It's a visceral experience this week. And by that I mean:
(1) visceral, adjective (emotional, literary) - based on deep feeling and emotional reactions rather than on reason or thought
and
(2) visceral, adjective (medical, specialised) - relating to the large organs inside the body, including the heart, stomach, lungs and intestines.
The emotional first. When we're told: "You have Multiple Sclerosis," it's like a metaphorical punch in the guts. And how we react to it, whether with shock, relief, anger or sadness, is primal.
As we progress through the relapses, the failed treatments and the endless medical appointments, we find our own ways of coping, we develop our own beliefs.
And as long as these aren't blocking out offers of help or stopping us listening to* medical advice, then that is fine - we know ourselves better than our well-meaning colleagues or once-a-year consultants.
When I relapsed on Avonex and took the decision to change medication, I looked all the available medical evidence about the alternatives on offer; but picked one based purely on a dream I'd had. Not scientific, not rational but purely and utterly emotional.
We're asked to do 'what feels right' quite a lot with MS, but there's no actual yardstick for this. Trusting our gut instinct is something we have to learn how to do.
And while we're on the subject of guts, this time the literal anatomical ones, new research has been unveiled indicating a link between gut bacteria and MS.
A team from the US has published a paper outlining how the gut-brain connection might work and their findings have implications for many neurological conditions.
I can't pretend to understand much of this, but it seems that while previous research has shown that bacteria in the gut may cause inflammation in the brain, this is the first study to report on how the cells involved in this particularly damaging inflammation work and how they might be controlled.
As with all GROUNDBREAKING MS NEWS!! a lot more needs to be done before it gets to treatment stage, but the potentials for deeper understanding of the pathways are there.
So whether emotional durability or scientific breakthroughs, it appears that having MS is a lot to do with having guts.
:: Connection by Elastica(1) visceral, adjective (emotional, literary) - based on deep feeling and emotional reactions rather than on reason or thought
and
(2) visceral, adjective (medical, specialised) - relating to the large organs inside the body, including the heart, stomach, lungs and intestines.
The emotional first. When we're told: "You have Multiple Sclerosis," it's like a metaphorical punch in the guts. And how we react to it, whether with shock, relief, anger or sadness, is primal.
As we progress through the relapses, the failed treatments and the endless medical appointments, we find our own ways of coping, we develop our own beliefs.
And as long as these aren't blocking out offers of help or stopping us listening to* medical advice, then that is fine - we know ourselves better than our well-meaning colleagues or once-a-year consultants.
When I relapsed on Avonex and took the decision to change medication, I looked all the available medical evidence about the alternatives on offer; but picked one based purely on a dream I'd had. Not scientific, not rational but purely and utterly emotional.
We're asked to do 'what feels right' quite a lot with MS, but there's no actual yardstick for this. Trusting our gut instinct is something we have to learn how to do.
And while we're on the subject of guts, this time the literal anatomical ones, new research has been unveiled indicating a link between gut bacteria and MS.
A team from the US has published a paper outlining how the gut-brain connection might work and their findings have implications for many neurological conditions.
I can't pretend to understand much of this, but it seems that while previous research has shown that bacteria in the gut may cause inflammation in the brain, this is the first study to report on how the cells involved in this particularly damaging inflammation work and how they might be controlled.
As with all GROUNDBREAKING MS NEWS!! a lot more needs to be done before it gets to treatment stage, but the potentials for deeper understanding of the pathways are there.
So whether emotional durability or scientific breakthroughs, it appears that having MS is a lot to do with having guts.
*if not always taking. It is, after all, your choice.
No comments:
Post a Comment