Thanks so much gmuxx. yeah it has a ton of similarities to MS actually. Both conditions have excitotoxicity going on and are degenerative, but my understanding is that MS is much more possible to manage as far as progression goes. ALS for me thus far has been pretty constant in its progression and I have been steadily losing function as a result for the last few years. But at the same time I really am learning a lot and I'm a better person now than I would have been had I not gone through this challenge. When you don't know how long you have to live all the sudden life seems to matter more!