MS Support Group Redlands
July 2014
M.S. NEWS
REDLANDS SUPPORT GROUP
Exercise for Life
the Victoria Point YMCA Gym
Exercises are held every Friday
from 1.30am to 12.30pm and
everyone who is physically
challenged is invited to come
along and give it a go. It is a
proven fact that you will live
better with MS if you exercise
regularly.
Morning Tea
The Redlands MS Support
Group meets on the last
Tuesday of each month for
morning tea and a chat. Our
get togethers are informal and
non threatening and new
members are most welcome to
come along and enjoy a few
laughs. We meet at 38
Redgrove Avenue Wellington
Point at 10am. Please ring John
on 3134 0580 beforehand just
to make sure that there is not a
change to our plans.
Information for people living with MS
Postal Concession
My Post Concession Account - You may be eligible
for concession stamps! Do you have a Federal
Government Concession Card? You may be eligible for a
reduced rate on domestic stamps, and other offers.
Apply for a free MyPost Concession Account today!#
Benefits #
Free Booklet of 5 concession stamps#
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Ability to purchase up to 50 concession #
stamps per year#
Contact Details
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Discount on hold mail & mail redirection#
John Pesch President
3134 0580
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A free MyMail Concession Card & digital #
mail box#
Carol Range Secretary
3245 3406
Ask your Post Office for an application form#
Jo Riley Treasurer
3245 3127
July Newsletter
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New Member We would like to welcome Kelly as a new
member to our Support Group. Kelly has also joined us
on Fridays for Physiotherapy sessions.#
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MS Support Group Redlands
July 2014
The Importance of
Regular Exercise
Morning Tea Our next morning tea will take place at 38
Redgrove Av Wellington Point at 10am on Tuesday the
29th July. On this occasion we will have Tim O’Malley of
the MS Society and he will talking about the different
types of drugs that are used for the treatment of MS.#
Over the years a lot has
been said about the need
for exercise and that
especially applies to people
who are living with MS.
Because our limbs don’t
work very well and we
constantly face the
challenges of fatigue, it is
so easy to find excuses why
we shouldn’t exercise.
Because many do not
regularly exercise they
progressively suffer muscle
wastage and eventually
loose the ability to even do
the most basic activities. It is
so important to not allow
yourself to fall into this
downward spiral. If you do
have problems with walking
or standing, then it is more
important than anything to
hold onto what you have
got. The physiotherapy
department at the MS
Society can assist in
providing you with
exercises that you can do
that are appropriate to your
mobility problems. Many in
our Support Group
participate in regular
structured exercises on
Friday of each week doing
exercises that are
appropriate to where each
of us is at. I encourage you
to come along and give it a
go. You will not regret it.
Moderate Your Exercises With all of this talk about
exercise I think that it also needs to be said that,
because many of us are physically challenged, we should,
therefore be mindful of our limitations. We need to be
sensible and moderate our exercise regime in line with
what we are capable of. #
What is important to remember that our problems are
unique in terms of managing your fatigue while still
exercising. You will find that the more frequently you
exercise that the fatigue will become less of a problem.
By becoming committed to regular exercise, you will be
pleasantly surprised to notice that what you do today is a
little bit more than you were able to manage yesterday. It
can be very uplifting when you reflect on how much
more you are able to do today than just a few weeks ago.#
Don’t fall into the trap of saying, “because I struggle
with fatigue, it is just too hard to exercise.” Everyone can
exercise, even if it is just sitting in a wheel chair lifting a
small weight. That is exercise!#
Make your exercise enjoyable and, to that end, put some
music on or invite a friend to join you so you can have a
few laughs along the way.#
What is important for you to live well with MS is that
you do exercise. Remember exercise for those with MS
is more important than exercise is for a normal person.
Don’t allow yourself to be discouraged by what others
can do or by what others may say about your efforts
being a waste of time.#
Member in Hospital Roberta Russell recently had to
have an operation that is unrelated to her MS and we
wish her a speedy recovery over the next month or so.
We hope that it does not impact on any way on her MS.#
We wish you all the very best Roberta.#
July Newsletter
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MS Support Group Redlands
July 2014
Pig whip worm genetics revealed#
A publication in the prestigious research journal Nature Genetics has received recent media
attention with the mention that the pig whipworm (Trichuris suis) may have beneficial effects
in multiple sclerosis.#
The study does not provide any new evidence that treatment with the eggs of this intestinal
parasite can treat MS. Rather, it is a study of the complete genetic profile of the whipworm.#
The research has been carried out by an international team of researchers including members
from University of Melbourne.#
Previous studies have shown that the pig whipworm can have beneficial effects in people with
autoimmune inflammatory bowel disease. The pig whipworm is quite distinct from the strain
usually infecting humans, which causes dysentery and intestinal disease. There is very early
preliminary evidence that the pig whipworm has immune modifying effects in people with
MS, but to date, there has a larger scale clinical trial to show that it can have beneficial
clinical effects on the course of the disease in MS.#
The pig whipworm is an intestinal parasite that embeds itself in the intestinal wall and uses
enzymes to absorb nutrients from the surrounding cells. The worm is thought to be
interesting in autoimmune diseases as it has properties that allow it to modify the host
immune response to avoid rejection from the body. The genetic analysis of the worm provides
invaluable insights as to how the worm is able to do this.#
The publication does not reveal any new evidence that Trichuris suis could be used as a
treatment for MS, however, the new knowledge may help in understanding how the parasite
could be beneficial in autoimmune disorders and may also reveal new immune system targets
for the development of new medications.#
!
Member in Focus for this Month
My name is Rob (Robin) Rance and I have just recently turned 70 years of age. I am
happily married to my wife Carol (some 37 years), who is a great source of help and
inspiration to me .
I was officially diagnosed with Primary Progressive MS in early 2010 but I believe
symptoms, of which no-one seemed able to identify, first started to become evident
some 15 years earlier. These included gradual loss of balance, slurred speech, vision
problems and dragging of the left foot when walking. Probably the biggest problem was
my inability to no longer handle stress, which forced me to end my working life a month
short of my 56th birthday.
I was employed by two major firms in the Construction Industry as a Contracts
Administration Manager, which is a very stressful occupation at the best of times.
Although we were worried about surviving financially after early retirement, thanks to
some generous superannuation and careful investing, we have not starved.
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MS Support Group Redlands
July 2014
After diagnosis I joined the MS Society of Queensland and later, the Redlands MS Support
Group. Interaction with both these groups has helped me to accept my condition and
look for the positives instead of feeling sorry for myself. I am extremely grateful for the
help and information these groups have given me, the most recent was the
establishment of the MS Physiotherapy Group which meets weekly at the YMCA Gym at
Victoria Point
I am also grateful that this condition has come upon me in my later life, rather than
when I was younger, as I feel that the impact would have been much greater and
acceptance would have been much more difficult.
About the same time that I retired. Carol and I decided to downsize and move into a
new over 50s freehold village in Capalaba. This turned out to be a very good decision as
there are no stairs in our village and the units are wheel chair friendly, also access to
shops etc., is good.
In spite of the MS and with great help from Carol we have done quite a bit of overseas
travel. As Carol was born in Dover, Kent in the UK we have made a number of trips to
England visiting Carol’s family and friends. Of course these are now my family and
friends also! I guess I am now a confirmed Anglophile.
In our travels, since our marriage we have visited Great Britain (often), Japan, Russia,
Parts of Europe, America, Canada, and Alaska, Thailand, China, Vanuatu, New Zealand
and Vietnam & Cambodia.
Our most recent trip involved flying to Los Angeles with three other couples and after a
three day stay we boarded the Norwegian Star cruise ship and sailed south along the
coast of Mexico, through the Panama Canal, on to Costa Rica and Columbia, then north
to Key West and Miami. From there we then crossed the Atlantic (seas remarkably
smooth) to Azores and the Dover England (Carol’s birthplace).
From Dover we sailed to Helsingborg Sweden and on to Copenhagen, then we sailed to
Tallin Estonia and Germany with a shore excursion to Berlin, a very long day but worth
the effort. We also had shore excursions in St Petersburg (magnificent!) then Helsinki
Stockholm and back to Copenhagen where after three days we flew home via Dubai and
Singapore and on to Brisbane.
We found the trip to be very demanding in places but we took a wheely-walker and a
small collapsible wheelchair (hard work for Carol) and we found an abundance of help
and assistance when needed, particularly from the airlines, Qantas & Emirates.
We’ re both glad that we were able to make the trip, our friends also helped
tremendously, for which we were very grateful, but due to increasing mobility issues I
realise it will have been possibly my last overseas trip.
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