Yesterday I got into a deep discussion with another "Liberati" and fellow CCSVI advocate about how some people are just watching the before and after CCSVI treatment videos and jumping on a plane and going for the treatment with the overly high expectations of being able to jump or walk or run again. My friend said it was caused by all the folks who have posted before and after videos and that we should cease doing this. I disagree. We started posting before and after videos to prove to the world that we were not lying about our recoveries. There are no neuros in Canada that are documenting us before and after treatment so we are doing it ourselves. So should we stop doing this because a few folks cant manage their expectations and are too lazy to research CCSVI thoroughly before going for treatment? I don't think so.

When I first went to get treated in March 2010 nobody had really thought to do before and after videos but I had done all the research. I started studying anything CCSVI right after Avis Favaro's TV news show on Dr. Zamboni. Let me tell you about my mind set back then: I was RRMS but had been getting sicker and sicker for the last 2 years and was moving into SPMS. I was depressed and desperate because I knew my copaxone was not working. My legs were giving out on me and I knew it was just a matter of time before I was in a wheelchair. I knew that my health was on a down slide and there was nothing to help me. NOTHING. I was desperate. When I saw this news show about the treatment I wanted to believe it with all my being but I wouldnt allow myself to believe it until I knew more. I mentally couldn't afford to jump into this with both feet for fear that it turned out to be a dead end or worse yet- snake oil. This is when I started researching eight to ten hours a day, seven days a week for months on end.

The fact that people are just taking the word of some You Tube video and going to have the treatment is ludicrous! This treatment is still in the research stages. There are no guarantees that this does anything for MS. Even the Doctors that perform it will tell you the same thing. SO why did I even bother going to try? Based on the scientific evidence and anecdotal evidence of the first Liberati in Italy and from Stanford I took a calculated chance. I figured that getting my blocked veins fixed was a good thing no matter what and if I got some relief from my MS symptoms then bonus. I went to Poland with very low expectations to protect my mental well being. If I had gone with expectations of running right after I think I would have cut myself! I am still not running and my legs are far from perfect.

For all those folks who are considering doing before and after videos, my advice is go for it! You might want to mention that there is no guarantee that others will get the same results you did because there are no guarantees with experimental treatments and getting your veins unblocked is just part of the whole health equation. Diet, physio and exercise should also be undertaken. This will sound harsh but I have no pity for folks who do not use their heads before undertaking something like this. I have empathy for your desperation, because I was desperate too, but that is no excuse.