The miracle
patches that
help me to live again

When Margaret Kelly, 44, from Glasgow, was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, she almost quit her job - until she found a new treatment

The first symptom arrived out of the blue white I was on holiday in Cyprus with my family in 2000. I developed pins and needles in my feet and legs. This was combined with painful spasms that built up during the day so, by the evening, it was too painful to walk. Thinking the heat was to blame, I soaked my feet in cold water, which helped but didn't ease it completely.

Back home, I did a search for my symptoms on the Internet and the words multiple sclerosis (MS) - a disorder of the central nervous system - appeared on the screen.

It was the first thing I mentioned to my GP who stuck needles in my feet and fingers as part of his examination. I was horrified that I couldn't feel them. Further tests confirmed I had MS. My husband, John, a financial consultant. and our children, David. 16. Louise, 14 and Claire, 11, were devastated.

I was put on a drip of high-dose steroids to try to reduce my symptoms, but it had no effect. The outlook was bleak. Most patients have a period of months or years after the first attack before a relapse. but my form of the disease was just steady deterioration.

With MS, the first parts of the nervous system to be affected are those that control physical sensation. coordination and movement. At the time of my diagnosis, in February 2001. I needed to use a walking stick. My balance was affected, too. and I constantly felt as if my legs could give way.

I had been working full-time as an English teacher at a secondary school, but had to drop down to just two days a week. Some mornings, the pins and needles in my hands and feet lasted an hour, and I'd feel drained. John took over most of the cooking and cleaning so I could conserve my energy to go to work. And because conventional medicine couldn't offer any hope. I turned to relaxation. yoga and aromatherapy to help with the muscle spasms. They will never be a cure, but these kind of techniques can make life more manageable.

Then at a meeting of a local yoga group for people with MS in January this year, I heard a woman talking about 'energy patches'. As it was getting increasingly difficult to muster enough energy to go to work. I decided to give them a go.

That was five months ago - and the difference the patches have made to my life is incredible.
The nights before I work, I stick the patches - which look a bit like dry tea bags - On to the soles of my feet before I go to bed. By the time I remove them in the morning, they are soggy and smell like vinegar!

The idea is that they help your circulation by drawing out the toxins from your body overnight, which is supposedly the reason they end up looking like used tea bags.
Before, when I'd first wake up in the morning, my hands and feet, would feel tight and difficult to move. When I did eventually stand up I was quite unsteady on my feet - I'd have to hold on to the wall and take very slow, shuffling steps at first.

But when I started using the patches, getting up was immediately better. I wake up with much more energy, which I then use to concentrate on walking - I can move easier and quicker than before. The effects also last until after lunchtime, whereas before I'd always be flagging by 1 lam. I'm much more alert, now, and even my colleagues have commented on how much brighter I look.

On a bad day, John used to have to get me out of bed, into the shower and make me breakfast. With the patches. I can get up and do these things on my own, which is a huge morale boost.

How the Patches work
Applied to the feet before going to bed the natural ingredient, mandarin wood vinegar, heats the skin and relieves tension and pain through reflexology – the Chinese concept of healing parts if the body by stimulating points on the soles of the feet. Injured areas, or those not working properly, absorb the heat to speed tissue repair. The patches give the wearer more energy by helping to rid the body of toxins, improving blood circulation and aiding sleep