Letter from the Director
Happy New Year everyone!
As this year draws to a close, we at MSQLP would like to wish you a Happy New Year and thank you for your support and participation throughout this past year. Many of you have been with us since day 1 and we appreciate your energy and participation without which we would and could not continue. Many of you have volunteered to help us and we appreciate your assistance and continuing support. We are looking forward to working together in this New Year!
We anticipate that this New Year will bring with it more mutual success, for us and our community. MSQLP is committed to serving our growing clientele of families living with MS or PD. We will continue with what has worked for us in past years and plan to add more workshops and functions in 2015. Furthermore, we also plan to add an additional water aerobics program in Santa Cruz and are applying for grants to support that activity. Grants and fundraising with our community is our life blood and what keeps us in business. We have additional programs we want to support if we can raise the funds in 2015. Your continuing support will help foster new programs and turn them into a reality as well.
Every member of our board and staff is looking forward to 2015 and we are excited to be joining you, our community, in welcoming this New Year together. Let's enjoy every single day and may this New Year have a lot of fulfilling moments and happiness for everyone!
Sincerely,
Grant Helm
Executive Director
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Upcoming Events
(click orange text for more event info or flyer)
January 7th and February 4th
6PM to 7PM
Speaker: Dr. Maria Houtchens, Harvard Medical School
Call to participate: 1-866-703-6293
Enter code: 23441168
3PM to 4:30PM
Sally Griffin Center- Pacific Grove
Phone: 831-372-7510
Friday, January 16th
6PM to 7:30PM
Ellie's Great American Diner
1250 S. Main Street - Salinas
Speaker: Dr. Liz Crabtree Hartman, UCSF
Dinner will be served
MSQLP Support Groups
12PM to 2PM
Marina Library- Community Room
Family Caregiver Support Group
Saturday, January 17th
12PM to 2PM
Marina Library- Outside Plaza
Water Aerobics
Mondays & Wednesdays
12-1pm @ Monterey Sports Center
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Spotlight on Support Groups
By Grant Helm
There's more to support groups than just the "feel-good" factor commonly represented as the outcome of support meetings. Research has shown that people with chronic illnesses and inadequate social support have worse health outcomes than those who have adequate emotional and psychological support. Therefore, for the past 15 years, MSQLP has offered free and frequent support groups for our MS community and their family caregivers. These meetings serve as a discussion and support forum for people living with the illness. Sharing experiences with people who have similar challenges due to a common illness can often help relieve the emotional stress associated with MS.
Unlike online or telephone support groups, in-person support groups allow members to communicate with more than just words. Face-to-face meetings can help group members develop more personal connections and a sense of community that is difficult to establish through online or remote support group formats. Support group members can build connections and gain such support through personal interactions with each other. MSQLP's in-person support group meetings have successfully fostered a supportive community of friends and neighbors who come together to share their challenges and achievements of living with MS. Typically our support groups have about 6 to 10 people and last about an 1.5 to 2 hours. Like many other frameworks for support groups, MSQLP's groups are facilitated by a staff member who guides the group through a theme-based discussion. The staff is there to help group members process and communicate ideas or emotions so that the members benefit from each other's experiences.
Many members of our MS community attend our support group meetings to listen to other people's experiences or to share their own. Throughout the year, our support groups will even host an educational topic and speaker. A doctor, nurse, or other health care professional is brought in to talk about important or developing aspects of managing the illness in the first half of the session, and then our group reflects on the information presented in the second half.
If you are living with MS or caring for someone with MS and are looking for a support group, feel free to give us a call. Our office phone # is 831-333-9091. We have two regional MS support groups that meet monthly, and a caregiver support group that meets every other month. Our groups are open, and we always welcome newcomers!
If you are living with Parkinson's, fear not, there is also a support group in the Monterey Peninsula available to you. Our friends and neighbors at Monterey Parkinson's Support Group (MPSG) meet monthly and openly welcome new members. To find out more about their support group offered to individuals and families living with Parkinson's please visit MPSG's website by clicking here.
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Did You Know?
Increasing serotonin levels naturally
It is estimated that as many as one-fifth of Americans are affected by Seasonal Affective Disorder, also known as SAD. In a nutshell, SAD is brought on by the shorter days of winter when lower light levels result in lower levels of a mood-enhancing chemical called serotonin in the body. While prescriptions do exist to ease symptoms, there are also lots of changes that you can make to naturally increase serotonin levels and banish the winter blues.
Get outdoors. It can be hard to talk yourself into going outside when the temps drop and your warm bed is calling, but even a short walk (or roll) can significantly increase your exposure to the light and consequently, increase your serotonin levels.
Bundle up, and go grab a breath of fresh air!
Exercise. Exercise might be the last thing on your mind when you are feeling down in the dumps, but if you can talk yourself into 15 minutes of dancing to the radio, you will likely notice a serotonin boost that will in turn ease your symptoms.
Massage. Research has shown that serotonin levels increase after massage therapy. Researchers don't know if it's the human contact or the actual act of massage that increases serotonin, but the bottom line is that it does and there is no better reason to ask your partner for a back rub- or splurge on a trip to the spa - than this.
Eat well. Hunger is a common symptom of SAD and that could make you want to hit the fridge for pick-me-ups all day long. But be selective about the foods you eat. You may be drawn to sweets and simple carbs, such as pasta, bread, and cookies, but these "comfort foods" will leave you feeling bloated and blah before the day is out. Instead, try to boost your intake of lean protein and fruits and veggies to give your body the nutrients it needs to produce serotonin. If fruit and vegetables aren't your thing, talk to your doctor about natural supplements that you can take - such as vitamin B12, vitamin D, or fish oil to help alleviate symptoms.
Don't go it alone. The most important thing you can do if you are suffering from SAD is to reach out to family and friends. Sometimes, just knowing that you've got people in your corner is all your need to improve your mood and pull you out of your sadness.
A great place to start is at one of MSQLP's support groups or educational events!
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BIRTHDAY BLOCK!
Happy Birthday Month to these great individuals:
Glenn Leaman 1/1
Beth McFaddan 1/4
Walter Hawthorne 1/5
Gabriela Barroso 1/8
Adrienne Huckle 1/11
Bonnie Black 1/12
Nancy Deliantoni 1/15
Raeann Wagner 1/16
Bill Wright 1/16
Hillary Bennett 1/21
Kathy Beuthin 1/26
Don't see your name on here when it should be? Call us at 831-333-9091 and remind us about your birthday!
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on GuideStar and help us grow!
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Multiple Sclerosis Quality of Life Project
519B Hartnell Street
Monterey, California 93940
831.333.9091
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Website:
Our Mission:
The Multiple Sclerosis Quality of Life Project (MSQLP) recognizes that people living with chronic illness have unmet needs. MSQLP is committed to filling these gaps by improving the quality of life of persons with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) in the tri-county area of Monterey, Santa Cruz, and San Benito. Our programs serve families living with Parkinson's disease (PD) in Monterey County. We work with clients and their families to create comprehensive individual plans and programs that support client independence.
All of our services are free.
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Make a Donation
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All donations are matched 20% by MPF
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$30 will fund outreach services for one client.
$70 will fund one water aerobics class.
$100 will fund a house visit with a client.
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Benefit MSQLP just through shopping online:
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Click on logo for details!
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Click on logo for details!
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Monthly Tip
Adhering to a Treatment
Excerpts edited by
Osiris Salgado- MSQLP Case Manager
Original article published in InforMS. Click here to access.
Whether it's a diet, going to the gym, or taking your medication, sticking with a program that can help is a challenge. It's estimated that only about 50 percent of people with chronic diseases worldwide actually follow the treatment regimen that has been prescribed to help them manage their condition (Daily, 2014). Lack of follow-through creates greater healthcare costs and increases mortality and disability. Why we don't follow through on treatment regimens that are supposed to be in our best interest is a very complex problem that has been studied for years. The bottom line is that why, how, and if someone adheres with the plan is a highly complex and poorly understood issue (Daily, 2014).
Some people don't go to the doctor regularly. They might go if they have a problem, might get a diagnosis, and then never go back. They don't want to take drugs and they don't want treatment for medical conditions. They don't follow treatment recommendations because they don't continue with treatment, period. Adherence refers to the follow-through behavior of people who do continue to pursue medical treatment, and is loosely defined as the extent to which your health behaviors coincide with the medical recommendations you have received (Daily, 2014).
Non-adherence to medication regimens is a huge public health issue that is estimated to cost about $100 billion per year in the USA alone (Daily, 2014). It has personal health consequences-for example, someone who does not take his blood pressure medication as prescribed is a greater risk for stroke, heart disease and other health problems.
There are multiple factors that influence adherence to medication, so it's impossible to predict who will follow through and who won't because there are so many variables involved. Chronic illnesses that require long-term therapy are also associated with reduced adherence. If a patient doesn't perceive that the health condition poses a serious threat or that failure to treat it will have consequences, follow-through is also less likely. The medication itself can influence adherence. Those that cause lots of side effects are often harder to take regularly. Obviously, the less often you have to do something, the fewer opportunities you have to avoid it-so adherence tends to be better the less often you have to take a medication.
The complexity of actually taking a medication can also be a problem, so having to take an injection instead of a pill can reduce adherence. However, over the long haul, it doesn't appear that people are much better at taking pills than they are at taking shots. If you don't think a medication will make any difference, or if you can't see a change after you've been taking it for a while, you're less likely to continue taking it.
If you find that you are having trouble taking your medication, talk candidly with your healthcare provider. Sometimes there are problems that can be solved or improved. Working in partnership with your healthcare provider is critical. If you don't see eye to eye, get a second opinion! At the end of the day, the decision to take - or not to take - medication is yours. But make that decision with the best information you can get.
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Amy's Corner
Smoking while on Tysabri?
By Amy Lamb Heckel RDH
If you, or someone you know, smokes and is on Tysabri .....read on. Why? Because smoking appears to increase the odds of developing neutralizing antibodies to natalizumab (Tysabri). Says who? Tomas Olsson MD conducted a study of 1338 patients being treated with natalizumab. The results showed "a higher risk of developing antibodies with higher intensity of smoking," reports Sue Hughes in her article for Medscape. A link to that article is given below.
Why would this be so? Dr. Olsson states, "The lung seems to be an important immunoreactive organ where irritation such as smoking may increase risk not only for inflammatory diseases, but also neutralizing antibodies to biologicals like interferon β and monoclonal antibodies such as natalizumab." Heinz Wiendl MD (not affiliated with the study) says, "The prevalence of neutralizing antibodies to natalizumab is quite low - maybe affecting around 5% to 9% of patients." Granted when looking at a population, that seems low. However, when looking at an individual, it seems drastically more important. Consider if you, or that someone you know, become one of the 5 to 9%. That could have a dramatic effect on the patient's quality of life because developing neutralizing antibodies to a medication can render that medication less effective. We all know that quality of life is of paramount importance - hence our name, Multiple Sclerosis Quality of Life Project. Wishing you and yours a happy and healthy 2015!
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