When it rains it pours…

The other night I was sitting on the couch while my dog, Sir Mac N Cheese, was outside doing his dog business. Suddenly, through the screen door, I see him BOLTING across the yard with a small grayish blur just inches in front of him. He was about three seconds from catching a squirrel that had made the unfortunate decision to cross into this big dog’s territory.

I ran outside screaming at Mac to stop, not wanting to witness my floofbaby murder a small rodent, just in time to see the squirrel dive through the chain link fence to safety. My 90lb dog sprinted around the yard a few times, stared menacingly out the fence, and pawed aggressively at the ground making sure that squirrel knew who was boss.

This is not the first time Mac has chased off small mammalian intruders from our yard. However, this IS the fastest I have ever seen my speedy boi move. Unfortunately, I also think he injured himself in the midst of his primal rage.

About an hour later I noticed that he was favoring his back left leg and I called the vet and made an appointment for the next day. Last November, right before I was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis, Mac ruptured his ACL and some other parts of his knee in his right leg after my husband took an unfortunate tumble on some ice…onto the dog…

Mac had surgery to repair his knee the same week I started my first round of steroid infusion therapy. We were bedridden together during my first major MS attack and two rounds of treatment.

Now, I am headed in for an MRI on Tuesday at my neurologists request because we suspect a relapse based off of my worsening symptoms this past week or so.

The vet confirmed yesterday that Sir Mac N cheese has sprained his ACL in his left leg. Guess what that means…back to 24/7 snuggles and rest-time for Mac & Alix!!! Isn’t it funny how we both are kind of relapsing at the same time?!?

I am a bit anxious for my upcoming MRI. I had one not too long ago that did not go wonderfully. I made it through but I am pretty claustrophobic and anxious and the MRI’s are definitely difficult for me. This time I did ask to be given a sedative, so hopefully that will help, seeing as this will be another 2 hour MRI!

So for now, Sir Mac N Cheese and I are going to rest, without feeling guilty! Sleep, without feeling lazy. And relax, without feeling bad about it. Sometimes self-care needs to come first, for all of us!

-A

 

MS🧠Kicks🧠Ass🧠But🧠So🧠Do🧠I

This morning I woke up for the fourth day in a row with limited (VERY limited/borderline no) feeling in my right leg. I’ve also been having increased tingling in my right foot, and some weird hearing issues. And lastly,  muscle spasms and tremors in my right leg. In the past I have had issues with my right leg losing feeling, but it came back after two rounds of steroid infusion therapy.

I know that this could just be a pseudo relapse due to stress (seeing as most of the symptoms are in a leg that has had issues before makes me think this is likely?) but it scares me nonetheless. It still means that something is wrong. It means that inside my brain there are parts that are dying, being eaten away at by my own immune system.

I have reached out to my neurologist and I am waiting to hear back about what he wants to do about this flare of symptoms.

Today has been a rough day. It’s so hard to explain what it feels like to know there is something wrong inside of you.

It’s so hard to trust your own body and listen to the strange sensations we feel with MS when there are people around you suggesting that it is “just your anxiety” or all in your head. I am still learning how to trust my body, something that is SO important with a disease like MS. God, it’s still weird to say sometimes, disease.

I am the one living in this body, I am the one who knows when something doesn’t feel right. I have lived long enough with anxiety to know when it is wreaking havoc in my body..and when it is not. When it is something else. So I need to trust what I know.

It sucks to have to miss out on things and have to stay inside and rest when my heart and mind still want to be out having adventures. It is unsettling to have a mind and body that are on completely different pages sometimes. I am not choosing to be sick. I am still learning how to accept that some things, like having this disease, are out of my control.

If any of you have someone who is struggling, who is sick, or who just are having a rough day today, give them a hug. Or shoot them a text reminding them they are a badass mother****** and that you love them! We all can use a little pick me up some days.

“Without a little lift, the ballerina falls.” – Next To Normal

So this is for you, yes YOU. The anxious ones, the sick ones, the overworked ones, the black sheep, the depressed ones, the frightened ones, the lonely ones. YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL. YOU ARE STRONG. YOU ARE EXACTLY WHERE YOU ARE MEANT TO BE 💕 Keep on that fight, you courageous warriors!!

With a heart full of hope – A

Learning to trust my body again

I haven’t been feeling well this week. For the past few days I have had a huge spike in my fatigue. The kind where just taking a shower or putting a load of laundry in the machine leaves me feeling sick and ready for a three-hour nap. I can feel that I am weaker than normal and have been losing my balance and getting spells of dizziness and nausea.

I’ve also been experiencing a new feeling that I can only chalk up to Multiple Sclerosis. It feels like my diaphragm and muscles around my rib cage are squeezing my whole torso like a python. It doesn’t really affect my breathing as much as it is painful. All the muscles wrapping around ribs and back just hurt.

I’ve tried to ignore it and just deal with it, because what else can I do right? There’s no way to tell for sure why I am feeling this way besides the fact that I have Multiple Sclerosis. I’ve heard of the MS Hug and maybe I am experiencing some version of that?

Last night as I was scrolling through Pinterest and I came across a map of the spine and what each part of it controls. Suddenly, I started putting something together. A few weeks ago my MRI came back with a new lesion in C4. When looking at what the nerves in the C4 area of the spine control I found that sure enough, it’s the diaphragm and muscles around the lower rib cage!

I couldn’t believe it! It made so much sense! Before I even knew it my body was telling me something was wrong in a very specific area. I just hadn’t put two and two together. It made me feel good to see that I wasn’t just imagining this pain and discomfort.

It’s such a hard feeling to describe to people and so often I question myself as to whether or not pain/discomfort is MS related or just the normal aches and pains that people feel every day. Then I remember I am a 25 year old woman with an autoimmune disease and and that it SO important to be in tune with what my body is telling me. It’s just hard to know whether something I am feeling is related to MS or not. But I am learning to trust my body again. To listen to her when she is telling me something is wrong. Because looking back, my gut instinct is usually right when it comes to my body.

I am on week two of my Glatiramer acetate injections (which are known to have virtually no side effects besides injection site irritation) so I am skeptical to think that I am feeling this yucky just from that, but again, who knows! 

It’s not always fun. Sure I would love to go out and do something fun with my husband on this beautiful summer night, but instead I will be probably be on the couch with my heating pad, weighted blanket and a good TV show getting the rest my body is begging me for.

So today, even though I am not feeling great, I am choosing to be grateful for those feelings. It means my body is doing what it is supposed to do and telling me what it needs. All I have to do is listen.

-A

 

 

 

 

How do you beat the heat?

Many people with Multiple Sclerosis suffer from heat sensitivity. Heat can actually cause symptoms of MS to temporarily worsen, recreating old flare ups! Doctors believe this is because the increase in body temperature causes the damaged nerves to fire even less effectively. Similarly, when someone with MS get’s a fever from an infection they can sometimes have a “pseudo relapse”, where old symptoms will flare up but then go away once your fever clears up. It only takes a couple of degrees increase to cause a whole world of issues in an MS’rs body.

For me just an hour or so in the heat can leave me feeling severely fatigued, nauseous, and I lose feeling and have numbness/tingling in the right side of my body. But I LOVE being outside in the sun so much! It’s great for my mental health, as well as the fact that I could use the vitamin D (I am also severely vitamin D deficient). I’ve developed a few tips and tricks to keep myself stay cool in the heat. So I don’t have to totally give up my time with my plants and dog outside!

1. Stay hydrated. I always try to drink a lot of water, but when I know I am spending time in the heat I make sure to drink extra! I also pretty much never leave home without my water bottle anymore 🙂
2. Take breaks. I try not to stay out in the direct sun for very long at all. Even if I am in the shade, and the temp is really hot, I make sure that I take frequent breaks in the air conditioning to make sure I don’t get too overheated.
3. Sunscreen! I have a newly found passion for skin care. The two golden rules I have found are MOISTURIZE and PUT ON SUNSCREEN! Your skin will thank you!
4. Stick to the shade. I try to adhere to this as much as possible. For example, yesterday when my husband and I went out to lunch we asked for a table on the patio but not in direct sunlight. We had to wait a little longer for a table, but the restaurant was happy to accommodate!
5. My neck cooling “towel”. I got a cool little cooling device at this year’s Walk MS: Twin Cities. It’s basically a tiny scarf that you stick in the freezer and it get’s (and stays) nice and cold! I love to slap that baby on when I am gardening or reading outside!

 

Do you have any tips or tricks for staying cool in the summer heat?!? I would love to hear them!

Stay cool my friends 😉

-A