagine, this was a rather pleasant surprise to have a neurologist support my decision not to take any MS immunotherapy drugs!

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