@ Rest Area 51 Paging ALL MS Newbies May 06 '12

[gomer]

Welcome to Rest Area 51... a special haven our your New MS family for newbies Dx'd w/MS in recent days or years and old-timers that are newbies at heart.

Take a well deserved break from your travels on the MSuper highway,pull into a nice cozy shady parking spot, Pitch a tent or just lay out a blanket and enjoy the crisp cool fresh air . Help yourself to fresh Cider and donuts. The camp fire is roaring in the open pit ready for hot dogs, marshmallows and smore's Feel free to share your ideas, experiences and support to your fellow newbies. Relax, you are among friends, friends that understand. We have a virtual soap box, feel free to vent anytime.

Being a newbie can be as scary and lonely as being in limbo, Remember we are you family away from family. The BIG question answered means many more new questions and decisions. For those still working on, seeking a formal MS Dx, I highly recommend you check out MinivanMama's Limbo Island.

PLEASE.... Let us know how YOU, a member of our MS newbies family is doing.


Have a QUESTION? Please don't be shy........
The only dumb stupid question........is the one NOT asked.

Take care and hope all our rest area crew are doing well.

How was your Week?........
...Good I hope, Any Dr.apts tests etc?

....Any Dr. apts. tests etc.

Gomer Sir Falls--Lot

[journeyman]

??? MS

All is strangely quiet on the home front. Except for one odd thing.

On my left foot in the middle of the foot - (second toe in from the "piggy toe"), I started getting pain. Over the day it got so bad that I had to walk on my heel or other side of my foot. I couldn't wear sandles or even tennis shoes.

Knowing my history of dropping things on my self, stepping on things, banging into things and falling I just figured I had bruised it. This lasted over three days.

Then the pain began to radiate along the nerve route around the ankle bone and up to just below the knee. The nerve kept throbbing even when I was sitting and off the foot.

I kept looking for swelling and bruising but nothing. In the evening of the third day I sat down to watch the evening news on the tube. My wife called me for dinner and when I stood up there was no pain !!! Stupidly I stomped my foot, flexed it, mashed on it no pain.

??? MS. Very wierd.

GOMER - or Sir Falls A Lot
were you referring to me as a "Soap Opera?"

Dave

[bops_mama]

I finally decided that sulking and being depressed about this whole MS thing was not getting me anywhere....I am still not happy about it but i am dealing a lot better.....I have decided that ICING after the injection is VITAL...and also that it is the easiest to inject directly after my shower...it seems to hurt a lot less.....

other than the injections sometimes tingly left leg, and constant tiredness i dont feel all that different I am thankful that my neuro caught it as early as he did...I am hopeful that my life will be as normal as possible.....(some days more than others)

This marks month 2 of injections.......and month 3 of being DX...... hope everyone is well

[gomer]

Welcome bops_mama...........

I KNEW for a long long time something was wrong, just not WHAT? The formal MS dX just gave a name to it and the ability to fight my MonSter.


Gomer Sir Falls-a-lot

[journeyman]

Dave's Research

After examining the numbers over the last week, which have been declining, that my painful three days of needles and pins to mostly my left brain was "just" a flair. At least I have indicators for a flair which I don't expect to be much different than for the next extended episode.

I am still keeping track of numbers and watching for a trend for my next episode. If it holds to form I expect in within a month or two.
Dave

[journeyman]

Laughing.

Being a ret. Cardiac & Psych RN, there is research out there that has proven that positive thoughts, happiness and laughter change the physiology of the body.

When you are depressed your immune system lowers. Which makes you more depressed and lowers the body's ability to take care of itself. The positive aspects reverses that trend.

I have found for me, four years after being diagnosed - thirty some years of un-dx'd symptoms that it helps me.

I started small with what I was capable of.
1. Getting out and getting some sunlight even if it was sitting in a lawn chair.
2. I began to watch comedies on the tube.
3. I asked friends to send me humorous stuff they come across and e-mail it to me.
4.I began to dabble in my artwork, (multi-media acrylic painting. (When I say dabble I meant like doing only one color a week.).
5. In Florida the heat does not lend itself to veggies in the garden but I am running over with herbs.

[journeyman]

Laughing contd.

I hate it when notes leave when your not finished and you have not proofed it.

I think I was talking about growing herbs. I do not have a back yard but I do have a pool with a large pool deck. I have so many planters with different herbs growing like crazy. It is very rewarding for me.

I have Basil coming out of my ears. I dry them, crumble them and give them to friends with directions for use.
I pot the plants one or two at a time so I don't get overwhelmed. One plant continues to produce all season and even in the house during winter.

In vermont, another cultural custom from up there, we had so much Basil and Sage that at the end of the season we would cut the plants at the base and tie them in a bundle and hang them near the ceiling in the warmth and they would give a really homey smell to our house all winter. We even made wreaths out of them. Another sustained source of happiness and well being that you did this.

I am now putting them in small containers and giving them away to friends, church friends and to our homeless program at church. For the homeless it help the very plain food that we give out taste a little better.

I have besides Basil, Dill, Rosemary, Sage, Pineable sage, Orange sage, Nasturtium, Jalapenos, Okra, etc. I found a book called "The Vegetable Gardeners Bible at the bookstore. In it was something that is common knowledge by everybody when I lived in Vermont. "A Companion Table."

Its for those of you who like Organic but can't afford it. I have never been able to grow tomatoes. The book tells you to plant Basil at the base of your tomatoe plants to keep bugs away. I have had bug none this year and got a bumper crop.

I know that I've run on but I wanted to share this research and source of happiness and fulfillment that helps with my symptoms of the MonSter. I only do what I can.

Happy Mother's day to all you moms, (and celebration to the caretakers. "surrogate Moms")

Dave in Tampa Florida
journeyman

[struck-a-nerve]

Was a big week. Got my c spine MRI. Three lesions. Met an ms spec who said my disease is really aggressive. Starting rebif once approved but he wanted to start Ty.

He said too many brain lesions to count and that I have had this a long time. He was mad my old pcp missed my attack last year.

Symptoms remain strong even after 5.5 weeks so he did another round of solumedrol for 3 days.

I had 7 appointments this week. One next week with ophthalmology who said yesterday they cannot fix the double vision unless it sticks around for 6 months . But they did put medical tape on my glasses and besides looking stupid I can see singly for now. This is her short term management plan. Going back cause she dx ON in the right eye.

So there you have it. Wishing you all a good weekend.