Treatment for Ms with stem cells therapy for the UK patient

Patient from the UK after treatment for MS

Client: Joanna Walker

Country: UK

But I cannot express strongly enough, and I’ve been in the hospital in the UK for 3 weeks, years ago, but my experience here, the care, the professionalism, it’s so holistic. Everybody, all the doctors, care, and I had an alarm that I can press and nurse would be in my room in seconds. And I’ve never had that in the UK.

My name is Joanna and this is my last day at the Moscow clinic and I wanted to say something about what brought me here, because I looked online a lot, I suffer from multiple sclerosis. I was diagnosed in 2011. and I found in the UK, where I’m from, that the treatments available are only regular MRI scans and then the offer of disease modifying drugs, which I wasn’t really that comfortable to take, because I’m keen on natural treatments, and I’ve been lucky for a long time, in that that my symptoms weren’t too bad.

So I didn’t take those drugs, but then for me, about 9, maybe 10-11 months ago, my symptoms got worse, so my right leg became quite spastic, very hard for me to walk on it, my energy levels kept dropping… So I started to feel that I really had to do something and I did a lot of looking around and talking to my doctor, but again, from them, there was nothing, apart from the disease modifying drugs. But looking online, I started to learn about stem cell therapy and then I thought “Great, I’ll find somewhere in the UK that I can go to and have this therapy”.

And what I understood about it was… I’ve heard a little bit in the press actually, in the UK, where they use stem cell therapy, but also in conjunction with chemo therapy. And again, I didn’t like the idea of having my immune system destroyed. And feeling not so well, I felt that’s the last thing I needed, I wanted to try and improve my own system, not to destroy it. Although there were some good results from people having that form of stem cell therapy. But again, only a very small percentage of people in the UK maybe offer that, it’s not a standard treatment.

But looking around I though “Well, I’ll try and find something along those lines in the UK”, but I couldn’t find anything. And then through looking more, I found some research on stem cells where the treatment does not also have to include chemo therapy. And again, I looked in the UK, couldn’t find anything. But found the Swiss Medica clinic.

And looking, they have some really good information, which shows you exactly what for the treatment takes and for me, I thought “This looks good”, because there was no chemo therapy and the testimonials from people are incredible. There are many people that have found about 80% improvement in their symptoms. So it’s very encouraging.

I think one thing I found that was particularly powerful is the combination of treatments. It’s not just taking stem cells from my own adipose tissue, from your fat tissue and bone marrow, but also using donor’s stem cells from umbilical blood and umbilical tissue. So that adds to the intensity of the results so you’re really having sort of everything possible.

So, I’ve decided to contact them and very quickly, I’ve got a contact with Dr Alexandra, who was very knowledgeable and could answer any questions I had. She said there was no pressure, she gave me time to digest the information, to think more, to contact her any time, I could email her, she called me directly, so we spoke in English and that was very encouraging as well, very helpful.

So on top of that, she suggested, that if I wanted to, I could contact an ex patient, who’s also in the UK. She gave me a couple of names, but I decided to speak to Shaun, who’s based in the UK and he was very, very helpful. And his experience was extremely positive and he could answer all questions for me again. So, as a person who’d only just started looking into this and didn’t know much about it, and certainly didn’t know much about Swiss Medica clinics, it was invaluable to have someone to contact who’d been through the treatment and I could listen to his direct experience. So that really made my mind up actually. So thank you Shaun.

So yeah, within like actually only I think five months I got my visa for Russia and came here. And there are other clinics that Swiss Medica have, there’s one in Moscow, but the Moscow clinic had everything right for me, I think for my illness, the mixture of stem cell therapy. So that was very ideal for me.

So I think something that I didn’t find online, that maybe would be helpful for people to know, is actually I find, this is a very holistic treatment. The approach is very holistic. So the doctors consider how you feel, are you depressed, what’s life like for you and the food, what you’re eating and what other influences there are on you… On top of, of having the actual stem cell therapy.

So when I arrived I was met at the airport, driven to this Moscow clinic, which I think it happened to be heavy traffic, but it took us about an hour and a half. And then met by a doctor who manages the clinic and explained… By the time I arrived it was evening, but it was a warm welcome and I settled in that night and then next morning started to have blood taken to be tested.

It’ a private clinic, but there is no lack of doctors and nurses to monitor you closely. And that’s another thing… From the moment I got here, my blood pressure was taken, my blood was analyzed and I was presented with the next, within the couple of days I think, with the very detailed analyses of my blood, looking at everything, everything! Again, not something I would find in the UK.

So apart from the treatment itself, I was impressed with how much monitoring there is. Every day I would see, not one doctor, I would see a professor and a couple of other doctors, would come into my room, ask me how I feel, take my blood pressure, tell me what the plan was for that day… And during the day as well, I would speak to a doctor, and alongside that, a nurse is available 24/7. So you’re extremely well monitored and cared for and with food and everything.

And not just that, it’s the type of people that work here. I’m very moved actually, very struck by how caring and dedicated and professional they all are.

So, for me, it’s been a really good experience. Not just that I’ve had some treatment and it’s made me feel more energized and I feel stronger. And I’m actually sorry to have to be going home today and if I can find a way I’d like to come back, just to see people and there are certainly some people I would love to stay in touch with.

So my journey with the stem cell therapy has only really just started and I hope to find more improvement as weeks and months go by and as my body can generate those cells and they work to repair the cell damage that I have through this illness.

But I would strongly recommend for anybody who’s considering this type of treatment. I personally believe it’s really the future of medicine. There’s many possibilities where stem cells can be used, it’s not just degenerative diseases like multiple sclerosis. It can be used for joint pains and diabetes and many other illnesses, so I think this is the way where the future is going.

But yeah, I would strongly recommend and yeah… Just pick up the phone, email the clinic and don’t be afraid to ask any questions and do your own research as well. Look at the testimonials, look at the Facebook page and think for yourself if it’s something that might help you. So I hope you do and you’ll find you will be satisfied.

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