AFTER 13 YEARS OF BAD MEDICINE FOR HIS MS, PITTSBURGH MAN OUTSMARTS HIS DOCTORS
John Orsingher says he feels "great" just three weeks after receiving stem-cell treatments for his multiple sclerosis.
But the Export man realizes a there's still a battle ahead in the fight against the condition he has had for about 13 years.
"It seems like my eyesight came back. I feel a lot better," Orsingher said last week in the Export Laundromat, which he owns. "I'm moving around more ... I'm not all worked up, I feel great right now. I still can't walk (very well), but I feel good."
Orsingher went to Latin America with his wife, Lisa, on Oct. 27 for treatments not available in the United States. To come up with the $30,000 for the treatment and various assorted extra costs, fundraisers were held.
Multiple sclerosis -- commonly called MS -- affects the ability of nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord to communicate with each other. It often progresses to physical and cognitive disability.
No American doctor has a clue on how to improve the lives of MS patients, but to a man (or woman) they will lie and tell their patients stem cells don’t work. “Take these pills,” they say, not knowing whether they work or which side effect will hurt the patient! For proof by real experts, see our Lab Rat section about John Ioannidis as reported by Atlantic Monthly in our newsletter:http://www.repairstemcells.org/newsletters/NL111210.htm
Orsingher, 48, had been taking various medications to slow the progression of MS. One of them, Tysabri, was effective, but side effects were too damaging. Others left him sick. That led him to seek alternative methods.
A stem-cell transplant infuses healthy cells into the body. According to New Scientist magazine, the treatment works by resetting a patient's immune system to reverse some of the disability.
Lisa Orsingher said she has noticed an improvement in her husband. (Don has often said, “Don’t ask the patient, ask the spouse if you want to know how the stem cell patient is really doing!”)
"He definitely has better eyesight," she said. "He's not sleeping 20 hours a day. He's up. He's active. He's moving. He doesn't seem to be as depressed. ... He said he has spots on his left foot he never felt before, maybe there's some feeling coming back. As for anything negative, there's nothing. I'm sure he's hoping everything would be coming back quicker, but he has to wait."
A second treatment is recommended in about six months at a cost of about $12,500. He said he should have the money thanks to fundraisers and donations.
"I'm going to take some money out of my 401(k) to cover whatever they don't cover," he said.
Donations still are being taken at S&T Bank in Murrysville.
Orsingher did say he hasn't felt the need to take much medication since his return to the United States. He does take some pain medication and muscle relaxers.
"I actually cut back on most of that," Orsingher said. "I'm trying to wean myself off all that slowly."
He is continuing therapy and stretching exercises and rides a stationary bike.
The couple is glad they made the trip.
"(We have) no regrets, no regrets at all," Lisa Orsingher said. "He may need a little more, but I'm sure he's willing to go again."
Her goal is to have her husband, who is using a walker, take her for a stroll on the beach.
"That's what we're still shooting for," she said.