The Swiss Army Knife.

First introduced in 1859, this baby was the cat’s meow of knives!

The Swiss Army Knife was decked out like a pimp’s Cadillac Coupe DeVille.  It’s the McGyver of cutlery!

Boasting not only a main blade and a smaller blade too…..plus, tweezers, a toothpick, corkscrew, can-opener, flat-head screwdriver, Phillips-head screwdriver, nail file, scissors, shoelace hook and a key ring.  (With all this stuff, it’s no wonder since the early 1800s,  the Swiss have remained neutral in world affairs.  If their knives are this devastating, imagine what their other weapons must be like!)

In other words, the Swiss Army Knife gives you a bunch of tool options to get the job done.

While digesting that thought (along with a ham sandwich), I began comparing it with your typical MS treatment plan.

With a diagnosis of multiple sclerosis, there are so many doggone symptoms & side effects, you almost need a Swiss Army Knife of treatment options to cover all your bases!

As an example, here is what’s included in My Odd Sock’s Swiss Army Knife of MS treatment:

Baclofen-  Helps control my spasticity, the arch-enemy of my MS.

Me getting Botox

Botox injections-  NOT for my face, but for my legs!  Every three months for spasticity. 

Apitherapy-  Bee stings.  Bee venom therapy.  I have been doing this once or twice a week since 2002.  Pro or con–I don’t know.  I do it for peace of mind.

Supplements-  I’ve taken as many as a dozen different things at one time or another.  Now, it’s just the basic vitamin C & D.

Grrr, stretch those legs!

Stretching-  I stretch more than a WalMart shopper’s tube top.  Like a ten-year-old housecat, I move & reach to reclaim any lost range of motion.

Diet & Exercise-  I try to eat a healthy diet, lower in fat.  Nothing fried.  Exercise helps me beat the MS beast better than anything!  I feel better, more relaxed, less stiffness & muscle spasms.  I try to exercise 30 – 45 minutes four to five times a week.

Depression med-  Yeah, I like many of you with MS, I have experienced the dark side.  My pink pill is why I am so damn perky!

Mobility aids-  Canes, walkers, wheelchair–I’ve got a whole mini-van full of crap!

My Odd Sock's Dynasplint System

AFO & Dynasplint-  Used to correct MS-related foot drop.  Wearing them makes me feel more like Peter Weller in “RoboCop!”

Some of the other MS tools I have tried over the years include Ampyra, the walking drug…massage (NOT the truck-stop kind!)…physical therapy….IV/oral steroids (Unlike Barry Bonds, I knew what I was taking!  And of course the usual disease-modifying injectibles.

We are all different, and what works for one, might not work for another.  But it is interesting to see how YOUR knife compares to others!

Good luck in your fight, soldiers!  Godspeed.

My Odd Sock getting stung.

Remember how apprehensive you were taking your first shot of MS medication?

Well, getting your first bee sting is much the same.

We tend to think back to when we were kids, running barefoot through the grass and stepping on a bee.  Painful memories for sure.  Think of it like this…now that you have MS, you probably don’t have much feeling anyway…so a few bee stings, no big deal, right?  Let’s get started.

Jar 'O bees

My buddy “Jim” has used apitherapy (bees stings) exclusively for his MS for at least a dozen years.  He has 6 or 7 hives on his property and dons his stylish “bee wear” to collect the lucky volunteers in a canning jar.

Next, one by one, we grab the bees using reverse tweezers.  Filling all 20 pair, it’s time to commence stinging!

My dance partners

People use apitherapy for many different reasons.  Jim has pain, associated with MS throughout his body, and stings the areas that hurt him most.  I sting to ease spasticity (tightness) in my legs.  I have also stung my arms & hands to improve feeling.  I’ve stung the tops of my shoulders to aid balance.  And routinely sting my feet (both tops & bottoms) to help with walking.  You can sting to help with bowel & bladder control, arthritis, foot drop, even vision & speech problems.

On this particular day, I will get about 30 stings.  Jim will get just as many.  But as a beginner, you will start by getting two, maybe four stings, at the base of your spine.  Over the course of a few weeks, you’ll want to work up to 20 stings/ three times a week.  (Apitherapy experts recommend the three times a week  treatment, although this odd sock finds getting stung once or twice a week works well too.)

Three stings on the foot. Man, I need a pedicure.

People ask me “Does it hurt?”  And I respond by saying “a little bit.”  You see, I have slight feeling from my armpits down, so the “zing” I do feel—I cherish as I know my body isn’t completely dead.  On the other hand, Jim has feeling, so I apply an ice pack to the spot before I sting him.  He says “the ice is worse than the bees!”

We leave the stingers in, doing their “thang” for 15 minutes before we remove them, finishing our session.

Then, for the next 12 to 24 hours, the areas I have stung will swell slightly and are warm to the touch, courtesy of the increased “healing” blood flow to the region.

And my muscles….are looser!

Through this experience, I have great respect for the honeybee (none for wasps & hornets!).  The tremendous work the bees do for our world–the food they help us grow–and the mysterious powers of healing found within their sting.

When a bee buzzes my head in the backyard, I don’t run or flail my arms, frantic to escape.  I just very calmly tell him to “go away bee”–and he does.  (I am like a bee whisperer!)

Again, let me say apitherapy, or bee venom therapy, is an alternative form of treatment and not for everyone.  This is my personal experience, your results may be different.  But if you want to learn more, you’ll find tons of information online.  You may even post a question to My Odd Sock and I’ll BS my way through an answer (just kidding).

Phew, I made my way through one, unfunny My Odd Sock.  Now can we get back to the nonsense please?  This serious stuff is killing me.

Don’t let your meatloaf!

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The last line of this post is the catchphrase of the “poobah” of odd socks, my Uncle Larry.

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Next to working in a pillow factory, raking leaves is the safest job to do if you have MS–falling is much softer!

Me

Bee stings.  Apitherapy.  Bee venom therapy.  Call it what you want—I even call it “crazy!”  But the truth is, I’ve been getting stung, not accidently-but on purpose, since September of 2002.  Bee stings are my little way of thumbing my nose at multiple sclerosis!

For many years I took the traditional route of MS treatment; filling an unlimited number of Sharps containers with used syringes of Avonex, Copaxone and Rebif.  I jammed needles into my thighs, my butt, my stomach , my shoulders and the back of my arms. 

Was it worth it?  I have no idea, but my MS continued to progress.

A friend, who also has MS, asked me to join him in his bee sting therapy.  I thought he was flat-out insane–letting bees sting you.  I resisted his offer for years.  Finally, out of complete desperation, I agreed to be stung.

Despite my previous apprehension, from day one, I found the whole “stinging” experience to be empowering!  Here I was putting something in my body (bee venom) that occurs naturally in our world.  Not something created in a lab.

And it made me feel—better.

I could move—-better.

I didn’t have an unseen cloud of ” doom & gloom” hanging over my head like I had when doing my shots.  Plus, I didn’t need a “recovery” day from bee stings.  By that I mean Avonex would wipe me out the day following a shot.  Rebif did the same, though not as bad, three days a week.  I just felt losing a day to recover was too much to sacrifice when you have limited energy as any MSer will tell you.

The Funny Meter

Yeah, I figured the Funny Meter would show up at some point in this post.  It was just a matter of time.  Hey, Funny Meter…go watch “King of The Hill,” that’ll keep you busy for a long while!

Sorry for the disruption.  Back to bee stings.

I’ve had doctors tell me it is a complete waste of time.  And yet, other doctors tell me to continue to do what I think is helping.  (Hey wait a minute doc, YOU are the one with a wall full of diplomas—you tell ME what to do.)

I guess my point is, only you know what works.  With MS there is no miracle pill.  No special diet.  No magical treatment to make things better.  So you have to find a plan of attack that fits you like a tailored shirt.

My apology for the awkwardness of this particular My Odd Sock.  Writing about “bee stings” is pretty overwhelming for me, so I believe I will break the subject into a couple of different entries.  Next time, I’ll write about an actual sting session.

In the meantime, check out more about Apitherapy online.  There are a number of bee experts in the treatment of multiple sclerosis, namely Pat Wagner, “The Bee Lady.”  In northeast Ohio, Floyd Alexander is an unbelievable wealth of information & inspiration!

Just keep in mind, consult with your own medical expert.  Apitherapy is an alternative form of treatment and not for everyone.  This is my personal account and thus, your experience may vary.