Lemtrada - Alemtuzumab Second Course of Infusions

I did my monthly Lemtrada blood and urine test yesterday and I just got the text to advise me
"all is well", this was my tenth month of blood monitoring since my first set of infusions, from memory I've had two "please check with your Neuro" texts, they ended up being some blood in my urine...so nothing serious and no further action taken. I must admit though that getting the "all clear" text does make me feel a little happier each month lol.

Even though the second course of infusions won't happen for about another two months, I am thinking about the risks and possible issues that can occur, no doubt this will be on my mind until the second set of infusions are finished. Luckily the second set is only three days as opposed to five days with the first set of infusions. I guess that also means I will have steroids for the three days as well, the steroids do seem to lessen the infusion side effects although sleep patterns aren't the most restful when on the roids.

I'll be staying at the medi-hotel at the Austin Hospital, each morning it's just a short walk to the infusion room and then eight hours of boredom while Alemtuzumab and various other chemicals are pumped into my vein, yes eight hours of extreme boredom, it's probably the thing I despise most, the boredom! Hopefully, because it's only three days of infusions, the cannula can stay in for the full three days without a change, if I'm lucky...yes I like everything to go smoothly lol.

The one good thing is that at least it's not a new experience like it was last year, I at least know how it all works and what happens with this procedure, so that's a bonus. I must say that the first set of infusions went very smoothly, I had a million questions for the poor nurse who was organising it all for me, so the questions should lessen a little. I still don't know the exact date that this second set of Lemtrada infusions will take place, but it should be around the end of October.

I won't be as nervous as I was the first time, but things can and do go wrong, so I'll read through all the possible issues again and be as prepared as I can be for whatever eventuates ;)

Lemtrada Second Infusions Two Week Update

Ok I'm a couple of days shy of two weeks, let's continue, the second course of Lemtrada Infusions went well, with no noticeable reactions or side effects, I'm thankful..., still it's early days after the infusions. Some of the side effects can show up months later.

I've been taking it easy and taking my pre-meds, post-meds that I need to take, I'm down to one a day until the end of the month

Diet and Exercise Still Going Strong

Knocking on the Door - 100 Kilograms (220lbs)

I've now lost about 10 kilograms (22lbs) in weight, I'm walking a distance of about 4.0 kilometres (about 2.5 miles) a day, it varies but hovers around that distance, sometimes a little less, sometimes a little more, I generally have one "sloth" day each week, usually on a Sunday, where I do virtually nothing, except for eating the right way of course, that's everyday. My walking has definitely improved, if my phone's step counter is accurate, I'm doing about 5,000 - 6,000 steps a day.

If I take rubbish out to the bin I take the long way around, so that helps to add to my daily steps, that's why it varies, though I always get the 5,000 steps from my morning walk. The rest is usually low intensity walking, my morning walk is where I "push it" a bit harder. I'm doing five laps of "my block" and try to do that in the morning. If I go for my walk close to bed time I am too "wired" to sleep and have the energy to stay up most of the night, which of course negates the benefit of a good nights sleep...

I've been adding more variation to my diet, all Paleo Diet approved foods, I generally have Salad with Sardines or bacon or salmon or whatever meat I have thawed for Breakfast, I now rarely have lunch, I might just have a snack like a boiled egg or two instead, occasionally I have three meals a day but it is occasional, not common at all, my appetite has definitely decreased. I have mostly stuck to my dinner meal of some kind of meat and steamed vegetables. My walking's improvement is less fatigue as I get "fitter" of course and my balance has also improved, I still do get some "foot drag" by the end of my morning walk, but it's on the last lap when the physical fatigue starts to kick in, yep I am pushing it so that's expected.

My weight is at about 103 Kilograms (227lbs), I must say the lower your weight becomes, it seems the slower you lose it, but as I've said many times before I hope to make this a lifestyle change, but that 99 Kilogram mark is my next goal, it's a big goal lol, I haven't weighed below 100 Kilograms for a looong time ;). Just remember though, weight loss is the bonus, it's not the main goal, the main goal is to see how eating the Paleo way can benefit my MS and it's symptoms, so to realise the possible benefits of MS improvement, I will need to stick to the diet for quite a while. The weight loss period of this experiment is tangible, you can see the results as they're happening, the scales and how your clothes fit show the weight loss, you do feel the general health benefits as well, so there is no doubt about that aspect of the Paleo Diet when it comes to losing weight, it works and works quite quickly, so that's on track.

The next part will be more difficult to prove or "see", it will be all about how I feel, it won't be easy to put into words, I think there has been some benefit on the Multiple Sclerosis/symptom front, but nothing that's happening is a large enough change to really talk about. I guess all I can really say is that I'm feeling quite well. I'm sure the eating better, the getting more sleep, sleeping longer and exercise all have something to do with that, but that's quite obvious really, it's bound to have a positive effect. I could probably say that all of this healthy living has seemed to improve my fatigue in the positive, even if I do get a minor afternoon MS crash, I might need to or want to lie down for half an hour to an hour, but I'm not falling asleep just having a lie down.

I need to get some kind of "Fitness Band", I would like to be able to monitor my sleep, I have a feeling that even when I do seem to get say 6-8 hours sleep a night, I can't be certain if it's "good sleep" so I might just need to buy one of those fitness bands to see if it can shed some light on my sleep behaviour. I mention this because some days I wake up and get ready for my morning walk and it's like I'm overflowing with energy, then on other days it's a real struggle, I still do the walk, but there's a bit more "clonus" symptoms and just a little more very minor foot dragging right from the start of the walk. I'm fairly sure that my nutrient intake is fine and I'm eating enough, so at this stage I have a feeling it's a lack of "good sleep".

Oh the last "shop" I did for groceries I thought I would add some Berries, I bought Blackberries and Blueberries, the Blackberries are lower in Sugar, the Blueberries are slightly higher, I have to say even when eating the Berries, mainly the Blueberries, I did get a Sugar rush headache lol, seriously, I never had too many Blueberries I might have had 5-10 at a time maximum, as nice as they were, I think I'll stick to the Blackberries for an occasional treat, they seemed to be less headache inducing...weird eh?

My Tip: People please give up Sugar filled drinks, eg. Coca-Cola and any fizzy drink that is full of Sugar, that also includes fruit juice, the concentrations of Sugars in Fruit juices is enormous, have a real orange etc. instead of it's concentrated Sugar filled juice!

This blog post is a tad all over the place, because I'm just cruising along, doing what I need to do and I just wanted to log my progress and let others know I'm still on the diet and exercise path ;)

The Video below is an Interview with Loren Cordain, the father of the Paleo Diet, the guy asking the questions is Pete Evans, he is an Australian Paleo Diet advocate and Chef.

Lemtrada - Three Months After First Infusions

Lemtrada - Three months since Infusions

It's now a little over three months since I had my first course (5x) of Lemtrada (alemtuzumab) infusions, luckily none of the possible nasty side effects have reared their ugly heads, whew! I'm happy with that, though some of the side effects can show up years later from memory, at least I haven't been someone who had immediate problems tolerating this infusion treatment, so far in my life I have been lucky in that I seem to tolerate drugs quite well, though I've never been under a general anaesthetic so I have no idea how I'd go with that...please don't assume I'm gloating, it's a thought that definitely runs through my mind occasionally because I get a "monitoring" blood test every month and then you wait for the "all clear", from the phone app or email they deliver, just a tad nervously lol.

The list of possible Lemtrada side effects you read about and are made well aware of before you decide to do the infusions are not just minor afflictions, they can be quite serious. I won't list the possible side effects here, I will just link to a FDA pdf and you can read them there, I'll put the whole link so you can see it's on the FDA website, click the link below. Like any drug though, every possible side effect has to be listed, though hopefully because of all the trials and testing they do on Humans before bringing the drug to market, the side effects should be minimal in occurrence, hopefully... I'd rather link to an official source, rather than get them wrong and scare people even more than they already might be and I've listed some of them before in previous posts...

http://www.fda.gov/downloads/Drugs/DrugSafety/UCM426512.pdf

The Nurses and Neurologists should give you some official literature from the drug company that markets/makes the drug as well, so stick to those rather than blogs, then you'll have the official list of Symptoms! Then by all means go read everything you can on the web, in blogs if that pleases you, but check with your Neurologist if you have any questions, don't be silent, we're not all the same, some people seem to get side effects from every drug they take and with a personal "one off" side effect that some one might have experienced, it could be just that, a "one off" that has nothing to do with Lemtrada as such. We are told to report any problems we have to our medicos, so they can keep an eye on things and no doubt the Neurologists document everything and provide feed back to the drug company, well that's my guess anyway.

Official Lemtrada Home Page

Now back to my post infusion three month experience,  everything seems to be fine, in fact I'm feeling quite well overall so I don't think Lemtrada has had any negative effects on my health, of course I really can't say it's had any positive effects either, well nothing noticeable anyway. When I was in the early stages of the pre treatment stage I did ask lots of questions and did read quite a bit about the drug and people's experiences. I would then ask the Nurse's or Neuro's for the "right" answer of claims that were made etc. or if they heard of anyone experiencing this or that, yes I am one who does ask a lot of questions when I am not clear on something.

I've written before that there might be some favourable "maybes" about possible positive Lemtrada effects, but they are just "my feelings" they are not scientifically tested, you can read back through my blogs about "what I think" if you like, but there has been no amazing benefits that I feel have occurred. I just hope I don't have another exacerbation, or they find any more lesions on the brain in the future, if I have no more problems, hopefully that means Lemtrada is doing its job, well that's the plan anyway ;)

I remember asking the main Nurse who was looking after me (I still annoy her with the odd question lol) if they had heard any possible benefits from any of the Lemtrada infusion recipients under their care. She told me no, nothing that they can prove, but she did say that some of us Lemtradians, some call us Lemmies (that's too close to "lemmings" for my liking lol) did find a greater sense of confidence, I asked "how so" she explained that a few have had a greater sense of confidence and have taken to improving their overall health and well being, for instance eating better, exercising and well, just living their lives.

I myself am doing exactly that now as well, so I understand where the other Lemtradian's are coming from. Maybe we're doing this because of the drug's possible side effects, being the healthiest you can be has to help if the "side effect shit hits the fan" surely, or the cost of the drug is huge and we appreciate that we get it for free in Australia's public health system or maybe not having to take some other form of drug regularly gives us time to consider our futures, who knows, but it is interesting nonetheless.

So in closing and in summary, all is well three months after my first set of Lemtrada infusions, I hope it stays that way, I will definitely write a blog post about it if things go pear shaped, oh one more thing, yeah the monthly blood tests are a pain in the arse, but eh, far better for them to be "on top" of any problems quickly rather than later when it's too late to treat the problem. I know people want to hear wonderful life changing news, but I'm just telling it how it is for me, honestly and without the bullshit or possible placebo effects that one may experience, I am feeling better, but I honestly suspect that is from the diet and exercising I have undertaken lately and am still doing, from my own personal experience if someone asked me if I think they should have Lemtrada as a treatment, I would say, Go for it! ;)

Link to all of my Lemtrada tagged Blog posts

Diet and Exercise

Diet and Exercise - Week Six!

I'm into about week six of eating better and exercising, the results are slowly starting to show, the most obvious are weight loss and my gait (walking) and general fitness, even though my walking has improved heaps, I still don't necessarily feel really safe walking, but I guess you become more critical of yourself because of one's memory of how it used to be, the walking has helped me to lift my right leg which is the main one that causes me issues, at one stage both legs inability to walk saw me end up in a wheelchair for two to three months, though the left leg pretty much fully recovered, the right leg didn't.

The right leg is always the one to drag on the ground first when I am fatigued from exertion or lack of sleep, it's usually the one that I will trip over the thin air with, that's slowly getting better now that I'm exercising by walking. I'm up to very recently, as in yesterday, starting to walk around "my block" three times in the morning and once at night, that equals about 3.2 kilometres as the distance around "my block" is 800 metres. I'm absolutely stuffed by the third time around in the morning. Four times around is more than five thousand steps going by Google Fit, they say us humans should be walking around 10,000 steps a day, whether I make it to that many, I'm not sure, but I can say one thing, I'm walking each day much further than I ever have after the diagnosis of Multiple Sclerosis was thrust upon me...

Eating the right foods is still going fine, yes I'm getting bored of course, though I am getting used to it and food is starting to taste better, I'm finding if I prepare some meals beforehand so that I just need to microwave them, this helps me to stick the the diet and helps with my fatigue. I prepare the steam vegetables and cook the meat when I'm ready to eat, of course if I have bacon and eggs that needs to be fried when I want, no reheating. I order my food on line and have it delivered, maybe one day I'll walk to the supermarket, but you can only carry so much, so I might need to wait until I can do a couple or three trips in a day...

With the food consumption I'm very slowly starting to get to the point where I'm not feeling hungry all the time, I haven't done it yet but I'm starting to get that hint of not feeling like two or three meals a day, this doesn't mean that's how I will end up living, on one meal a day, but it does mean I'm no longer following the "normal" breakfast, lunch and dinner mantra that we've all had drummed into us since we were "younguns". I'm starting to get to the stage of only eating when I am truly hungry, before I felt compelled to eat at each of those time honoured meal "times" to consume the food I eat.

If I feel hungry in the morning after my walk, I'll eat, quite often now though I don't feel hungry until around lunch time. I'm also happy that I can add two more frozen vegetables to the mix, I will now be adding kale and mushrooms to my list of frozen foods that I can include in my diet. So at the moment I'm only eating two to three healthy meals a day (though mostly only two meals a day), with the odd snack here and there, e.g. boiled egg etc.

Frozen vegetables are so much easier for a single person and someone who can't easily just "nick" down the shop for extras if they run out or what you do have has spoiled before you had a chance to eat it. So now the list of frozen vegetables has grown from six to eight, these are vegetables that are "allowed" on the Paleo diet of course, so you're a little more limited in your meal choices. Of course meals vary though not by much at this stage, the following is a list of frozen vegetables I can now get from the supermarket I order from (Coles).

List of Paleo Diet approved frozen Vegetables
I can buy the following veggies from Coles Supermarket on line
Brussel Sprouts
Broccoli
Cauliflower
Spinach
Kale
Pumpkin
Carrots
Mushrooms

Most of these frozen vegetables are "Coles Brand" so they are reasonably priced, I figure they can't "mess" with vegetables all that much, hopefully...a few are "brands" so I'm spreading the consumerism love, in my own little way lol.

There are more frozen vegetables that are Paleo approved, though I've never had them before at all so I need to do some research on how to cook the buggers and get a sense of what they taste like. Yes even though frozen vegetables can be more expensive, I very rarely waste vegetables now, so I'm confident I'm saving money more so than when buying fresh. I would probably be a lot more efficient as in wastage nowadays if I was buying fresh, because I am eating more healthily so the fresh veggies would be getting used, but they say frozen can actually be better than fresh anyway so that's perfect for me.

I do buy some fresh vegetables for a slow cooker meal I make, but they get used the same day or next day that I buy them, one example in particular is Mushrooms, I buy two punnet's of sliced fresh Mushies, celery, onions and carrots for that slow cooker meal, but the frozen ones will be perfect for breakfast with bacon and eggs if I have that meal. Even though I want to make this Diet and Exercise regime a lifestyle change, my immediate goal is to "crack" three months (I did two months last time) and move on from there, after that, six months, then twelve, that is of course if all goes well and there is a noticeable benefit, regardless I do plan on keeping sugar consumption in "check" by doing my best to eliminate it from my diet altogether as I'm doing right now!

I'm trying to add different types of healthy foods, for instance apart from a couple of new frozen veggies, I'm looking at seafood that has high amounts of good oil, I already try to consume at least some fresh Salmon at least once a week, sometimes more, but this week I have stocked up on some Sardines that are canned with Olive Oil, I hope to add these to some kind of Salad concoction that will also have added "good" Paleo approved "Oils" like Olive Oil and Macadamia Oil (maybe even some avocado oil) both of which I already have.

I've been a bit hesitant to do salads after having the MS drug treatment Lemtrada (alemtuzumab) because of possible Listeria bacteria infection from lettuces, it's in the Lemtrada literature of possible infections one needs to be careful of, yes maybe a bit OTT, but hey I am Male and I admit my cleanliness is not always "top notch" and when I'm advised to do something or be careful of something because of a depleted Immune system, I am especially careful. Lemtrada has some possible nasty side effects so I have upped the cleanliness, but is it enough lmao! I'm fairly sure my MS is from having a great and efficient immune system hehe, I've trained it well over many years of germ abuse, I've rarely been ill in my life and rarely get infections, unlike some people who have been brought up in very sterile environments and seem to get every bug and infection that's available.

Just remember many MSer's can most likely do at least some exercise even if they are confined to a wheelchair and most can eat better to improve their health, it may mean that the whole family needs to get on board and get with the program, as in help the MSer in their life to achieve these things but surely our loved ones, if they really do love us, will have no problem with helping us achieve this goal. I personally live alone so I need to do my best to keep my MS exacerbations at bay as I have no family that live close by and boy do I love my independence, so that's one of the main reasons I'm doing this exercising and adjusting my diet to a much healthier way to eat, will it work, well I'm guessing it has to have some benefit at the very least. I've let my general health decline, I need to rectify that ;)

Caveman!

Paleo Diet Information

Main Paleo Diet page, more information at link below.
http://www.darinallan.com/paleo_diet

Sugar is Bad for You!
http://www.darinallan.com/paleo_diet/sugar-is-bad-for-you

I've Quit Sugar!
http://www.darinallanblog.com/2016/01/ive-quit-sugar.html

I've Quit Sugar!

I'm on the third week of "No Sugar" I started around Christmas day, I thought it best not to make a new years resolution, us humans rarely stick to those, me especially, too much pressure...

I have decided to strictly adhere to the Paleo Diet once again, though I won't be going into detail about that diet as such, I've said it all before, on this blog and in numerous posts on G+. I think the sugar cessation with Paleo might just be the the "thing" that helps the most when it comes to well being, nevertheless I will adhere to the Paleo guidelines strictly as I have never felt better since having MS and eating the Paleo way. I'm actually quite sick of talking about Paleo stuff as most just can't or won't attempt it or even read about it and if they do look into it they cringe in horror and then starting saying things like "I could never just eat all meat" I then immediately know they've never looked into it at all, I then know they read and blindly believe what hack journalist's articles espouse as truth, yeah the "journalist" didn't really look into it either, and so the bullshit flows from one person to the next.

The simple truth is that the Paleo Diet is difficult, very difficult, I'd prefer them just to say "nah not for me" and leave it at that and just leave me to carry on with the way I want to eat for my health and Multiple Sclerosis, most do of course, but some people are "know alls" yet never really look closely into anything they proclaim to be an expert on, or not, it's the nature of the internet of course. I'll help anyone that wants to change if I can, though very few actually do want to. So now I just give them some hints on where to look for good info and wait for them to get back to me if they want to know more, none have, well actually two have and even started to eat the Paleo way and even saw some decent weight loss results (weight loss is the bonus), though never stuck with it long enough to see the positives that eating right can have on one's MS symptoms and their severity, which really is a shame for them, eh, life goes on!

So now I'm just going to talk about Quitting Sugar to other people while still doing my Paleo thing, although I won't be talking about it all that much on G+ or to friends that don't want to hear (all good, it's my journey and doesn't have to be theirs). I've posted a Poll on a MS Community to get an idea of how many people (hopefully honestly) answer the poll to gauge if people consume much sugar in their daily food intake. Not as easy as one may think, as Sugar has been creeping into around 80% of the food we eat (whole foods excluded of course), people are eating far more processed foods these days and unfortunately not cooking as much as we once did. When I was growing up, fast food for example was a treat, at most a once a week treat and mostly for my family it was Fish n' Chips or a Hamburger, though it was a proper burger not this McDonalds etc. sugar laden fast food crap people seem to consume quite regularly these days, some eat it nearly everyday it seems.

So anyway, I'm mostly over the headaches and aches and pains one seems to get when they overcome most addictions and I've started walking for exercise again, walking and exercise helps one get over addictions a little more easily and most importantly quicker than if not doing some kind of physical activity. When I was younger I was full on into sports, one of those kids who would train themselves just as much as the training that the sport/club required, I let all that go in my twenties, you know all the excuses, we've all made them, so I won't dwell on it. My one saving grace as far as exercise goes was the fact that I was a Mechanic, it's a physical job, though any "well being" gain was of course counteracted by the crap fast food I'd often eat in the workshops where I'd work. Well it was most likely somewhat more healthy than what the mega fast food giants serve up, but still it wasn't really healthy food as such, especially when you're eating it everyday for morning tea and lunch. Yes I could have just had a salad sandwich or roll, but nah, it would usually be something deep fried etc.

So I've decided to mainly talk about giving up Sugar, maybe if people can just do that, they will most likely see some benefit to their general well being and possibly some benefit to their Multiple Sclerosis symptoms, the benefits so far for me are, sleeping better and at "normal" times, increase in energy, although when you give up Sugar you will most likely get the "No Sugar Flu", you may get headaches, sore joints and irritability and yes fatigue may increase in this detox time, Sugar is an addiction pure and simple, you will feel a bit crap just like a drug addict coming off his poison of choice, or a heavy drinker giving up drinking after years of imbibing, but giving up Sugar I'm guessing is nowhere near as bad as those two of course, but it isn't a leisurely walk in the park either.

Even years and years ago way before I started dabbling with the Paleo Diet, as a somewhat logical person, I always thought that regardless of our MS, MSers or of course anyone with any disease or medical issue would surely benefit from being the healthiest that they could be, even those who can't exercise easily, eg. those very overweight or people who can't physically do much exercise, eg. people in wheelchairs or those who have mobility issues, all of us can still eat better, we shove far too much crap in our mouths because so much food that is "quick and easy" is also full of Sugar and "numbers" oh and too much salt of course as well.

Oh and before people say, "it's easy for you, you're lucky!", that couldn't be further from the truth, yes it is lucky I live alone and that I can still cook my own food, absolutely true, but I am not a cook of any description and I still get fatigued standing over a hot oven or cook top, I still get fatigued from that, though hopefully that may improve as I get fitter and eat better. Ninety percent of my food is plain old meat and vegetables, the vegetables are those that start off frozen and then cooked in a pretty nifty though very simple and cheap microwave steamer (easy to clean and use), it works a treat. Yes I guess you could call what I eat very boring no doubt, but that's how I like it, if it's easy I'll cook, if it's a whole culinary delight that takes a long time to prepare I just won't cook and revert back to "take away" food or processed quick and easy meals, I really don't want to do that so I keep it plain and simple for someone who is dealing with Multiple Sclerosis issues.

The paleo diet is about fuelling your body with good fats rather than Sugars and Carbohydrates it's why you can lose weight fairly quickly, yep, unbelievable isn't it, but it's true, me and many, many others are living proof, I have done it for two months previously, strictly, it works! In three weeks (I started the diet on Christmas day) I have lost about 4-5 kilograms (8-9 pounds), but as I say this journey for me is not so much about weight loss as it is about Multiple Sclerosis Symptoms and their severity and hopefully minimising those and how they effect my life and well being. At the second week mark I was feeling good enough to start walking around my block, it's 800 metres, I do it twice a day, once in the morning, once at night, my walking is still not great or "normal" but I can walk and the more I do it, it can only get better.

I'm slowly starting to increase that, I'm using "Google Fit" to track distance and steps and scales to track my weight loss progress, though the electronic scales reading never really stays still lol, that's the MS...by the way, going by "Google Fit" just walking about two kilometres everyday doesn't burn ll that many calories, the main weight loss benefit comes from being in a state of "ketosis" my body is using the body fat I have built up as fuel to survive, but make no mistake, I am not starving myself, I'm eating more than enough protein and vegetables to live off, before I was giving my body much more than I actually needed and most of that "extra" was Sugar and Carbs that I consumed, not exercising at all doesn't help either. Remember if you do happen to be overweight it can only benefit you, your joints and your mental well being to lose some weight, fact! Eating better can help stave off "Leaky Gut Syndrome" which apparently might help with stopping stomach lining permeability, this may be a cause of some autoimmune issues, from what "they say".

Now for some facts, I have been dabbling with the Paleo Diet or at least eating a lot better for gee, I don't know about four years now, I've lost a lot of weight over that time and I've also put "some" weight back on from relapsing to my previous bad eating habits. I've never let that get me down to the extent of just giving it all up, it's always on my mind to eat better, though the exercising certainly does take a hit, let's be honest it becomes non existant lol.

I'll list below some of the benefits that I think I gained from eating more healthily and exercising, well I don't just think, I pretty much now how much better I feel, but I can't scientifically prove it though of course.

Weight Loss (the weight melts off)
No more bloated stomach (now instead of feeling "full" all the time, I more so eat when I'm hungry)
More energy and less fatigued (the afternoon crash and fatigue is lessened)
Sleeping better and longer (no longer on "Vampire hours")
Skin looks better (not that I care so much about that lol)
The walking helps to improve my "gait" and general fitness.
I think my mind becomes a little clearer
My general mood and mental well being has improved (I'm less negative about everything lol)

Here is a list of why Sugar and Processed foods are bad for you resources, there are many vids on Youtube, but here's a couple

Sugar the Bitter Truth Youtube Video, (it's a Uni Lecture by the looks of it) very comprehensive information.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBnniua6-oM

Big Sugar Discussion Youtube Video (how we've been conned etc.)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Y_CaFRsO_0

The Secrets of Sugar - The Fifth Estate - CBC News
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xDaYa0AB8TQ

Why is Sugar Bad Youtube Search
https://goo.gl/UEDHSM

A page I created with Information and resources.
http://www.darinallan.com/paleo_diet/sugar-is-bad-for-you

Movies/Docos to watch (if you can find these to watch or see them advertised on TV, well worth watching)
Fed Up
Is Sugar the New Fat
That Sugar Film

Sugar Withdrawal Symptoms: List of Possibilitieshttp://mentalhealthdaily.com/2014/07/19/sugar-withdrawal-symptoms-list-of-possibilities/

I quit sugar community (the owner, well known "I Quit Sugar" advocate) seems to have abandon it but I just joined it to say I've Quit Sugar, to see if anything good gets posted by members etc.
https://plus.google.com/u/0/communities/117264613745385510960

Some great Books to read that can be purchased on Google Play Books
Sweet Poison
Fat Chance: The Bitter Truth about Sugar

So feel free to contact me on Google Plus if you like, but the resources above are a great start and I'm sure you know how to use Google to search for all the information you need to Quit Sugar and why you should. I can say right now I am already not craving Sugar as much as I did before starting this diet. :)

Disclaimer: Go see ya bloody GP before you do any shit that may effect your health...though quitting Sugar in my opinion is one of the healthiest things you could do...

Lemtrada - One Month After Infusions

Well, it's about one month anyway, I had an appointment to visit my Neurologist and Nurse yesterday, it was the follow up Lemtrada visit, they had the results of the first blood and urine test I had for the Lemtrada monitoring. There is an app for Lemtrada monitoring which texts you the results so I already knew all was fine, though it's always nice to hear it confirmed by a human... I also had a chat to the main nurse I've been seeing, Belinda has been great putting up with my incessant questions lol. There has been a lot to take in since I started my Lemtrada infusions journey. She organised everything from start to finish!

I also got enrolled in some research they are doing on Lemtrada recipients, I guess it's just an extra function to monitor Lemtradians. The side effects of Lemtrada can "come on" years later like up to at least three years later, that's why there are monthly blood and urine tests for four years after the initial infusions.

Ok, so has anything changed after the first round of Lemtrada (alemtuzumab) infusions?

Everything I say below are just what I'm feeling and noticing, it's not based on science or medicine, it's just what I feel and think.

Fatigue since Lemtrada

I may have a little more energy, though it manifests itself by allowing me to push through the afternoon MS crash, I would normally need to have my afternoon "nanna nap" now I seem to be able to hurdle that barrier so I can stay awake until a reasonable "proper time to go to bed instead of the Vampire hours I would often keep...

Walking since Lemtrada

I don't hink there has been any change to my walking, I still have good days and bad days, somedays it seems that I can walk quite normally, the next, walking is a bit of a struggle, the morning when I first wake up is the worst... So overall the walking mobility hasn't changed much at all, of course being able to handle the fatigue a little better can help with one's walking.

Fogginess in Left Eye since Lemtrada

My left eye was left with a foggy outlook after a bout of Optic Neuritis, it affected both eyes though lasting damage only occurred with the left eye, the right eye pretty much recovered fully, whew! The fog on my left eye was like pea soup when it first happened, then there was some slightly less foggy gaps in my outlook, if I moved my eyes or head around it was a little clearer in the gaps. Now it seems that the gaps have pretty much disappeared and the fog is more uniformed and just a little less foggy overall, I think!

Numbness in Hands since Lemtrada

Both of my hands have been somewhat "numb" since my very first exacerbation many years ago, they still are a little numb, though I think there has been some improvement in "feeling" or "touch". The numbness in my hands feels like it might have decreased a little, I'll keep an eye on things and see if there is any long lasting improvement...

There have been nothing negative so far from side effects etc. let's hope it stays that way lol!

My Lemtrada (Alemtuzumab) Infusions Experience

I survived!

In fact, by all accounts, I had a dream run, just two minor incidents, one was expected. I was bored, I was tired but I didn't seem to be having any ill effects from the Lemtrada and cocktail of other drugs that were taken as part of this treatment.

There was a fair bit to take in as I was staying in the Austin Hospital "Medi-Hotel", so I had a lot of info floating around in the old noggin. The first day the lovely receptionist walked me over to "Ambulatory Care" where they do all manner of infusions and treatments, there's about three areas where various infusions and treatments are administered. I was the only person doing the Lemtrada treatment that week (five days). It was great being at the Hospital, but not being admitted to a ward etc. so I got to go back to my room and chill. Meals were supplied and the staff were very helpful.

The First Day started off with having the cannula inserted, taking the oral pre medications, then the methyl pred intravenously, there are also saline flush outs between intravenous meds, so most of the time you're just being pumped with various fluids, sitting there twiddling your thumbs lol. The first day of infusion, just had one minor incident, I got the chills, I was shivering/shaking uncontrollably, it was a small event, only lasted about 5 minutes, the rest of the day/infusion was fine.

First Day Cannula Inserted

Everyday, before I wandered over to Ambulatory Care, I would take the Pre Medications, three main Oral Pills, plus Panadol for headaches every four hours and Temazepam to sleep, Intravenous Phenergen seemed to help on the last infusion day, I had woken with what felt like a decent dose of the flu, headaches, sore muscles and joints etc., simply it was like I had the flu, it was a slow walk over to Ambulatory Care on my last infusion day...

Loratidine (Claratyne)
Ranitidine (Zantac)
Valaciclovir (Valtrex)

Also take 
Panadol (headaches etc.)
Temazepam (sleeping pill)

Last day heebie geebies
Phenergen

The Second Day was easier, didn't need to mess with a new cannula, bonus, the infusion was uneventful, no adverse effects to report, it all went smoothly...my infusion experience was fairly boring, which I'm quite happy about lol.

Ian My Best Friend for Five Days

The Infusion machine above didn't leave my side for about eight hours a day for five days, I miss him, I called him Ian, he controlled my life, he told the nurses when to change bags, when to do their Observations, blood pressure, temperature and general check over, the checks were quite frequent, three cheers for Ian the Infusion Machine ;)

The Third Day was the last day of the pre Methyl Pred infusion before hooking up the Lemtrada. Once again the third day seemed to go fine, feeling a bit rundown, but nothing adverse happening as far as problems with the drugs etc.

Partial View from my Infusion seat

I did at least have a decent view while twiddling my thumbs, yeah I did read a few chapters of a book on my tablet, I played a few games, but honestly, I spent a lot of time looking out the windows watching the world go by, I made sure I got "my seat" everyday, I just got there early on time lol!

The Fourth Day they changed from Methylprednisolone infusion bag to Hydrocortisone from a syringe injected into the line, so my day gets a little shorter by an hour, YIPPEEE! No problems recorded or inkling tomorrow would be the worst day... Oh and had Cannula inserted into another vein, standard practice apparently, change cannula after three days

Lemtrada is light sensitive, so they cover the actual infusion bag with a Black cover

The Lemtrada drug is light sensitive so they cover the infusion bag with a black cover to keep the light out, can't watch the fluid disappearing damn it lol.

The Fifth and Final Day was the worst day of the lot for me, apparently this shitty feeling can happen on the fourth day to some people as well, maybe the lack of Methyl Pred has something to do with it, but on the last day, I felt absolutely crap, like I had the flu, so of course it aint all that bad but I think the lack of sleep doesn't help, you really are drained by the end of the week. I had a headache, flushing, some itchiness, sore muscles and joints, yep it was like Influenza, the pre meds helped alleviate the effects. I didn't feel like sitting there all day feeling the way I did, one of the Neurologists dropped into see how I was going and suggested some Phenergen to take the edge off, I was on board with that idea, after the Phenergen, nothing worried me lol.

I'm fairly sure the seat I'm sitting on here now has my arse imprinted forever...

It seems I was quite lucky, so far at least, with the Lemtrada Infusions, one nurse said your course of infusions has been one of the most uneventful out of the ones the have done, whew, everything went smoothly, no reactions to the drugs, the worst of the whole process was the utter boredom. So I'm taking it pretty easy this week especially, I'll stay close to home :)

Lesion activity

I had my regular yearly Neurologist visit today, it was also a follow up to the recent MRI scan I did a couple of weeks ago, (or was it one week ago, eh, who cares), I've only been back home for a couple of hours. I was going to go through the visit to the Neuro step by step in order of events, but damn I've forgotten already lol.

Basically I recall sitting down going through the pleasantries that us humans go through, I've known my main Neurologist for about 6-7 years I guess, I did an "Interleukin" drug trial that lasted about two years. I also did the Teriflunomide (Aubagio) oral drug trial that lasted wow, so bloody long, three to four years all up from memory. So I guess we know each other rather well from a patient - Doctor (Neurologist) relationship as he was the main man in charge of those trials, of course with the system we have in Australia you get to talk to most of the available MS Neurologists at the hospital over time. Though you generally have a "main" neurologist. I have respect for Richard (Neurologist) he always answers my incessant questions about all things MS.

After the quick chat we got down to business about me and my MS (one of the few times these days I feel anything at all is actually all about me lol), we started with the most recent MRI scan, the Neuro pointed out that I had a new lesion. A lesion that appeared not to cause anything noticeable, I actually thought my MS symptoms had kind of plateaued, it's difficult to be a practiser of logic rather than emotion when you have MS, you have the pseudobullbar effect attacking you from all sides virtually with every thought you have, it can induce sadness or hilarity, it can reduce you to tears over the simplest negatives you come across or you can find yourself giggling at the most inappropriate things to giggle at, like a person who has a warped sense of humour often does.

So what does a new lesion actually mean to me in my case, one that doesn't seem to be affecting me with an obvious new symptom or an old symptom returning with a vengeance. It means that the drug I am currently taking, Aubagio, the oral drug I was part of the trial for, is no longer effective at doing what it's meant to do. Well now, that really is a bugger, isn't it, it means I need to look at something else to keep my Multiple Sclerosis at bay. The Neuro seemed to suggest the best way would be to go at it hard, in that, not just go to say Gilenya or Tecfidera, but hit the MS harder with something stronger, enter Lemtrada (alemtuzumab).

I will admit my ears did prick up when I first heard about Lemtrada, it sounded quite interesting from an efficacy perspective and the fact that it was two infusion courses over two years, the first course of Lemtrada is five infusions over five days, one a day, the second year it's three infusions over three days and if all goes well, that's it. Though I will need to have a blood test once a month for four years lol, it's a newish drug that can have some nasty side effects, so the blood tests monitor what's going on so they can take early action in treating the side effect.

I will leave it at that for now as I still have to go through the tests, I also need to get a flu injection, and some other injection, something about infection risks when on this drug, from well, other infections. I will though list the main three nasty possible side effects from the literature that I received. 

LEMTRADA can cause serious side effects including autoimmune conditions and serious infections.

• Thyroid disorders
• A condition called Immune Thrombocytopenic Purpura [ITP]
• Certain types of kidney diseases

I'll sign off with
Happy, happy, joy, joy!
Readers can decide how to take that lmao

Paleo Diet weight loss and MS symptoms

The Paleo Diet and Weight Loss!

I realise I haven't said much about it for a while, but yes I'm still doing the Paleo Diet as I've said firstly to lose weight and also to see if it has any positive effect on my Multiple Sclerosis symptoms. Let's concentrate on the weight loss first, now I must say when I first started this time, I only had an old set of Analogue scales, cheap ones at that, of course they're good enough, but the old eyesight isn't as good as it once was and hey when you weigh yourself it pays to have no extraneous weight hanging off one's body, eg. clothing, eye glasses, mobile phone etc. The weight graduations are difficult to read even with glasses on.

So I invested in some digital scales to get a more accurate and more easily sighted idea of my weight. The old scales still had "stones and pounds and kilograms" (in faint red text and graduations) but damn they are hard to read. With the old analogue set I was bouncing at the end of the dial when I first started, if it's at the end is it all that accurate, I'm not so sure, so realistically I can't give a definitive "start weight" but I reckon I was about 18.5 stone after having a think about it, a guess, which is about 117 Kilograms and about 257 lbs. The new digital scales show me now at about 104.5 Kilograms or about 230 pounds.

With drinking heaps of water and eating quite a bit on the Paleo diet your weight does vary about one kilogram over the day, I've found the very best time to weigh myself is in the morning when I wake up after a good nights sleep, seriously for some reason on the mornings after a good sleep you really seem to lose the most weight, no science in that just my experience. I started back on Paleo on the 19-10-2014 so let's say I've been eating this way for about a month and a half, I'm losing weight quicker than the last time, much quicker, the only difference, I've been walking a lot more, everyday I try and walk around the block at least once and even though it's hard for me to believe, I do get a bit antsy if I miss a day, so I really try to make sure I do it and have been! Oh I've also been doing a bit of leg strengthening exercises as well, though not as much as the walking, so I can only surmise that the walking has helped to accelerate the weight loss.

A really nifty new app by Google on Android phones is "Fit" so that is keeping a log of my walking, from memory it's only about 800 metres around my block so not even a kilometre, some days I do it twice when I have the energy, but as long as I do one lap of the block I'm happy that I've at least done something in the way of exercise each day.

104.5 Kilograms!

The Paleo Diet and Multiple Sclerosis Symptoms!

Now this as I say, will be the bonus if it proves to be correct, although obviously losing the weight is of course a great thing as far as health, mobility and general well being goes, I just hope that I also get some symptom relief as well, that will be the icing on the cake (don't think about damn cake Darin) lol. So here's what I think is happening as far as symptom alleviation goes:

I'm going to put the word "think" before two of the points below as I really don't know, it's just the feeling I get, it's the Vibe!

I think my old shrinking brain has become a little clearer as I'm finding it a little easier to write and pull those words out of the filing system that is the brain, words are flowing a little more easier, pity I don't have much of a life and actually have something to write about lol.

I think I have had moments of clearer eyesight in my foggy peasoupesque left eye's vision, but that really is a hard one, it really does vary because of fatigue days and just eyestrain days from reading to much or staring at the computer monitor all day, so it's quite difficult to get a true idea if it's improving or not, but I'm somewhat hopeful, time will tell...

I definitely know my energy has improved, though there is still the MS fatigue days that make you wonder sometimes, but as I'm doing more walking, that may be the main reason why, but of course the weight loss has to help with the energy levels as well no doubt.

I definitely know my walking has improved from well, walking more lol, though I really need to get a good nights sleep, if I don't it's definitely worse the next day, all to do with fatigue of course so hopefully with more walking and exercise things will improve even more.

None of these points have been tested so it may all be just wishful thinking and my mind playing tricks on me, though I'm fairly sure of the last two points of course, also they say to really get an idea of any positives from the Paleo Diet you really need to stay on it for three months at the very least so I have another month and a half to go before that happens, now remember you do not need to exercise when on the Paleo diet to lose weight, you will indeed lose weight and quite a bit if you stick to the the diet and you'll lose it quite quickly, certainly quick enough to stay motivated to keep going if weight loss is your goal.

I want the readers to know that yes I have had a few dietary indiscretions here and there, but when I say "a few" (not many) I mean that, the main one, occasionally I get a Chicken Schnitzel and lettuce sandwich from the local service station, overpriced and quite nice, but let's face it, not like a proper bursting out the sides healthy sandwich you get from a "proper sandwich shop" but still essentially healthier than the crap I used to shovel into the pie hole on a daily basis, as they say the only person you are lying to is yourself if you don't come clean on your indiscretions when dieting. In a month and a half I have probably had five of said "servo sandwiches" and may even have a few more if the cravings hit hard, but still I will continue to try and eliminate them from my diet regardless as they are not Paleo approved.

Right now I'm concentrating on cracking the 100 kilogram mark, that will be a good day, hopefully that will happen in the next couple of weeks if all goes to plan. Oh scales are great for tracking weight loss, but ya know what's even better? Watching your clothes become too big for you and having to put more holes in your belts so they might hold your pants up lol, some clothes I haven't worn for years and years are starting to fit well again!

So tally ho and on we go!

Week Two - Paleo Diet

I'm into the second week of the Paleo diet, as far as weight goes, I have lost between one and two kilograms, I can't be too exact as my scales are a basic unit and analogue so will need to weigh myself on some decent scales at some stage, preferably hospital scales, they are usually spot on. I wonder if Chemist stores have scales anymore, most of them used to when I was growing up, don't think I've noticed them for a long time now though.

26-10-2014 to 1-11-2014

After the first week withdrawal symptoms from the carbs, sugar and coffee, the start of this week has been a breeze to handle, though there is a little fatigue still, but considering I have MS, it's pretty normal, the last time though, I was definitely less fatigued so I am hoping the same thing will occur by the end of the month at least, to stay positive you need a few "wins" along the way, so far the weight loss is on track. I think my brain might be coming just that wee bit clearer, I've felt like writing more lately and the words are coming a little easier, but it's too early to know whether it's from the Paleo Diet or just the way MS works, you do have some good days occasionally where you can take on the world, not often, but now and then.

I will need to do another grocery order this week at some stage, I am down to the last of my meat, that's a bit scary lol. I even had to buy some Bacon from the Servo/Coles mini mart, I love all bacon, but I am enjoying the streaky bacon a bit more since eating the Paleo way, more yummy fat in the streaky bacon, Coles mini mart only has the usual bacon we seem to prefer in Australia, I like it as well, but Paleo does like more fat to burn!

"You don't win friends with salad", though it is a quick and easy supplement to your meat, it's important to eat the veggies/salads, the Paleo diet is not about eating meat only.

I think my eyesight might be just a little clearer, in my "looking through fog left eye", that might just be wishful thinking as well, though things like this are what happened last time, a lessening of symptom severity overall! It's like the fog is starting to clear, with holes in the fog that make it a little easier to see through.

I'm drinking between one and two litres of water a day.

Ketosis and Ketone Test Strips

These strips are not needed, though I am going to get some to test my urine to see if I am in ketosis, more of an interest than anything else, I just want to know lol.

http://www.lowcarb.ca/tips/tips011.html

Got the ketosis test strips, yippee I'm in ketosis, expected that, but just had to know for sure lol

I tested my urine with the strips and I'm definitely in Ketosis, I've been in "Moyen" (third one from top) going by the scale and colour of the test strip, it's all very interesting!

I have also started walking, baby steps (literally), around the block, haven't measured the exact distance, but it is a somewhat hilly sloping block I am on, not sure what's worse, going down the slope or going back up lol.

I've lost two Kilograms in weight, I find the best time to weigh myself is the morning, during the day your weight goes up and down like a yoyo, I guess when your drinking litres of water it will tend to add weight as will the food of course, but after a good nights sleep letting the body do it's thing I'm always losing weight after a sleep each day, just a bit but it's happening!

Week One - Paleo Diet!

Paleo Diet, first week start date

19-10-2014 to 25-10-2014

I started the Paleo Diet again this week, I did my shopping for the week, so that's all sorted, hopefully it lasts me a little longer than one week! Yes I tried not that long ago to get back on Paleo, but now I have no commitments or old friends dropping over to corrupt me lol, which makes things a little easier to give it another go and hopefully  stay on it for a while. 

This week I bought

Chicken Drumsticks

Roast SilverSide Beef (accident)

Porterhouse Steak

Bacon

Eggs

Red Kale

Cos Lettuce

Coral Lettuce

Tomatoes

Red Onion

Butter

Coconut Milk

The very first meals were meat and steamed veggies, seeing as the weather has been a little warmer, the meals have since been salad based with meat. I have been very diligent in unpackaging the meat and freezing it before it spoils, after the two roast beef's were cooked I carved and froze them, they make a great lunchtime snack, especially nice with salad.

I have made a Coconut Milk smoothie, nothing fancy just a tin of coconut milk, a little vanilla essence, a touch of nutmeg, a little Macadamia oil and blend, chill before drinking.

I seem to be getting some joint pain, especially in my hips, hopefully it's because of the diet, I think I got some joint pain the last time I was on Paleo, so I'm not to concerned at the moment. Also getting the odd headache, just annoying more than anything else, that will definitely be from the Paleo experience. Also today, I had a bit of the runs a few times, though it did happen last time, must be the transition to fuelling the body with fat rather than sugar, my guess :)

Oh I'm always on the search for fast Paleo Food, there are no Paleo type restaurants or Cafes near me so I need to make do, after doing a bit of searching on the fast food stores web sites, out of the three right near me, McDonalds is good until you read the ingredients of the chicken (coated with some crap), so Mc Chucks is out... On to Kentucky Fried Chicken, salads don't exist in their world. The winner is Red Rooster for those who don't know, it's barbequed chicken but it's just like a roast, or how a roast chicken is done the fast food way is how I see it, it's not Paleo as such, but it's damn handy for a change and quite nice to boot!

Red Rooster has a "Classic Salad" I think it's called, it has chicken, lettuce, red cabbage, tomato and carrots, there is some sachet with I think Balsamic vinegar type dressing, obviously I didn't use that, it's a simple salad and of course not as tasty as a salad with dressing, but overall not too bad at all, definitely acceptable for when you just can't be shagged cooking or preparing a meal. Red Rooster also has roast veggies, roast carrot, pumpkin and potatoes, you can change the potato to say another piece of pumpkin or carrot if you like, I did, haven't bought potatoes for years now, this will just be an occasional treat though, no doubt they cook with the bad oils, so be it, the important thing for now is to lose weight.

Salads
http://www.redrooster.com.au/menu/140/Garden-Salad-Regular

Roast Veggies
http://www.redrooster.com.au/menu/175/Roast-Vegies

Oh yes I know the Paleo Crowd will be turning in their graves, well some of them  anyway, but with the fatigue from MS and heat, not cooking in my kitchen is a must at times (especially summer time) and it's just nice to have slack days where someone else can do the meal preparation, one day I'll find a handy establishment that serves Paleo meals, but I'll have to make do for now.

Kale and its health benefits!

Kale is one of those vegetables that we ate in the way past, we seemed to forget about it and now's it's back as a Superfood fad, having said that of course there are people that have been eating Kale for years, they knew of it's qualities before everyone jumped on the band wagon, now nearly every supermarket and green grocer has this important leafy green on the shelves and that's a very good thing as it makes Kale accessible to one and all.

Greens are our most important vegetables and also the ones eaten the least so it seems, sure people will eat lettuce, peas, beans, I always have in the past, always had green on my plate, always.

Now that I'm on the paleo diet, your choice becomes narrower, paleo people don't eat legumes they're always on the Paleo "foods to avoid" lists, so the availability of Kale is welcomed, "variety is the spice of life" so they say.

I just cooked some Kale, I steamed the whole bunch in the microwave, seems like the easiest way to do it for me, I'm male and dislike cooking and preparing and washing up so I prefer to prepare larger amounts and freeze for later, the main thing with Kale is to strip the leaves off the stems, the stems seem very fibrous and tough, so take the leaves and ditch the stems. I have a microwave steamer and it seems to do a great job with cooking the Kale leaves.

The Kale started out somewhat like the following pic
Kale usually comes in a plastic covered trumpet shape, it's usually individual stalks secured together with a rubber band, so it looks nothing like below, to big to fit on shelves I guess... There are different varieties of Kale, another you might see at supermarkets or green grocers is called Tuscan Cabbage it's certainly called that at Coles supermarkets and safeway as well I think.

Here's a pic of the leaves taken from the stems and placed in the steamer, ready for microwaving!
When microwaving I usually just keep checking how it's going, generally I start with five minutes on high and see how that goes, I do like it more limp though so I usually need to add a few more minutes of cooking

Here's a pic of the Kale after it's been steamed

I would often put the Kale in with all the other vegetables when steaming, that proved to be wasteful, I'd forget about the Kale and I would throw half of it away, so this time I thought it best to cook the whole of the bunch and get it all done so there would be no waste.

Here is a pic of the Kale that has been cooked and laid out on a plate
Apparently it's fine to freeze Kale, so I will freeze some of this so I can add it to each meal I have, I mostly eat frozen vegetables, I find I waste so much less than I do with fresh food, of course most salads ingredients can't be frozen so they're always fresh, they say Kale is lovely in salads!

I'm not much of a cook, because I am lazy from Multiple Sclerosis fatigue and I'm just lazy in general...so I'm not much of an experimenter and have no interest in cooking huge banquets or time consuming meals, unless it's using a slow cooker, set and forget, wonderful! Though slaving over a hot oven is not for me as it exacerbates the fatigue as well, so I avoid as much as possible.

What are Kale's health benefits?

Nutritional Value

"Kale is very high in beta carotene, vitamin K, vitamin C, and rich in calcium. Kale is a source of two carotenoids, lutein and zeaxanthin. Kale, as with broccoli and other brassicas, contains sulforaphane (particularly when chopped or minced), a chemical with potent anti-cancer properties. Boiling decreases the level of sulforaphane; however, steaming, microwaving, or stir frying do not result in significant loss. Along with other brassica vegetables, kale is also a source of indole-3-carbinol, a chemical which boosts DNA repair in cells and appears to block the growth of cancer cells. Kale has been found to contain a group of resins known as bile acid sequestrants, which have been shown to lower cholesterol and decrease absorption of dietary fat. Steaming significantly increases these bile acid binding properties." 

from wikipedia

More information on Kale at Wikipedia!

Kale is well worth looking into and adding to your weekly food consumption, Kale another "new" food that isn't so new and now it's a superfood, I'll continue to have Kale in my weekly shopping list.

There is a sauteed Kale recipe on the following page, looks nice, I must try it at some stage :)

Sautéed Tuscan Cabbage (Kale) Recipe

You can also buy Kale in a ground up powder form from iHerb, if you just can't handle the kale in it's fresh form, it's not to bad at all and quite reasonably priced
Eclectic Institute, Raw Kale POW-der

There is quite a bit of discussion about people who have Multiple Sclerosis and that they should eat Kale, Terry Wahls who looks like has reversed her MS is a Kale advocate as part of the diet she follows, which is similar to the Paleo Diet.

Good luck Kaling :)

Aubagio Now On The PBS and Available in Australia

I've been on the trial supplied drugs that needed to be organised by the trial nurses and neurologists, at the start the nurses supplied it all, then it went to the medication having to be picked up at the hospital pharmacy, the day included the basic neuro tests and a blood test. Now that Aubagio (Teriflunomide) is on the PBS (Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme) it's now available at your local chemist, I had to have it ordered as my local Chemist needed to get it in for me. I found out that the Aubagio costs about $1800 a month, that's more than the older injectable Interferons, wow, it's expensive!

The Chemist guy said he will need to order it each time as he won't be carrying a drug that is that expensive, so I'll need to make sure I get it ordered before hand. There is also a New Packet for the Aubagio, yee ha, first the drugs had a great seven day plastic/paper pop out type pack so you could more easily follow the days and you knew if you had taken one or not, it was so easy, then it went to a five day foil pack, that was a total pain in the arse, I was always forgetting to take the pill and didn't want to "overdose" so to speak, now they are colour coded and days labelled, excellent to help you remember where you're up to.

Here's some pictures of the new wonderful packaging!

Aubagio Packaging

Here is a picture of the new seven day pill packaging, wonderful addition!

The Colour codes are for weeks with each day within :)

So I now have to pay for my Aubagio damn it, I pay about $6.00 for each new packet of Aubagio, we have a great public health system in Australia, which I'm much appreciative of make no doubt about that! The main thing is that I can now get it from a chemist that is about 200 metres away.

Note: *AUBAGIO is a once-daily oral therapy approved by the FDA for relapsing forms of MS.

AUBAGIO can play an important role in your treatment plan for relapsing multiple sclerosis (RMS). AUBAGIO is a disease-modifying therapy, or DMT, used to treat RMS.

More Information at the Aubagio Home page

Aubagio Home Page