How Does Everyone Feel?
 

I'm not doing too bad, for an older fart with a dibilitating disease.:rolleyes::) I guess I have progressed a little in disability. That could be do to my age or MS or both.:mad:

I'm not in any horrible pain, just the usual spastic stuff and joint aches. Nothing I can't handle with an occasional asprin/aleve.

I just wanted to whine a bit about not being able to drive, shop, visit, take a walk, go down the basement and dance, anymore.:hissyfit:

NEXT......

Kinda what you said, Sal. Any day that's not awful is a day that's pretty good.

Some days I can keep my focus on the ways in which I feel good. Other days I can't keep from focusing on the ways I feel crummy.

Being 61, having MS, arthritis, IBS, overweight, etc...something usually hurts or doesn't work or both. It is what it is.

Today the weather is good, and that helps a lot of issues.

I think I strike a pretty even balance between rejoicing over my blessings and whining over my losses. Depends which day you catch me.

I have an appointment at the Neuro on Monday. Just my bi-annual check up.

I've had some weakness in my left leg that's been pretty noticeable for the past several weeks but I've also had a bladder infection (I'm over it now) so I'm blaming it on that. I'm sure it will get better.....albeit slowly.

I can still walk, talk, eat, breathe and whine so I'm doin' just fine! ;)

The heat did a number on me this week, especially in a cabin with no power...but DH managed to cool off our room with occasional bouts on the generator for the AC.
Leg spasms are sure debilitating...and getting up and moving makes me yell through pursed lips "Oil can! Oil can!" just like the Tin man did...
But I am grateful for what I CAN do, and I try my best to concentrate on that. I can still read, crochet, play games, swim, do my nails, listen to music, show my DH I love him;) and all sorts of stuff that makes life good.
Now if I can just get this darn bladder to act like a grown up girl...:rolleyes:

ME TOO!

I am doing better and better with each peice of stress I let go of. All this exercise is just whopping up on me, but I keep getting up. I am in bed by 7 and asleep by 8 and dont care if the rest of the world marches on without me. I am learning to march to the beat of MY drummer.

Im sorry you are feeling sad Sal. I think you need some gal pals to hang with. I wish I lived closer. :hug:

Well, today I hardly had any heart Palps, but I am attributing that to laying off of the Copaxone. I'm doing a little experiment here that I haven't discussed with my nuero yet, just trying to figure out what's causing it, but that's for another post. Cognitive issues are much better this week, but it is cooler here in Michigan...and I'm enjoying it!...Can't see well in the heat but making the best of it...how can I not!!

MRI Monday, will be my 3rd one.

Then I don't know if I'll have a follow up with only the GP or the neuro. I guess what the results show will decide that.

B2Y : "Any day that's not awful is a day that's pretty good." - Absolutely agree with this statement. I've had more awful days lately than not awful days (pain).

Hope you folks have more non-awful days :grouphug:

I had my coronation ceremony today!!!!!! Actually I got my crown on my tooth from when I had my root canal work done earlier. We had wanted a short vacation this summer but with $1,000 to take down an dead tree and $2,000 for a root canal that was our vacation.

I guess I shouldn't complain, oh but I will, lol. Still working and in grad school full time with only minimal MS crap. Tired all the time, eyes a bit funky, bathroom stuff well you know...:(

On the bright side I'm not in pain, not nauseous and will be able to walk my mutt across the street to take a swim later. Life today ain't bad in spite of the monster.

I woke up today and was able to put my feet on the floor and think. So I guess I'm OK!!!!!

You guys are the best..:grouphug:

I hope you all feel just a little bit better each day.. Now that's the kinda progression I'm talkin about.

I have too much other garbage going on to even think about the MS. I guess must not be too bad then, right??

I just ate at Applebys and am very gassy!

Who ya gonna call?:D:p:D

i guess all in all i'm pretty stable. my legs are a bit weaker but i'm still walking with a cane and driving.

i have friends to be with and for help and support.

my only problem is my eyes. my vision has taken a turn for the worse. i feel like i'm more nearsighted and my glasses don't help. my dr said he saw edema in my eyes and it might resolve. i see him again in about 6 wks but of course will go back sooner if it gets worse.

Talked to my daughter an hour or so ago, and she asked how I was feeling this morning. I said, Same as I feel EVERY morning at 6 o'clock: crappy. Ask me after I've been up a couple three hours how I'm feeling. I can't get an accurate reading this early.

Since the first of the year I haven’t been doing very well, MS wise. This is after a few years of feeling relatively good. The steroid taper I took a couple of weeks ago has seemed to do me some good in that my legs are quite a bit less painful. But my mobility is iffy at best, and I find that I am once again a full-time rollator user. Also, for the first time since I started on LDN I am considering charging up the ol’ power chair.

In some ways I only have myself to blame. Being without LDN for several weeks last spring certainly didn’t do me any good, and I did go out in an open boat in 92-degree heat a while back and that knocked me for a loop for a while.

I guess I’ll just continue to go with the flow. Sooner or later I’ll have a day or an hour in which I feel just a little bit better. I’ll grab that feeling and hang on to it, and build on it until I’m in the pink again. That is one good aspect of MS. If you don’t like your symptoms, just wait a minute!

Sorry, bad joke..:p:o

Hugs and good wishes all around..:grouphug:

Well, I have a Neuro appointment this afternoon and my left leg is doing it's "thing" so hopefully I can demonstrate how gimpy my walk is. Usually my symptoms seem to magically disappear whenever I have a Neuro appt. but reappear once I get back home. :mad: Not Funny!!

My hips have been hurting and I know it's my gait that's causing it. I wonder if he will suggest PT? If I slow to a snails pace I can walk fairly normally but nobody walks that slow normally.

I've had the weirdest thing going on with my left leg, though. I'll be walking along...slowly....and it's like I lose the ability to move my leg when it's mid-air as I'm taking a step. Feels strange and when it happens I "stomp". My left foot doesn't land on the floor in a walking motion....my whole foot just lands flat on the floor. It won't do that again for a while but it always catches me off guard when it does. Sort of like my leg just freezes mid step. Is that as clear as mud? :confused::rolleyes:. I never know how to describe these things. It's barely noticeable unless you're looking specifically for it and only I can feel it.

Oh well, just something else that only us with MS can relate to! :cool:

Really hot!!!

MRI went well this morning (up at 6 am, hospital at 6:45 am, was in the tube at 7 am or a bit after).

30 minute exam... 20 min pre-contrast, then 10 min or so after the injection.

Do I ever dislike the 'cold' sensation that crawls through the arm/side of the body of the injection. Ick.

I did fall asleep in the tube during part 1... Glad they had 'wedged' my head in place for imaging, since I dozed off and caught myself snoring. :p

Here too!! http://home.earthlink.net/~sal.pal/s...s/sweating.gif We have heat warnings here today.

My appointment went well. No PT for me. :( He didn't spend much time with me today like he usually does. He's nice enough but his "bedside manner" leaves alot to be desired. :rolleyes: Got my orders to come back in 6 months - or sooner if needed.

Oh, and the receptionist saved me a brownie from their catered luncheon they had today! ;)

I'm bored today. The hug reared it's nasty squeeze last evening. I tried doing something more physical today, like straightening up the house after our weekend but the hug yelled and squeezed me even more. So today I am laying flat on my back or on my side and applying ice and playing on the computer. I hate days like that and get so bored.:rolleyes: My mind is saying seize the day and my body is saying no way. My body won the battle. :p

Good things from today . . .I learned how to iChat this morning. DD19 is at her bf's parents house and needed something. Long story short, since her phone is not working right and she can only text, iChat was the easiest way I could read her the information she needed. It was pretty cool and i actually enjoyed it.

Maybe your primary doctor will order PT. Mine is always asking me if I would like to go for more PT. She tells me to just call if I want to go.

heat index this afternoon was 113! That's how I'm doing. I usually don't allow my DH to take a handicap place near to the building. I figure that should be saved for some one worse than I am but I do't mind him taking the first space today.

I don't know why but I am still getting little checks as refunds form Moms accounts and I finally got word form the VA that they are ready to take thier money back so I have to take a trip to the bank tomorrow. I thought the VA electronically removed the money. I will call the local VA first and also ask the bank. I'm not sending just any check off to the VA. I want Moms checking account closed. Or at least give it over to my brother who lives 4 hours away but is the executor.

HOT! :( didnt walk today. too hot. I have been experimenting with my diet. I read an article that If you hit a plateau and cant figure it out start dropping foods off the list. #1 to drop is oatmeal. Well, I eat oat meal EVERY morning! I dropped it and lost 2 pounds in two days! They were saying that sometimes your body gets so used to a food, and some oatmeals have sugars in them and that causes inflammation...(I admit I was using the prepackaged stuff) and to simply allow your body to wash off of it should allow it to rebalance. I normall had to work my bum off all week to loose 1.5 pounds, so how can just dropping oatmeal make me loose a pound in one day? I must research this.

mom got her goodbye quilt on monday. Refused to answer the door for UPS so they left it tucked in her door. As she left she kicked it into the bushes and it lay there till this morn. My sis went over to take her to an MD appointment and asked if she was crazy to leave it out there. She said "its from the liar! I dont want it, and...she gave it to my drug addicted sister! :eek: so...that was money well spent. according to my neice sis refused the package and left it on the couch unopened. Either way I was done with that package. With the latest drama I know I made the right choice. Dear God how did I end up with such a mom? Well, it is what it is.

Saw a new neuro yesterday. Cute lil thing. She said "its time for your MRI!" I said "um..no!" she said "whuh? :confused:" I said you can have ONE every 2 years! not every six months. She had to get the head guy in the room, and we settled on one per year. We went on about my decreasing vision, my hug sx, and my brain tumor and then they threw out the standard of care...I went on about intubations, gastroparesis, severe anxiety, ...so we all met in the middle. Half as many as I wanted, but half as often as they wanted too.

my son is surviving well after his car accident, but living with sticky head is getting to him. She is a money bully and keeps taking his paycheck. How can he save for a car if he has zero money? He has asked if he can come up here. I said "for retraining, yes! for hangout and sob stories, no!" so he has already called all of the phone #s I gave him. He has several interviews lined up. God save me. this is going to be hard.

Thats how I am doing.

I forgot to mention yesterday.....or maybe I meant to forget to mention it :o........the nurse weighed me at my Neuro appt and I've gained 4 pounds! :mad: I know I sneak a treat every now and then but four whole pounds?! Oh well, guess I need to revise my eating habits a little.

Hi Kelly! I have the same problem with my gait and hip pain. :(. The pain never goes away without some narcotic pain med.

My neuro doesn't believe PT will help. He explained that because my gait is caused by MS and the 'messages' are not getting through to my legs, PT won't help. He said I can't retrain my legs to behave the way that they should. :(. I am hoping to do some MS yoga (I have a dvd) when I feel up to it.

I'm sorry your neuro didn't help :hug:.

That's what my Neuro said, too. PT won't help. I try to walk correctly but my gait just sort of does it's own thing. I wonder if it looks as weird as it feels? :o

thankfully, the weather is a bit cooler .. in the 70s and LESS humidity!!

I'm doing good - always want to do SO much ... and have learned that I can't ... and I can NOT get stressed about not getting everything done today, either!! LOL

learning to pace myself .. and enjoy the small victories ... daily .. and sometimes, hour to hour!!

have a great day!!

Ok, I just have to get this off my chest as this is how I am feeling.

I am not able to drive until I go so many months without another seizure/neurological event. It is so hard sometimes to sit around the house all day and go nowhere and/or see no one (until DBF comes home). DD19 is gone to her bf's parents house and won't be back until this weekend. Last week I went to my mom's for a visit and to spend time in the a/c. This week, I'm home and it gets boring. Well, boring isn't the right word as I have plenty to do. I would say lonely. I think that is why I enjoyed my iChat with DD19 so much yesterday. DD21 is on vacation with her bf and his family. She'll be back today though and I asked her to take me somewhere, anywhere, once she gets back. :p

While I keep myself busy with all sorts of different things, there are some days I just miss the company and having someone around. It is worse when I am in pain or don't feel well. I guess it has to do with growing up in a large family where someone was always around. When I go to DD21's apartment for some a/c time, not only do I feel great in the a/c but the noise around the apartment is comforting. My house is quiet. While most of my neighbors are home all the time, you never see or hear them. Even though it's summer, I never hear the kids out playing. Maybe it is too hot. :p But during the school year, I love it when the bus drops the kids off and I can hear their voices and laughter as they walk home. And, they are out playing more after school.

When I was able to drive, I made sure I went out somewhere everyday. I would go to the library on some days. I would go to the store. I would even sit in McDonalds for a while. It didn't matter where I went as long as I went. And, you meet all sorts of people while out and to me that is awesome.:p I love meeting all sorts of people. Even though I am a shy person, I enjoy listening to what others have to say. In fact, most of my "conversation" with others is based on me just listening.:p

I often think of you all as I know many of you are in the same position that I am and wonder how you all do it. How do you deal with being alone so much? And, don't get me wrong, I do enjoy being by myself and can certainly keep myself entertained but there are days that it is just so hard.

So, that is how I am feeling today.

For the most part, Trish, I enjoy being alone, so I'm of little help to you. I know what you mean, though, enjoying other Ppl living their lives and the children playing and laughing.

Like you, I do miss being able to jump in my car, at the drop of a hat, and go go go!:) I can't *jump up* and do anything, anymore.:mad:. I had to learn to relax and enjoy what I have and can do and to not dwell on the stuff I am unable to do.

I've had years to gear up for this, though, if I was still in my 40s, 50s or even early 60s, I would still be a bit anxious about it.

(((((Trish)))))

i rarely drive anymore, and most days even if I wanted to I couldnt see to get myself to town. This isnt going to get any better I dont think. Full exam yesterday and they said my ON is a mess, and they are surprised that I do as well as I do. They were also quite pleased that I walk even tho I go blind. Said in some MS folks its really common. So, i have to count on folks to get me to and fro as well. I do have an occasional good day that I can make it to the local market, post office and dollar store, but I wouldnt trust myself farther than that. its about 5 miles away, and thats more than enough.

Its freaky hot here! WTH? did I wake up in GA? :confused:

Thanks, Sally!:hug: Today is just one of those days where I don't feel like sitting in the house all day and want some company. I do miss jumping in the car and just going anywhere. A little over a year ago, when I had vertigo issues, I stopped driving as much. Like Dej, I go short distances. Long distances are tougher on me as it is hard to hold my leg in one position and, more importantly, due to a slow processor, I have a really hard time absorbing all that is going on around me in order to be a good driver. I am not "seeing" everything and find myself jumping or changing lanes due to some visual thing that made me jump and react and yet not fully checking the other lane before switching (Does that make sense?). So, I keep my driving to a minimum.

I haven't read any of the prior posts so....how do I feel....with my hands!!!!:D

I fell like someone took a baseball bat with nails sticking out of it dipped in hot tar and beat the carp out of me. Between the glass in my foot, my swollen ankle, ms carp and the lack of insurance to do anything about it....I am beat down, broken, dead on my feet chasing after 2 kids and trying my best to survive the heat.

Aside from all of that, I am ok. How you doin'?:hug:

:D That's funny, Craig! My hands don't feel everything though.:D

BTW- Good to see you posting and I hope you are doing well.:hug: