Hi Mel
My mom began showing signs about a year ago. She was slurring her speech- we thought it was stress. She quickly began the long road of testing. We received the official diagnosis around December. At the time her speech and eating were fine- noticeably different but not that bad. Now her speech is getting harder and harder to understand. She has good days and bad days and the time of day makes a difference. She still eats real food (and is determined to do that for as long as possible). However it is no longer things like steak & chicken. She eats pasta noodles, fish, potatoes and casserole type foods that do not require a lot of chewing. She really has to slow down when doing this- sometimes it causes her to start choking but she is getting better at managing that. She also has trouble working her tongue- but we were also told that there are many other muscles that enable us to eat and talk. These are all being affected.
She is on rizuel and is also on a trial drug study. She has been on that for about 2 months but has not seen any noticeable changes. What combo are you going to start your mom on? My mom also takes Creatine, Vitamin E and CoQ10. May I ask how old your mom is? Do you have MS or ALS in the family? How long has your mom been showing signs? Does you mom have any problems with her legs? Arms, etc. My mom has absolutely nothing wrong with any other part of her body.
I am in Vancouver. Our family is very optimistic for a cure. It is what will get us through all this. I am determined to fight this with everything I have. I am constantly doing research one this disease. Being informed and aware of what is out there is our best weapon. I think we can really help each other through this.
Take care,
Lisa