Reply to anonymous prof

From my perspective, CCSVI treatment is most likely to help if you are afflicted with balance, fatigue and autonomic function problems.  Whether it helps anything in terms of long-term disease progression is anybody's guess.  Don't believe those who say they "know" it is a hoax OR that they KNOW it is a "cure" for MS: the international Cochrane review meta-study of CCSVI research says that the jury is still out on any claims, be they positive or negative.  Note: I collaborated on the write-up of the meta-study.

The Importance of a Good Physiotherapist

While the strength on the left side of my body has continued to deteriorate, I'm not giving up without a fight. Besides Pilates, yoga, swimming and biking, I've been seeing a new physiotherapist who seems as interested as I am in trying to make the best of what I have. She is working hard with me in trying to figure out what exercises I can do to reduce the impact of my disabilities and give me the best possible quality of life. In fact I have already seen some improvement in some of my capabilities and this has given me hope that my mobility may improve, or at least not decline as fast as it may have otherwise.

I have had experience with some physiotherapists and healthcare providers who, upon knowing that I have MS, appear to have a rapidly declining interest in working with me. In some ways I can't blame them, since it must be hard to work with someone who is almost certainly going to get worse despite your best efforts, but it still makes me angry to think that I am in worse shape than I might have been if I had had the right physiotherapist three years ago.