Please provide some do's and don'ts on living with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

Ignore: Keep a diary about nutritional intake. Poor diet can make things worse.

Ignore: Treat the patient with this diagnosis with incredible compassion.

Ignore: Eat all the protein calories that you can!

Ignore: Don't lift weights or perform heavy exercises as this can cause muscles to deteriorate faster.

Ignore: Consider long-term care decisions, like feeding tubes, mechanical ventilation, etc., early in course.

Do: Do seek second opinions on your diagnosis of ALS.

Make: Make your wishes regarding aggressiveness of care known to your loved ones as early as possible!

Ignore: Fight depression, stay active and exercise, work closely with an expert neurologist, enter research.

Ignore: Continue to exercise with low impact machines to maintain strength for walking and independence.

Ignore: If your ALS progressing quickly, consider having voice recorded to use on assistive devices later.

Ignore: Live for the present not the future. Quality is better than quantity.

Ignore: Gentle, low-impact aerobic exercise can strengthen unaffected muscles.

Ignore: Don't put yourself in a position of trying to do something that you might not be able to do.

Be: Be sure to be seen at an ALS clinic where the disease can be managed by a whole team of experts.

Name: Name a proxy for healthcare early in the disease course and tell them your treatment goals/wishes!

Name: Name a proxy for healthcare decisions early in the disease and tell them your long term decisions!