Day 32 : 4 - Post training & Post CCSVI

... April 2011, after surgery 

It was unbelievable, the first time after the operation of AMEDS in Poland. I was almost without MS symptoms. It was like all the problems disappeared overnight. Cardiologist Piotr Pavluksuc I met in Uppsala on CCSVI lecture a week later. I said to him, Poland has a new citizen. Dennis Johansson, born 27 April 2011. Thus, I have two nationalities, a Swedish since 1963, and a new self-imposed Polish from 2011. 

My status 
The right jugular vein had no flow at all in a sitting or standing position. There was a very small flow when I lay down. Left side worked and other veins were ok. EEDS estimated at 5.0 by the neurologist in Poland, the latest Swedish test was in Dec-10 4.5 (KS), and in Oct-10 4.5 (rehab). Last flare in Dec-10 made apparently some residual symptoms. 

The right vein was blasted 2 times with different sizes of balloons. The flow was restored, from 0% to 75% of normal. There was some discomfort at the surgery, but still quite affordable. What I experienced as the hardest was to lie still on my back for so many hours afterwards. 

Best experience of the operation was that the feet were warm again after surgery and the pizza my wife fed me after the surgery. I was hungry as a galley slave. 

I had obviously noticed some improvements before lunch, but it had only been a few hours since I got out of bed. My thought was that any improvements will probably sneaking in coming months. 

Oh so wrong I was. Four days later, I can say; 

-Dressing without problems 
-Can stand on one leg again 
-No problem with stairs 
-Left hand works much better 
-Balance work 
-No panic to the toilet 
-No brain fog 
-No fatigue 
-No heat intolerance

I've probably forgotten something, but it feels like the clock screwed back a few years. 
 

CCSVI conference in Uppsala 
As I mentioned at the conference, I've barely been home a week after the surgery in Poland. My day started at 5:30 this morning, with activity all day. This had absolutely not been possible before my trip to Ameds. The volume was at maximum with house music in the car between Uppsala and Stockholm. It has not been like that the last 5 years! 

It just gives me more water on CCSVI mill. Cognition has rebounded as well. Summarizes I week, I wonder what the heck I've been doing the last few years. I've been struggling with strategies to get the energy to suffice the most important. Extinguish fires, and to ensure that everyone in your family have food in your stomach. Not even I have been particularly successful at. There, my wife took more and more responsibility.  

Sauna have to wait until tomorrow, when who should be filled up with beer in the fridge grossly neglected her duties. I'm thinking of sacking that fuck. :)
To be continued..

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Today
Food again

Breakfast

I has been a lot talking about the diet in this the blog. I am getting more and more convinced that food is one of the keys to mastering MS. I don´t really care about the 7 kilos I have lost in less than five weeks. I was not fat before, 82kg and 183 centimetres tall. What I care about is the change in power and how good I am feeling right now.


It's not a big sacrifice to opt out of certain raw materials. Profit is tenfold greater. I am very happy to have got to get started and teach me how I should proceed. I do not undergo a diet is the hardest part. It comes later in everyday life. 

We humans are basically collectors since the Stone Age. It's all about planning and organizing. Sure, it takes a lot of time. But it's worth it. It's about finding your innate heritage, and practice them.

AMEDS Rehabilitation Program
My evaluation will be posted under the topic in the side bar. 

Stem cell
Next on the agenda will be stem cell transplant. The first date is confirmed to 16th of April. The second treatment will be in September.

I am currently not taking any drugs against my MS. I hope I do not get relapses during treatment. Should it happen, stem cell treatment may be discontinued.

I will eat my carrots and hope for the best. :) 

Day 30-31 : 2-3 - Full speed ahead, finding food

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I will continue with my history during the weekend. The time has not been enough this week.

I will tell about the time after CCSVI next. 
To be continued..

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Today 
The days are flying...
Now I am back at work again. I am feeling good after the rehab in Poland. I have used a lot of time to get food according to my new diet.

It is not only carb to take into account. It should also be gluten, lactose and basically meatless. As spice to everything, it must be anti-inflammatory and organic.

I am looking to take my gun and go into the woods and hunt any wild animal. Finding ingredients to the diet is not easy. I've been in five stores and found some here and there. When everything is collected the cooking starts, and planning for next meal.

Yesterday menu
07:00 Breakfast, Tomato soup with wild rice
10:00 Snack, Green Apple
12:00 Lunch, Salomon with Carrot, Zucchini and Asparagus
16:00 Snack, Carrot Ginger and Celery Juice
19:00 Dinner, Black Quinoa with Feta and Kalamati Olives 

All meals with Green Tea and Flaxseed Oil. To all meals, a handful vitamins. 

Despite all efforts to find the right ingredients, I feel very good on the diet. With planning, it's probably not that difficult over time. I have definitely changed my eating habits for good. It may sound simple, but I probably would not have able to do all this on my own.

Diet has made ​​a big difference in my life. Thanks Ma ... I mean Olga for the support!  

Day 26 - Liberation

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CCSVI Liberation 
It was a little uncomfortable when Piotr punctured vein in the groin. A moment later, I thought of the text of Eva Dahlgren's song. "It lives somewhere else in my body"... It was a strange feeling when Piotr drove the probe up through the body, with the accompaniment of Queen, "We Will Rock You". It was rock-n-roll for real. 

It was very interesting to see on the monitor is exactly what happened in the body. He showed and told all the time what he found, and how he corrected the stenos-is. After the last enlargement, I felt that my feet were getting warm again. 

The procedure was completed in less than an hour. When I came up to the room again, my wife ordered pizza. Last meal has been breakfast. I was hungry as a galley slave. I had to lie still on my back for 12 hours. I was certainly not supposed to get me up or tighten my stomach. My wife fed me pizza, the Coca Cola I drank with a straw. After my feast, she went back to the hotel. 

I wake up after a few hours and was pee for real. I waited a while, maybe the nurse would come in and look at me. The alarm button had dropped on the floor, so I had no use of it. I could scream, but at 2 o'clock at night, it would bring the entire department to a standing position. 

The nurse comes in at 3 o'clock. I told her, I have to pee NOW! She smiled and shoved the pelvic bottle at the shelf on the bedside table. Completely within my reach. I fill the bottle to the brim, empties out a bit in my coffee mug and a little to the empty glass on the bedside table. Then pee a little longer. It was liberation for real. After that I fall asleep until morning rounds came and woke me up.

The bandage was removed and replaced with a small swab. I was still not aloud to get up before the doctor looked at the wound. She arrived a moment later and gave me the green light to gently go up and take a shower.

I felt good, and could feel that the body response was a little better. Obviously I want to test my ability. I walked slowly back and forth in the hallway. It went much better than yesterday. To increase the difficulty level a bit, I went out into the stairwell. I went up two floors. No problem.  

On the way down I met Piotr in the stairs. He looked very sternly at me and shakes his head.

DENNIS - BACK TO YOUR ROOM - NOW!
To be continued...

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Today at the Rehab
I will always try to do everything a little better. In particular if I can do a exercise good, I will try to make it a little harder. All the machines in the gym has a build-in computer. When you enter the machine you put a small USB key in the machine.

This morning Dagmara took my stick. I did not use it yesterday, and she asked me why. I told her the weights and the count was lady-wise. She re-programmed it and gave it back to me with the words, Dennis now you can do the machines.

Pull-down

I took the stick and putted it in the pull down machine. The display told me to put on 25kg and do 15 repetitions. 

Good now we´re talking. I used to do 10 at 20kg. The machine then told me to take 1 minute break. I passed the message after 10 seconds. Next set 30kg and 15 repetitions. Puh, that was heavy. Next machine... No... I was not finished, Rest for one minute. I used the full minute. The third set 35kg and 15 repetitions. Well I can handle the weight but 15...

Rubber-band

Next it was my turn to make fun of my self. I ordered 5 meters of red rubber-band from the shop. Then I put the rubber-band under my feet and tied it around my leg.  

The aim was serious, I would help my left leg to release some weight from it. 

Everybody did laugh at me, but it worked. I was just looking for the feeling that the left leg will follow the right. It succeed.

We did an extra walking test today to verify the results from yesterday. MS is a strange decease, not two days are equal. Today result were better than yesterday. I can feel the difference between the days, but it is hard to explain to others.

Now I have it on paper.  

Item 3, Quality

What ever you look at, put in your mouth or take in your hand is very well done. It is 100% quality, no compromises. For example, the training pool is seventeen meters long made in stainless steel without joints. Impressing. The indoor climate is good and comfortable. The WiFi is covering every square inch of the building with good speed. There is soft music in all common surfaces with good sound quality. My guess, it is as good as any Design Hotel in the world.

Now it is time for me to go back to my room. 

Tomorrow is the last full day.


 

Day 14 - Halfway

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History
...Spring 2009 
After going through the first rehab so began my new life taking shape. I retired at 50%, and it also solved the discussions I had with my insurance company. The period after diagnosis using either the brain or the body. It was hard to remember things. It was also difficult to have several balls in the air. While I would manage both work, family, health care, insurance, utilities, and rehabilitation, rest and exercise. Obviously, it will not be good result anywhere. Also add that MS not only get the door knocking. The door was kicked in.

Now I've changed the door. The new door, no bastard kick can open it. I open myself.
 
Las Vegas 

Sense or not. Me and my wife went to Las Vegas without the kids, with a few friends. It was my first time there. It was great to get forget about everyday life at home and just relax with good friends. 

At this time, I needed to rest a lot. I took the opportunity to sleep a few hours in the afternoon while the others were sunbathing or shopping. It was too hot for me outside. I tried to avoid alcohol as best we could. I felt the circumstances quite well. The biggest problem was to walk everywhere. The legs did not obey to the end. Then I sit down for a while. 

A lovely experience. I enjoyed Vegas. The pulse and pace, yet subdued with attitude. All kinds of people, old, young, rich, poor. Of cause, common among everyone were, worshiping the Gaming Devil. I will not put me over the mass, even I had a piece of the gaming. Unlike many in Vegas, I do not play out everything I have and own. Sums up my casino and poker games over time, I probably broke even. That's good enough for me. I play not so much to win, but for the atmosphere and the challenge.

Blackjack at Mandalay Bay
One of the evenings we had decided to play. We stood at the Mandalay Bay casino. It's about 150 gaming tables at the casino, in addition to thousands of slot machines of all kinds. I stood at a bar in the middle of the subdued inferno and tried to decide on which table games I would choose. There is a display on each table, replacing rank, 5-10-50-100 dollars random. The display shows the minimum bet for the game. If I sit down at the table when it is $ 5, it goes for me as long as I remain at the table, as minimum bet. 

At a blackjack table some distance away could hear laughter and cries. I looked at the display, it shows $ 100, no, it swaps to $ 5. I hurried on my wobbly legs and threw a $ 100 bill in a box. I told the dealer that I wanted to have small chips. I got 10 green and 5 red back. Let the game begin. 

At the table sat two Americans who were around forty. They laughed and were surrounded by beautiful waitresses who lit cigars and filled Bourbon in their glasses. The dealer was a woman in her fifties who laughed and pulled jokes all the time. Behind her stood two large dark guys with earpieces. 

After a few hands the guys got their eyes on me. I had been lucky for a while, and my stock of chips had increased respectfully. I had all together many green and red chips, and also two yellow 100 dollar chips. By this time I had also received Bourbon and cigar from the girls. 

I can not remember the boys' names, the called me "Sweed". They had just sold an oil rig in Texas, and had too made plenty of money. They were in their third day ... There were many funny stories with a lot of laughs. Suddenly, I had only three green chips left. Then exclaims one of the oil-drillers in the middle of a laugh "Hey Sweed, you can not sit here without chip". He shovels over some stacks of black chips to me. I look at those, and in the middle I could read $ 1000. Of courtesy, I played, and lost them all. 

When I had that much money on the table, the cute waitresses give even more attention on keeping my cigar on fire, and glass of Bourbon filled to the brim.

No, Vegas is probably not for me, It's too funny.
To be continued...

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Today at the Rehab

Sunday

Halfway. I had a small celebration for my self this morning. I took the fruit and vegetables from the breakfast buffet. A big load. I could feel the power from the tomatoes and kiwis flood out in my body.

Earlier this morning I made a big mistake. I forgot to take my Fampyra. My legs were like spaghetti during the day. I was moving around like a drunk. I tried before to jump over a doze, so I should have understand earlier why the legs did not respond. 

Before the water aerobics I use to swim under water the length of the pool. They told me it´s 17 meters. Today I manage the half distance. Of cause I was a little worried, and Dagmara my trainer asked me what is happening. After the pool we went up to the gym for cross-training. Same there. Legs did not respond. I tried the cables, same again, no support from the legs.

The last session of the day was massage. When I lie on the massage table, I found out of what I had forgotten today, Fampyra. It's good, then I know why.

It must never happen again.

My wife is visiting :)

Tomorrow my wife will join my training for a couple days. It will be nice to show her what I am doing here during four weeks. 

I had promised her the same diet as I have. At the same time I will show her the gym and the other healthy equipment that is to be found here. :)

Johan Nicole and Bernadeta

I just received an e-mail from my friend Johan. We meet here at Columna Medica a couple days ago. We had some fun discussions in the locker room and at the dinner. Johan did unfortunate have to leave in haste today. I didn´t have time to say goodbye. We keep in touch Johan.
  
Now I can feel my legs again. Goodbye Sunday and welcome Monday.