h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

...and your caps lock button!

zdt

OH how duh of me lol

Just dropping briefly to say hi to shiftyshug . Nice to meet you, shug. My life is too crazy right now to start a coherent conversation, but I have been following the one here. I hope you enjoy de myelin nation.

Would you like me to add you to the DMN page as a member? Just say the word.

It's good to have you here, as DMN has been a bit quiet of late.

*waves to Terri, Smudger and Abbi too*

kea.

very nice to meet you to mate

shifty goes on the look out for people to chat on this thread tries to get folk of the street but there to busy oh well god loves a try lol

LOL

I reckon that's a yes vote kea,ask Albert to bung him on as a full member.

*sits back & waits for "member" jokes!

Is Animal wishing to join our illustrious little group? If so, squeak now or forever hold your piece, 'tis easier for Albert do do you both in one glorious ceremony!

zdt

depends on do lmao

*calls for japanese translator* I may be zen devil but even i have limits!

zdt

hello everyone i see ya hiding come out teri lol

lols back!

How ya doing shifty? I am sadly disabled, ankle gone out from under me, braced but apparently not broken, but latest is little finger got smashed & probably is, Xray (again! 2nd time this week!)tomorrow.

But apart from that all is well, so how's you?

zdt

oh i hope ur better soon toots

I have an appointment with a doctor on 29th December. He's a doctor nominated by the DVLA and he's going to do a medical examination that will help to determine whether I keep my driving license. I haven't driven for about 5 months, not that that matters. I just need all the help I can get on this one - my MS attack is still ongoing, 5 months after it started. I'm hoping for a good day that day, so please keep your fingers crossed on 29th December.

PS I'm not asking anybody to pray for me as I'm an atheist. Funny how I'm trusting to fate or luck, though.

OK Cheerful you got it!
Positive thoughts and wishes coming your way.

This has been a long bout for you.
I hope you get a break soon.
I still have my license but have not driven in years.
I would not like to be "tested" to have it determined so you have my sympathy.

I believe Pedboy has gone through that.
Do you know what it involves? I am curious as to how they do it.
Is it a simulator?

if you have symtoms that come and go its not fair to ban u from driving you know yourself is ur not able to drive just the same as people been aloud to drive with heart problems

Good Luck CD! Sock-it-to-em!!
I know what its like when you lose your mobality, my Dad lost his license when he was on heart medication
I had to drive him every where until he got it back
Smudger,

I agree shifty!
If cheerfulflucuates there should be allowances for that providing people are of reasonably good judgement generally and have the range of motion neccesary.

It is hard to get drivers licenses away from people in the US. They tend to keep you as a high risk driver and up your insurance premiums.

There are discussions about putting more limits on them but for the most part it's only after having a problem that you are examined.

Month of birth may determine risk of MS

In northern countries, the risk of multiple sclerosis (MS) is greater for people born in May and lower for those born in November, according to a study in the British Medical Journal.

It is known that susceptibility to MS is influenced by genetic and environmental factors. Although studies of month of birth and risk of MS have been undertaken in the past, the findings have been inconsistent. In an attempt to shed further light on the connection, Dr Cristen Willer from the University of Michigan, USA, and colleagues investigated whether the risk of MS is associated with the month of birth in countries in the northern hemisphere, and whether factors related to month of birth interact with genetic risk.

The scientists carried out a population-based study using 19 MS clinics in major cities across Canada; incident cases of MS from a population-based study in the Lothian and Border regions of Scotland; and death records from the UK Registrar General. In all, 17,874 Canadian patients and 11,502 British patients with MS were examined.

The researchers found that, in Canada, significantly fewer patients with MS were born in November compared with controls and unaffected siblings. These observations were confirmed in a dataset of British patients, in which there was also an increase in the number of births in May. A pooled analysis of datasets from Canada, Great Britain, Denmark and Sweden showed that significantly fewer people with MS were born in November and significantly more were born in May. For recent incident data, the effect of month of birth was most evident in Scotland, where MS prevalence is the highest.

Dr Willer and colleagues concluded, “Month of birth and risk of MS are associated, more so in familial cases, implying interactions between genes and environment that are related to climate. Such interactions may act during gestation or shortly after birth in individuals born in the northern countries studied.”

i just got this from the web

Well, it just so happens that I was born in February. My mother was born in May and has MS, but hers is so mild as to be hardly worth considering. She hasn't had an attack in years, and I don't think she's ever had attacks the way I've had them. So the month of birth *may* have some impact on whether you're likely to get MS, but I'm not convinced. It certainly doesn't seem to affect how severely you get it.

I know that MS is more common in people who live in temperate climates than in people who live closer to the equator. However, I'd be interested to know if moving to a warmer climate helps to reduce the frequency and/or severity of MS attacks. I've read that excess heat can make an MS attack worse, but what if you're not having one? Does anybody know anything about this side of things?

From what I have read the important ages for your location and risk are from birth to 14.
After that any move you make does not register.
It has nothing to do with severity as far as I know but with number of incidences per capita.

Heat does make you feel worse.
I am not sure that it actually worsens you overall but certainly increases the weakness and discomfort at any stage when you have MS.
Usually you return to your former level once your temperature has returned to comfy with the possible exception of temprary added exhaustion which you recover from.

It would not be good to live in a climate where you are rountinely likely to get overheated. People with MS often have an umbrella or cover over their chair - table.

It is common to have a flare in the spring and fall.
They are also the allergy seasons and allergies affect your immune system. Many chronic illnesses have more problems at these times.
You do not have to have severe allergies to have an increase in symptoms at that time. I find exhaustion is much worse when allergies are present.

I have always wondered if the month you were born affects allergies along with MS. I was born in the spring and so was my sister.

Most of the people I know with MS were either born in the spring or have their worst flare in the spring.
We (sister) also had polio in the spring.
Could be coincidence.