I often say (as a lot of people with long term health problems do) that I won't let it dictate how I live my life. This was reflected at the weekend when I met up with a school friend who I hadn't seen in the best part of a decade.
In honour of our meeting in Central London I decided to abandon the crutches in favour of one stick (seriously - have you ever tried to marshal crutches in crowded places?!). I also decided to take some 'tourist time' whilst waiting to meet my friend.
Soho, Covent Garden, the National Gallery and Whitehall. By the end of the day I could barely stand. The muscles in my feet were seized up and my legs were pretty wobbly. Finally returning to North Greenwich I fell into a black cab to complete my journey home.
The limits now seem not to be 'listen to your body' as I had no warning signs that I was over-doing it. The limit now is accept MS and adjust. Maybe it won't dictate how I live my life... but it will demand some concessions.
Monday, 31 May 2010
Saturday, 8 May 2010
The bad and the good...
Let's face it - having MS sucks. I remember once, years ago when I was not long diagnosed, the MS Society sponsored the horoscopes in the paper one day. Every star sign had something along the lines of "today will be unpredictable".
That is the bottom line with MS - you don't know what is going to happen next... what fresh way your body is going to betray you.
This week I've been back in bed. I woke Tuesday with horrible spasms of pain in my legs. This lasted into Wednesday. I thought things were getting better so I decided to get up. Mistake. Pain came back.
At the same time my numb right hand, which I thought was getting better, is pretty much completely numb and useless again.
Have been resting and sleeping trying to get better... I really need to get back to work.
Tonight, being Friday, is injection night, time for my weekly beta-interferon dose. I've dosed up on paracetmol (it is a cruel twist of fate that I am allergic to the far more effective aspirin and ibuprofen). I'm hoping that the side effects are helping (if not causing) the new crop of symptoms; extreme dizziness, which I can manage by lying down; and bizzare sensory disturbances, I feel like bugs are crawling on me. I have gone as far as to try and brush them off... it is freaking me out as I have a bit of a bug phobia!
That all is the 'bad' from the title. The good (yep, you can just about find a positive in MS) is the amazing people you meet online through MS blogs. Catching up a weeks worth of reading I realised that there are some truly inspiring people out there.
I have no idea how to post links in this post using my iPhone. Tomorrow I'll post from my laptop and include them. Reading about other people's experiences makes you feel less alone: thanks to Herrad, Carole, Amelia, Jodi and Steve (amongst others) for sharing your lives.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
That is the bottom line with MS - you don't know what is going to happen next... what fresh way your body is going to betray you.
This week I've been back in bed. I woke Tuesday with horrible spasms of pain in my legs. This lasted into Wednesday. I thought things were getting better so I decided to get up. Mistake. Pain came back.
At the same time my numb right hand, which I thought was getting better, is pretty much completely numb and useless again.
Have been resting and sleeping trying to get better... I really need to get back to work.
Tonight, being Friday, is injection night, time for my weekly beta-interferon dose. I've dosed up on paracetmol (it is a cruel twist of fate that I am allergic to the far more effective aspirin and ibuprofen). I'm hoping that the side effects are helping (if not causing) the new crop of symptoms; extreme dizziness, which I can manage by lying down; and bizzare sensory disturbances, I feel like bugs are crawling on me. I have gone as far as to try and brush them off... it is freaking me out as I have a bit of a bug phobia!
That all is the 'bad' from the title. The good (yep, you can just about find a positive in MS) is the amazing people you meet online through MS blogs. Catching up a weeks worth of reading I realised that there are some truly inspiring people out there.
I have no idea how to post links in this post using my iPhone. Tomorrow I'll post from my laptop and include them. Reading about other people's experiences makes you feel less alone: thanks to Herrad, Carole, Amelia, Jodi and Steve (amongst others) for sharing your lives.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Tuesday, 4 May 2010
Rude awakening
Woke up about an hour ago with horrible pains in the muscles of my legs, from the knees to the ankles. Not constant pain, just really severe shooting pain, the sort that if you were standing up would floor you.
This is a new (and unwelcome) development, which I assume (as I do when any new health problem appears) is being caused by my MS.
My steroid course finished a last week. Can't say there's any feeling back in my right hand, though it is a bit stronger... I think that is down to all the exercising with stress balls!
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
This is a new (and unwelcome) development, which I assume (as I do when any new health problem appears) is being caused by my MS.
My steroid course finished a last week. Can't say there's any feeling back in my right hand, though it is a bit stronger... I think that is down to all the exercising with stress balls!
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
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