My daughter came home from college this week for the summer. As usual, she got sick at the end of the semester. My poor kids have no immune system. I wonder if it is genetic since my immune system is evidently screwed up, which caused me to have MS.
Now, I feel very lucky. I have MS, but it could be a lot worse. I try to always keep that thought in mind. I think the neurologist even said that to me when she formally diagnosed me as I lay in the bed after a spinal tap. I am on one of the newest approved medications that slows the progression and disability of MS, and I am probably doing better than I have since my diagnosis in 2000. It is a difficult disease to adapt to because of the multitude of symptoms and the anxiety that surrounds the unknown about the course of the disease. I think the first 6 months after I was diagnosed, my every waking breath was consumed with MS. You start to get used to things, like numb, tingling or burning feet. Every time something new crops up, you blame it on MS and you start to freak out all over again.
Fatigue is my biggest enemy. I also have fibromyalgia, so I have a double whammy in the fatigue department. Some days I can sleep most of the day. Then I get tired of doing that and force my butt to get up. Some days I can be fairly productive and other days can be a disaster.
I do find it difficult to focus---a little bit of ADD. I rarely cook meals anymore because I find myself wandering around the kitchen trying to think about what I am doing and what I should do next. Sometimes it can take a 1/2 hour to cook an egg. I get so lost in what I am supposed to be doing.
I know it sounds like I am whining, but truly I am grateful for many things: good doctors, available medications (there was no med for MS prior to 1993), a loving and supportive family and a great workplace who keeps encouraging me and giving me the will to go on many days.
