MS patient ‘punished’ after controversial treatment

A Dartmouth woman with multiple sclerosis claims she is being denied a check-up with a vein specialist in Nova Scotia after undergoing a controversial treatment in Europe.

The health minister says it shouldn't be a problem for her to see someone, but Karen Clarke said she feels punished by the medical community.

These days the 59-year-old says she has renewed energy, one of the benefits she credits of a controversial treatment for MS.

The numbness is gone out of my feetI died and went to heaven. It's just fantastic, she said.

In September 2011, Clarke flew to Brussels where she spent her inheritance, $15,000, on what's been dubbed "liberation therapy."

Doctors made an incision near her groin, and inserted a balloon to open her jugular vein. It's an unproven and contested procedure.

Clarke said she knew shed be running a risk back in Nova Scotia.

I was told that when I came back I wouldnt be able to see any doctors about my procedure. If I went to a neurologist they would look at me as though I was some sort of weirdo.

But almost a year and a half later Clarke asked her doctor to refer her to a vascular surgeon for a checkup.

There is a possibility that your veins can close again and I just want to get that checked out, she said.

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MS patient ‘punished’ after controversial treatment