Living with a chronic illnesses is challenging and sometimes can even leave you feeling isolated and misunderstood by others. These feelings can be mediated or resolved through forming bonds with others, who in turn, have a positive impact on your life. These bonds are called social support systems and have the benefit of improving one's life through a myriad of ways.

The benefits of social support are boundless and have been demonstrated to increase happiness, lower levels of depression, increase family functioning, and increase marital happiness. Of course the list continues, but those factors alone, positively influence one's life. Social support reminds you that you are not alone and people are there when you need to reach out to them. Creating a support network can be a crucial mechanism for coping with the emotional and psychological aspects of living with chronic illnesses, such as multiple sclerosis or Parkinson's disease.

Social support can come in a variety of different ways.  Forming a network made up of family, friends, religious personnel, organizations, and even pets can be beneficial in many different aspects. Virtually anyone can reciprocate social support which can provide you with a feeling of being cared for and significant. In addition, having social support has been proven to help people maintain healthy habits such as keeping medical appointments, maintaining treatment plans, getting regular exercise, eating healthier foods, and attending more social events.

In the end, connections can be formed anywhere; so why not fill it with people who can provide support, empathy, and motivation to enjoy a better life? You might think that finding people to for appropriate social support is difficult, but you already have the first form of social support available at MSQLP. Our support groups meet once a month and our support group program provides a great launching pad to meet new people and begin forming your own social support networks. You can view MSQLP's upcoming support groups in the "Upcoming Events" section of this e-newsletter.

By Amy Lamb Heckel RDH 

My guess is that since you are reading the MSQLP (Multiple Sclerosis Quality of Life) newsletter you already know what the initials in this title stand for. As a reminder, CAM refers to complementary or alternative medicine and AAN refers to the American Academy of Neurology. In March the AAN released the "Summary of Evidence-Guideline: Complementary and Alternative Medicine in Multiple Sclerosis." This guideline has been endorsed by both the International Organization of MS Nurses and the Consortium of Multiple Sclerosis Centers.

Here is a partial list of the "CAM therapies with sufficient evidence to support practice recommendations in multiple sclerosis."

• Ginkgo biloba was found to help fight fatigue, but not to improve cognitive function.
• Reflexology was effective in the treatment of paresthesia (tingling or pricking).
• Magnetic therapy was found to help lessen fatigue, but not to combat depression.
• Synthetic THC was found to reduce symptoms of spasticity and pain, but ineffective in reducing tremors.
• Sativex oromucosal spray lessened sensations of spasticity, pain, and (believe it or not) urinary frequency. (Sativex has not been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.)

And for those of you concerned about dental amalgams (silver fillings) the article states, "dental amalgam

removal [has] little evidence for recommendation." You can read the entire article including the AAN's findings on bee venom and smoked cannabis by following the link below.