Are you able to reverse the damage MS has caused, like walking and balance. Been taking physical therapy mostly for balance, it's very hard. It seems like I can't get better. The exercises causes me to get so tired later in the day, all my energy is before lunch. I've had this a long time and I don't think I've ever accepted it

Hi poochie,

I don't know about reversing MS damage--I haven't heard of that. But there are work-arounds you can develop as time goes by and you observe how your MS behaves. Even if you're no longer working at a job, you still have things you want to do and need to do, and the problem is how to get away with them without causing MS symptoms to kick up.

I kept on wanting to cook for many years, for instance. I liked to make a recipe and freeze individual servings for later use, or to make a couple of loaves of bread and freeze them. Every day I made a salad. I did various types of eggs for breakfast (poached, scrambled, fried, etc.).

The problem was how to get away with standing around in the kitchen, which might be hot, while needing to get at things in cupboards, stir, chop, peel, rinse, mince, whisk, and baste--then clean it all up afterwards. I'd tire out in the midst of the process, my bladder would start to act up, my legs would go all heavy, and my vision would get cloudy. I might have to rest in my wheelchair for a while.

I got a rolling table with adjustable height and moved it and my wheelchair into the kitchen and set up all of the supplies I needed (cutting board, knife, peeler, plastic bags, plus the fruits or veggies for the recipe) and just sat there to do the tasks.

The kitchen wasn't really big enough for all of this and so often I moved the operation into the living room. Not so easy to clean up things I dropped on the carpet as on the kitchen floor but I tried to be careful.

After years of this kind of thing--plus planning the bread-making operation so that I could devote the entire day to it with absolutely no other jobs (no laundry, no cleaning, no ironing, no errands, nothing)--I gradually moved on to the point where I hardly cook much at all any more. No more daily salads, no more bread-making, no more recipes. My main meal is something from the freezer or a package.

This simplification has given me energy I didn't know I had. My energy was being used up in the effort of cooking--and let's not forget dishwashing and general kitchen maintenance. If you cook, grease droplets get sprayed around. This happens far less if you don't eat meat. I haven't been near meat in 30 years and have noticed how clean the kitchen stays. I hardly ever have to clean my oven.

I mention all of this just as an example of how you can get away with doing some things if you try to stay flexible and are willing to keep changing the way you do them so you can sneak past the MS, in a way.

How long have you been doing the physical therapy? Every time I've had it, it's been a course of 8 sessions (over 4-6 weeks) and at first it was difficult and didn't seem to help much. Or maybe you need a different physical therapist. The right balance exercises should be of some help but you do have to keep up with them regularly and make sure you're doing them the right way. A good physical therapist pays attention to how you're breathing during the exercises and whether you're maintaining your form.

Hi Agate been doing physical therapy for about 4 wks 3 times a week. Sounds like you have things under control. I cook for my dh he is very helpful and considerate but I do get tired of it. Today I cleaned and spray painted a chair and now my legs hurt and are very week. That's what I don't like, can't seem to do but only one thing per day

Where I live I can get water exercise 3 times a week, approx 50 min a time. When the pool was closed because of covid 19 and I did not get this exercise my mobility was less and balance worse. I am regaining what I lost.. this exercise helps me! I am almost 72 years of age and have exercised for most of my life!

Wishing us all well on this road we have been put on.

Linda

P.S. I walk with a walker around my condo, beyond that I use a scooter.. my R leg does not move well/much and this is my normal. I do cook/bake, nothing like before. I sit down in-between parts of what I'm making/baking. I adjust

Hi Linda,
It sounds as if you're playing the hand you've been dealt with a lot of resilience.

With these chronic disorders we do have to roll with the punches, I'd say. Easier said than done at times.