After some Googling I found that my symptoms were a better match for Diplopia.

As expected, the medical profession makes an absolute fortune out of their gibberish and overly complicated terminology.

For us normal people, Diplopia is the medical term for double vision.

Diplopia is caused by lesions on the cranial nerves, in particular the nerve that controls the lateral rectus muscle which pulls the eye outwards.

If you remember the wormhole video game where perceived distance was simulated by a cone shaped tunnel slowly becoming a point within a matter of inches, well diplopia does that in a couple meters.

But wait, that’s not all!! After meeting at this focus point, your eyes continue to cross over behind this point.

When looking at a really cute curvaceous Sheila, a really nice ass grows really wide in seconds ;-(

Without warning your boss quickly grows two heads – without warning the doors evil twin is not where you think it because you trusted the wrong eye – image. Sometimes having a spare really sucks!

So besides the numbness / tingling in my legs, I tried to see my double vision as just another hurdle towards recovery – curing my system – my world of multiple sclerosis.

Now having experienced an improvement – by that I mean a more manageable symptoms – with a change in diet, I figured there was still something that I was eating or doing that could be facilitating or exacerbating my condition.

Once again I turned to Google and Yahoo to find a cure for Diplopia.

The only treatments I found were oral (prednisone) or intravenous steroids. Interestingly, those patients treated with steroids like prednisone had a higher likelihood of repeat attacks. Did the pharmaceutical companies include that in the literature in big bold print? Hell no, they need to protect their bottom line!

Not willing to take steriods, I reverted back to the Rebif (interferon beta-1b). It took only two subcutaneous Rebif injections and two deadly headaches before I threw in the towel.

This time the injections really hurt – the diplopia induced double vision made targeting the right spot really difficult ;-(

Desperate to know the diplopia cause, for a treatment, I started emailing out for help.

The best reply and most useful reply I got was from the ladies that wrote the MS recovery Diet.

Cut back on fruit.

Preservatives, colorants and dairy are all bad. This didn’t make sense – I thought fruit was good for anyone who suffers with MS.

So I cut fruit out and there was a definite improvement but not a fix. A week later, I went to the markets and desperate for something sweet – a sweet fix – thought I sneak in a couple guavus.

I pride myself at being at the top of the food chain – but here with the gauvus, I actually had to prepare my sweet fix – clean, chop, skin.

Well worth the effort.

The next day, my vision had jumped a couple meters and even more the day after that. The symptoms were now less severe.

Guavus aren’t special – at least I don’t think so. It is a juicy tropical fruit rich in vitamin A (vision), vitamin D (strength) and vitamin C (immunity).

I still have my fruit but less of it. If you have diplopia, the cause could be too much fruit in your diet. So I think the secret was actually keep the fruit – vitamins etc – but do so in moderation.

It doesn’t make sense – but it worked for me and you’ve got nothing to loose

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That was an optimistic screw-up!

The conventional medical establishment preach gloom and doom. Well they must! It is the GP and neurologist - specialist’s job. Their duty is to promote and distribute the pharmaceutical drug manufacturer production line. Hell odds are pretty damm good that their medical training was sponsored and supported by the big pharmaceutical and drug manufacturers like Pfizer, GlaxoSmithKline, Merck & Co. et al. This is where the tunnel vision is nutured and promoted.

Let me present my evidence:

I mentioned acupuncture to my neurologist and she shot it down as utter rubbish – ineffective. So what if acupuncture bought a couple hours of relief – “You must have your Rebif injection 3 times a week – don’t miss a day“.

I wonder if the Serono pamphlets, charts and free sample packs in her office swayed her decision?

A more complete study of the current medical establishment is given in the book – “Selling Sickness” – a must read for anybody who gives a shit about their health or that of their loved ones.

Desperate to walk again – stand mostly vertical, I figured I’d give neurologist prescription drugs the benefit of the doubt – effective until proven otherwise. A month later and peeved with the headaches which Rebif mentions in the fine print – instead of a big frigging warning label. I should’ve listened and heeded the experiences of those who posted their experiences with multiple sclerosis and treatments.

What can I say – it’s a genetic defect of being a bloke – tough guy – don’t need help – can do everything myself ;-(

To date, a change in diet has been the most effective treatment against multiple sclerosis. Best of all you don’t need a prescription – no need to stuff a so called doctor’s bank account.

The dietary change does work – well mostly – until MS decided to attack my vision.

Optic Neuritis swelling or inflammation of the optic nerve. In fact, optic neuritis is often the initial sign of MS.

For myself, the first MS symptom was a loss of mobility and balance – living with that was bugger – but nothing compared to an assault on my vision ;-(

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Because of the nature of the disease and existing medication, you can’t pop a pill for MS symptoms – you need a subcutaneous injection. The injection needle is about 15mm (almost an inch!) long and inserted perpendicularly to the skin. Possible subcutaneous injection sites include the buttocks, stomach and the back portion of the upper arms.

Do the subcutaneous Rebif (interferon beta) injections help?

Well Rebif, isn’t a cure and it doesn’t claim to be. It is a disease modifying drug that claims to reduces the frequency of exacerbations and slows the progression of disability. So three injections per week – every week religiously – stab wounds the way I look at it

I’m sure everybody has heard of or experienced the case where a medication meant to help a one condition aggravates or generates another condition. Kinda where if you’ve got a headache the doctor prescribes this pill only to generate a stomach ulcer.

Rebif is no different. On YouTube a young girl was demonstrating the correct injection procedure. Initially, I thought she added the hand full of headache pills and pain killers for dramatic effect – hell no!

Sure one of the Rebif side effects noted on the packaging information is the headache, but what Serona failed to say was that this headache was the mother of all headaches. If there was noble ache prize, Rebif would be clear a winner.

To put the Rebif subcutaneous injection headache into perspective, a guillotine or bullet would be a blessing.

Now onto the injection site stab wounds. You don’t have to be very smart to realize that you’ve got only a limited amount of skin that can be jabbed regularly. Sure move the needle around but even still, the area does begin to hurt – almost as though you’ve been punched and bruised.

When you next need an injection in that area – a couple days later – it still hurts even though the needle is nowhere near the last injection location.

Serono say the side effects of Rebif are manageable – headache, depression, nausea, flu-like symptoms, severe liver injury, injection side reactions but what about long term side effects? What about the effect on current or future pregnancy or sperm?

A couple years ago, Fosamax (Bisphosphonate) was released to help those suffering from osteoporosis – a bone weakening disease which leads to fractures. Now they’ve found that the drug is responsible for the development of a bone disease called osteonecrosis of the jaw (ONJ) or “dead jaw“.

Somewhat contradictory wouldn’t you say for a medication that’s meant to protect the bone?

What unknown (unpublished) side effects does Rebif have?

Now I know MS affects the brain – but with the little that I’ve got left – I struggle to see the value of a medication that makes my head explode, doesn’t cure the disease and supposedly maximizes the time between relapses.

My final thought is this: Rebif is the trademark name for “Chinese Hamster Ovary” juice Read the information leaflet!!!

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