About Me

I was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis on February 17, 2005. I remember the date well because I felt that it was the day that marked the downward spiral that was my life. To say I was scared would be an understatement. I was absolutely terrified.

My symptoms that led me to diagnosis were all sensory including tingling, numbness and l'hermittes sign.  The neurologist I saw decided to put me on the Tysabri waiting list. I didn't think there was

any other option. I certainly wasn't presented with any.

A few days later Tysabri was pulled from the market so the neurologist piled a stack of video brochures, a minimum of a foot high, of the available medications on my lap. At that point I had already been leery of the medication and had been researching the possibility of alternative treatment.

Once I started reading about the medication, the success rates (or lack thereof) and their side effects, I realized I was more afraid of the medication than of MS itself.

My neurologist was not happy about my decision and promptly told me that without the medication I would end up in a wheelchair in just a few years. I remember crying as I wrote the check for the appointment.

I spent the week that followed reading about diet which led me to Dr. Swank and his work. It was amazing to me and for the first time in a week I finally had hope.

I found the Swank website and forum and dove right in. I realized that these people were still living very normal lives. They were talking about work, weekend plans, joking and laughing. They were actually okay. There were more than okay. They were healthy and happy. I spent a great deal of time on that platform and forged quite a few friendships with these people, most of which I still have today.

I started the diet without hesitation as my life depended on it, because, well... it pretty much did.

Since now I had to eat differently, that meant I also had to cook differently.  I started sharing the recipes I created and they became very well received. My passion for cooking grew. If there was a dish that I wanted that I could no longer eat, I made it my mission to recreate it.

Within months my sensory issues disappeared and I continued to follow the diet religiously. That was until the very end of 2016.

In December of 2016 I was diagnosed with Grave's disease and Thyroid Eye Disease followed a few months later with double vision and swelling. I thought, "MS didn't get me, but Grave's did." You see, my two biggest fears when I was diagnosed with MS was going blind or ending up in a wheelchair.

At this point I figured since I had been feeling great MS-wise I owed it to myself to just eat whatever I wanted. After all, it had been 11 years with no MS symptoms. The MS diagnosis must have been a mistake. Besides that, I was hyperthyroid from the Grave's disease so I could eat A LOT and not gain a pound, even lose weight. It wasn't unusual for me to devour an entire bag of chips and wash it down with a pint of ice cream. It was almost a nightly ritual.

In February of 2018 I underwent Orbital Radiation for my Thyroid Eye Disease to stop the progression. Two months later I woke up and the vision out of my left eye was like looking through a thick white veil. A week later my eye sight returned to normal, but a day later the vision out of my right eye went completely black and then my vision in that eye returned a week later as well.

The specialists  confirmed that it was highly unlikely that the radiation caused this and the neuro-ophthalmologist diagnosed me with Optic Neuritis. As soon as I heard those words I thought, "MS got me after all."

Even though all the specialists I have seen can't confirm with 100% certainty it was indeed the MS that caused it, they are all leaning toward it. They don't have to. I feel it in my heart. As I see it, the radiation put me through stress and I wasn't wearing the armour that is the Swank diet to protect me.

I immediately started on the Swank diet again and I started it just like it was 2005... just like it was my very first year. And I will follow the diet just like I did then. Only this time I won't cheat.