Living Well with Multiple Sclerosis
Health & Fitness:Fitness
Welcome to Living Well with MS, where we are delighted to welcome MS Nurse, Phil King, as our guest! Phil offers a great perspective: as a Multiple Sclerosis nurse who also has MS himself, he has been following the Overcoming MS Program for more than a decade.
Watch this episode on YouTube here. Keep reading for the key episode takeaways and Phil’s bio.
Questions and Timestamps00:54 Can you tell us about your personal MS journey and professional MS journey?
05:35 Did you become an MS nurse before or after your diagnosis?
11:36 Do you recommend Overcoming MS to your patients?
17:09 Would you say that your patients are typically keen to add in lifestyle modifications?
20:41 How does smoking affect MS?
25:06 Medication is a pillar in the Overcoming MS Program.
26:07 How does having MS yourself help you in your role as an MS nurse?
29:43 What are your tips for us as patients for interacting with nurses and neurologists?
38:48 Meditation can take on many different forms.
40:15 If you could give some advice to someone recently diagnosed or just starting the Overcoming MS program, what would it be?
Selected Key TakeawaysBe honest with your nurse about your symptoms, even if you think they are embarrassing.
32:19 “I'll be honest, I've had bladder issues before. If I'm talking to a patient and they say, ‘I'm having to get up two or three times a night, and it's embarrassing. Sometimes I don’t make it to the toilet in time. I don't really want to speak to a nurse about it, and I don't want to go into the bladder and bowel clinic about it,’ I say, ‘Well, why not? I've been [to the clinic].’”
Work with your healthcare team to manage your condition for life.
37:25 “[MS is] not a condition that is going to end your life very quickly. This is a condition for life. We're now seeing that people with MS have a near-to-normal lifespan, [just like] any other person. So, it's about managing your condition, [and] it's about being honest with your nurse. If your nurse or neurologist asks you to keep a diary [of] how often these symptoms occur, it's really helpful to us because we want you to live the best life that you possibly can.”
You can live a very good life with MS.
43:17 "MS is frightening when you're newly diagnosed, but it does settle down, and there is hope. There is a life to be lived with MS. You can live a very good life. I would say that I look at MS as a gift, which I never thought I'd say. It’s shown me so many different things, different ways of living, [and] different friend groups. If I was told tomorrow, 'Phil, we've made a big mistake. You haven't got MS,' I wouldn't change my lifestyle at all."
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Phil’s bio:Phil King has been following the Overcoming MS program for 11 years. He discovered Overcoming MS through Rebecca Hoover’s site An Intelligent Person’s Guide to Beating MS while he was scouring the internet for help just before diagnosis.
Phil still runs, cycles and lift weights (he admits, “I’ll never be Mr. Muscle but I’m working on it!”)
Phil’s MS and career as an MS NursePhil has only had 1 relapse since diagnosis and follows the Overcoming MS program strictly. He works as a multiple sclerosis nurse for England’s National Health Service and contributed his story to the Overcoming Multiple Sclerosis Handbook.
Lifestyle Medicine with Dr Fraser Quin | S6E11
Webinar Highlights: Accessible Movement for the Overcoming MS Community with Véronique Gauthier-Simmons | S6E10
Sticking with the Overcoming MS diet with Kim Venter | S6E9
Webinar Highlights: Your opportunity to ask a qualified nutritional therapist about the Overcoming MS diet with Sam Josephs | S6E8
Mindfulness with MS Nurse and Overcoming MS Facilitator, Sue Tibbles | S6E7
Advanced cell therapy for progressive MS with Dr Stefano Pluchino | S6E06
Change your life, for life with health coach Laura Crowder | S6E05
Webinar Highlights - Mental Health and Wellbeing with MS with Michelle Overton | S6E04
Career and Employment with MS with Yasmin Neves | S6E3
Overcoming MS Charity Updates with CEO Alex Holden | S6E2
Motivation to follow the Program with Claire and Nev Dean | S6E1
Sophrology for MS with Audrey Zannese | S5E38
Dying Well with filmmaker Krystina Christiansen | S5E37
Webinar Highlights: Ask a Neurologist with Dr Aaron Boster | S5E36
Webinar highlights: Guide to the Overcoming MS Diet with Gillian Robertson and Ashley Madden | S5E35
Ask Jack – Cooking with Tofu | S5E34
Oils and Fats with industrial chemist Mike Newton | S5E33
Autoimmunity with Dr David Bilstrom | S5E32
Webinar Highlights Breathwork with Dr Véronique Gauthier-Simmons | S5E31
Mindfulness and Self-compassion with Melanie Lown | S5E30
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