Tag Archives: relapse

Apr 09 2017
12 Comments
Emotions

With A Little Help From My Friends …

trashNot only has this latest relapse rocked my working world, it’s made me appreciate the smaller things in life.

I’ve snaffled some cut-down branches from one job to make Easter branches and have rescued some spare wood from another, with a view, at some point, to crafting  hollowed-out candle-sized logs …

I was out at 6am this morning, hanging up washing. Relapse Tick.

I replied to some emails. Another Relapse Tick.

I made three coffees for myself. Relapse Tick again.

And that’s it.

This whole time, through this hideous relapse, I have been alone. And then it hit me. I no longer have friends who will just pop over. I’ve isolated every single one of them.

I scanned my contacts list. Some were in a relationship and had found their happy MS medium, and I am thrilled for them. Some had large families and a whole lot of support. Some were suspicious of a single MSer. And some had no idea I needed them.

Had I run out of MS favours? Am I now so used to surviving on my own that I have become the person I always feared I would be – the Single Female with a Cat?

In that way, I certainly do tick all the boxes. I talk to her (The Cat). I judge her moods and respond accordingly, which is rather sad.

But back to the bigger issue – I have a wide circle of fantastic friends whom I love and adore yet I miss having friends who are there, no matter what. I think I’m one of those. Most of my friends have had various crises over the years and I’m there as soon as they put the phone down. I do my utmost to be present, in whatever capacity they need me.

Last week was a shock. Have I got so used to solitude that this is now my New Normal?  Am I now condemned to talking to the laurel bush in my backyard?

I miss my friends, but more the point, I realise I have not been the best of friends.

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Apr 06 2017
12 Comments
Symptoms and Treatment

Commiserations and Celebrations …

listeningThis post is a very big thank you to everyone.

I’ve been going through my own personal relapse hell these last few months and it’s thanks to you guys for keeping me sane; here and on Twitter.

Meeting with my MS nurse yesterday just showed me how important it is to be listened to, both by the MS professionals and my MS peers.

You haven’t shirked from my odd symptoms, you’ve sympathised with my sofa-bound enforcement. You’ve cheered me up and empathised when times were hard.

In a way, I’ve made sense of this relapse thanks to you. Each post I’ve written during this time has given me the most insightful comments, a lot of which I took to yesterday’s appointment.

MS for me is isolating and lonely. Get the violins out, but there is no Significant Other. No one to pick up the pieces, to cook dinner or flick a duster around. So the camaraderie I gain from you means the absolute world to me.

The knowledge that no one has to go through a relapse alone is empowering and comforting.

I hope you all know just how much this means to me.

Thank you.

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Feb 27 2017
20 Comments
Symptoms and Treatment

Going Round In Circles

circles When I’m experiencing them, I’m never quite sure if a sudden surge in MS symptoms is a relapse or not.

I only get the definitive answer when I wake up one morning (days, weeks, months after) and I just know it’s over – it’s kind of a retrospective thing.

Today, hallelujah, is one of those days. The murky fog has cleared, my energy is restored to its usual low level and the world seems a much brighter place. I look back over the last couple of weeks and realise just how awful things were.

To begin with, I ignored the numbness down my right side, the dodgy tingling hand, the weak arm. Then came the beyond-out-of-proportion tiredness and jelly-brain. As is usual with a relapse, my world shrank. I did the bare minimum and I did it badly. Work was a nightmare (Boss not happy) and when I got home I slept (Teenager not happy), woke up and barely moved from my sofa.

After that came the symptom that left me stunned – my body seemed to want to pull to the right, so walking in a straight line was a bit tricky. I ended up turning right an awful lot, so much so that I might as well have been walking in circles. I slammed into walls, fell with a thud into my washing machine and tripped down five stairs, ending up lying dazed on the floor, squished between the bottom stair and my bureau, finding a long-lost catnip ball in the process.

The most worrying episode was when I was in the shower the other day. Again, my body wanted to jerk to the right. Unfortunately this meant I fell out of the shower and cracked my head against the toilet. As I was lying there, I was ever so grateful I hadn’t knocked myself out as the thought of paramedics finding me naked on the floor, crying and trying to cover up with a single flannel was unbearable.

After counting the cobwebs on the ceiling and noting the gaps in the silicone seal around the shower screen, I staggered to my feet, put my dressing gown on and sulked on the sofa for the rest of the day. Again.

So it’s over, for now; I’m back to the baseline, which seems to rise with every relapse. Whereas before I fretted about every tiny symptom, diligently jotting them down in my ‘MS Symptom’ book (one from 2013 – ‘my nose seems to itch more and swallowing is a bit of an issue’), I now have a much more ‘yeah, yeah’ attitude. It’s about accepting it and living day to day.

I can say that now. If you’d asked me last week however, I’d have given you a withering look and sighed.

Progress?

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Jul 11 2016
12 Comments
Symptoms and Treatment

Been there, done that …

gutterAs I was lying sprawled on the gravel at work, still holding two (thankfully empty) coffee cups, I promised myself, ‘this time, it’ll be different.’

Rewind a day or so and the first inkling something wasn’t quite right came when I floated away.

I hate that feeling. I’m here, but not quite. It’s my relapse calling-card.

My hands played up, a grabbing-arcade-machine-gone-awol. I misjudged my steps, I tripped countless times and scuffed my brand new shoes. I was exhausted beyond belief. On Saturday, I literally could not get up off the sofa from 2pm til 9pm, despite all my efforts.

I was gripped by fear – fear that The Teenager would notice, fear that I couldn’t function, fear that I was immobile and couldn’t do a thing about it. So I lay there, invisible threads of absolute fatigue snapping into place all around me.

Late that evening, I finally managed to crawl into bed and collapsed.

Relapses, a spike in symptoms, an exacerbation, a blip, whatever it is when it comes to MS, whatever it’s termed, it’s dire and we don’t always need an MRI to prove it, although in my case they usually do.

I had a pocket of energy after work the other day, so ploughed my way through three lots of laundry, laid bark in the garden and cooked up a massive batch of chicken. I cleaned the kitchen, vacuumed the house, fed the cat, placed a food order, caught up with paperwork. I was dying inside but there was no alternative. After that, I collapsed.

I’ve learned to get one step ahead of a relapse. I hate being inactive on the sofa ( I hate my sofa so much it’s unreal). But I know it has to happen, no matter how much it kills me. I think if I can do everything possible, I will guarantee I’ll be able cope if something even worse happens in the next few days. It’s the ‘Single Parent With MS’ Dilemma. But at least the laundry’s done, and the t-shirt that makes The Teenager’s muscles really stand out is fresh and ready to wear. It’s priorities.

Back to the gravel. I lay stunned. The boss shouted down to me from the roof he was working from. My body had taken a huge whack and the pain was immense.

I had to get up. And you know what? I did. And for that I will be forever grateful as not all of us with MS could say that. So, as long as I’m able, I will treat relapses with the contempt they deserve.

Been there, done that …

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Dec 02 2015
2 Comments
Emotions

Pre-Relapse Stress Syndrome

worryAnyone else have Pre-Relapse Stress Syndrome?

After a rocky road back to some sense of recovery following my third course of Alemtuzumab in September, I am once more mired in my usual emotional mode – worrying about when the next MS relapse will strike.

Considering my last relapse began next to the hot-dog-and-fries stand in Ikea, I have reason to worry.

One minute I was holding a well-thumbed Ikea catalogue in one hand and a hot-dog in the other when splat, I was catapulted into outer MS space, floating around, my legs turned to jelly, my brain to mush.

I dropped the catalogue, but managed to hold on to the hot dog as I tried to tell my mum something was very, very wrong and it had nothing to do with the ketchup pump being out of order.

I don’t know why I was so surprised. I’ve had relapses start in random places before – walking up a garden path, sitting in a cafe eating a slice of carrot cake, in the middle of a book shop.

And there’s where the stress lies; it’s the Not Knowing. You can’t make a contingency plan. It’s a bit like having an MS UFO permanently hovering around just waiting to zap you up, mess around with you and spit you back out again.

I try to get on with normal life – my usual routine provides the solid framework I cling to. If there’s something I begin to struggle with, I’m suddenly alert. Dropped a cup? Poured boiling water over my hand? Walked into a wall? (hello again).

It’s not a great way to live, but it brings me back to mindfulness I wrote about in my last blog post – taking and experiencing life as it comes. Not projecting forward, just remaining in the moment. Om.

It’s definitely harder than it sounds. The slightest thing and I’m panicking. The relief when an episode comes to nothing is immense.

As it goes, I haven’t been back to Ikea since February. The trauma is still raw.

But. I could really, really do with ordering a family-sized hot-dog meal and eating it all by myself.

I blame the thyroid meds.

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