The week following diagnosis, the MS nurse come to visit, and the medication commenced.
As the year drew to a close, it become apparent that I needed to take time of work to really take this beast by the horns and fully focus on recovery. I believed that time to relax and be 'stress free' would see a miraculous recovery. It didn't.
I looked more into diet, anti-inflammatory foods & continued to work on muscle function which seemed to be quickly diminishing.
I gave up running, walks become much shorter, gym (which was weekly) become limited and eventually had to stop. I started weekly 1:1 Pilates (x 3) and Exercise Physiology sessions.
When the time come to return to work, I knew it couldn't be full time again. Taking the time off made fatigue better. I knew I couldn't do life and FT work so I returned in a part time capacity.
Several months passed, I juggled appointments and work and didn't really give MS a thought, I didn't have time to... so I made the very hard and unfair decision to resign from work altogether.
As I continued to decline, my physical ability was severely compromised, what was easy and done without much thought, was now the most challenging thing. I describe my constant feeling as being like I am drunk and out of control all the time. I decided to do an anti-inflammatory detox as one of my many MRIs had shown that one of my three lesions (no increase since initial MRI) had flared up and was a little inflamed. The detox was intense... I had to make daily visits to the clinic for infared sauna sessions and then go to the beach for a dip in the ocean. Now that may not sound rough but it was August!!! I also had to go off coffee for weeks, drink epson salts, put tea tree oil on my tongue, in my nostrils and ears, do an eye rinse - morning and night for a week. Drink mostly vegetable juices and when I did re-introduce food, it was raw Bok choy and quinoa.
After 10 days I ended up in hospital. Luckily Paige was home and called an ambulance, the officer said my sugar level was so low, it was lucky I didn't have a seizure. The length you go to for better health.
I also noticed a cognitive decline was starting to happen. My spacial awareness seemed to disappear. So that ended my driving.
My outings have become very limited. If I do need to go out it's usually by Uber or Tayla who has stayed home to help me out. Pilates 1:1 continued twice a week with a friend who has a studio at West Lakes, eventually becoming home visits to utilise the gym I have set up at home, including a reformer.
I opted for a monthly injection, I couldn't bring myself to administer, so Marcus took on that task. As the weeks and months passed so did the testing and avenues to try beat this thing. It's an incurable disease, I know that, but I won't let it defeat me.
I sought further investigations from:
- Ophthalmologist
- Ears Nose Throat Specialist - requested additional hearing and muscle testing
- MS specific physiotherapist (on regular basis)
- Dizziness and Balance Specialist
- Integrative Doctor - who put me on weekly IV supplements for 6 weeks + daily tablets to take
- Specific supplements only available from the USA
As the year drew to a close, it become apparent that I needed to take time of work to really take this beast by the horns and fully focus on recovery. I believed that time to relax and be 'stress free' would see a miraculous recovery. It didn't.
During my time off, I continued on my quest for recovery, the golden bullet.
I looked more into diet, anti-inflammatory foods & continued to work on muscle function which seemed to be quickly diminishing.
I gave up running, walks become much shorter, gym (which was weekly) become limited and eventually had to stop. I started weekly 1:1 Pilates (x 3) and Exercise Physiology sessions.
When the time come to return to work, I knew it couldn't be full time again. Taking the time off made fatigue better. I knew I couldn't do life and FT work so I returned in a part time capacity.
Several months passed, I juggled appointments and work and didn't really give MS a thought, I didn't have time to... so I made the very hard and unfair decision to resign from work altogether.
As I continued to decline, my physical ability was severely compromised, what was easy and done without much thought, was now the most challenging thing. I describe my constant feeling as being like I am drunk and out of control all the time. I decided to do an anti-inflammatory detox as one of my many MRIs had shown that one of my three lesions (no increase since initial MRI) had flared up and was a little inflamed. The detox was intense... I had to make daily visits to the clinic for infared sauna sessions and then go to the beach for a dip in the ocean. Now that may not sound rough but it was August!!! I also had to go off coffee for weeks, drink epson salts, put tea tree oil on my tongue, in my nostrils and ears, do an eye rinse - morning and night for a week. Drink mostly vegetable juices and when I did re-introduce food, it was raw Bok choy and quinoa.
After 10 days I ended up in hospital. Luckily Paige was home and called an ambulance, the officer said my sugar level was so low, it was lucky I didn't have a seizure. The length you go to for better health.
I also noticed a cognitive decline was starting to happen. My spacial awareness seemed to disappear. So that ended my driving.
My outings have become very limited. If I do need to go out it's usually by Uber or Tayla who has stayed home to help me out. Pilates 1:1 continued twice a week with a friend who has a studio at West Lakes, eventually becoming home visits to utilise the gym I have set up at home, including a reformer.
I consider myself lucky, as it could be so much worse. I am grateful that I am still pain free, although have had to make some huge adjustments and given up a lot. I used to think I could do just about anything I set my mind to. Who knew the body has the ability to just stop doing what it is meant to without warning?
Comments
Post a Comment