I know, I know. Or better I know that I should know better. I haven’t been very good with my Avonex lately. Usually I am taking my shot every Friday – but due to moving into a different state, trying to find a hospital who is still willing to sponsor international nurses as well as some personal issues I wasn’t able to find a day where I could take my shot for a couple of weeks. I am scared as the last time I didn’t take my shot for a few months I have been heading down towards an exacerbation. And I really don’t want to get into that again. A few minutes ago I have given myself the shot and wait now for the side effects. The good thing – House will be on at 9. So I am trying to stay up until then, watch the show and then go to bed and hope that my side effects will be covered up by my sleeping pill. I don’t like taking Ambien. But if I only take it one day a week (not even that much if I skip my Avonex) than this s fine. And it surely, does give me a good night sleep. So if you are still suffering from your side effects ask you doctor for one pill each week. Give it a try – for me it makes a big difference in the way I feel the following morning. Without Ambien I feel really bad. With Ambien I feel just a little bit on the strange side – it is a no-brainer to me. But again, after not taking my Avonex for a few weeks, I expect some bigger side effects this week. But we will see how it goes.
My Dog Banjo
Like everybody else, who gets hit with the diagnosis of Multiple Sclerosis, I felt depressed and was on an all-time low point of my life. But thanks to my friend I was able to get out of this dark hole much quicker than everybody around me would have thought.
Maybe this article will help some of you to get out of the depression you are in. I know I was deeply depressed after receiving my diagnosis. But there is help out for you. It doesn’t have to come in form of little colorful pills. My help came on four little legs with a fluffy tail.
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Think What You Can Do – And Not What You Can’t Do
Multiple Sclerosis can strike you in many different ways. I am very lucky that I haven’t been hit much and anticipate that it will stay this way for a very long time. I truly believe with all my heart, that I am one of those people that have a mild case. And after having M.S. for almost 7 years now I feel that I am there. I am one of them.
But if your M.S. had made a big break in your life than try find a way to rewire yourself, the way your brain tries to rewire itself after each attack. Maybe you have trouble with your vision and can’t read any longer but you do love books? Did you know how many audiotapes you can get? But audiotapes might not be the only way to go. I still remember when we had Christmas parties in my sport groups back in Germany when I was a little kid. It was just so great to sit in the big gym with just some candles lighten up the room and the instructor reading Christmas poems and Christmas stories to us.
Why don’t you get together with a friend on a regular basis to include a reading hour into your weekly routine. This way you would be able to get to know what other people are reading and your friends will feel that they can actively help you with your multiple sclerosis. Or what about this? You don’t know what you would like to wish for your birthday? How about asking for a personal recording of you favorite book? (Hopefully, it is not War and Peace) I have done this one time for my nieces and nephews back in Germany.
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Respect Can Go a Long Way
I would like to start this post with a quote from John W. Gardner
If you have some respect for people as they are, you can be more effective in helping them to become better than they are.”
Unfortunately, you won’t find that everybody is living by the same principals. And sometimes the people that ask you for the most respect don’t show any in return. But they do take your money.
Here is my sad story.
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My first MRI
Events came to be almost on a daily basis. One day I had to go to one doctor who sent me to another doctor who wanted to try something else out. The day of my first MRI was rather scary because I knew that images can show much more than what my body had experienced. I would lie if I would say that I was calm going into my first MRI.
But let me start a few days earlier. Knowing that I will see some images of my not so pretty brain was one thing, but when I made the arrangements to get those visuals done I was shocked, as I was found out that I need to pay 30% of the cost up front, as I didn’t have insurance at that point of time. So in order to get this diagnostic test done I had to come up with around $600, which I had to borrow from friends. Once I was able to hold $600 in my hands ( I don’t think that I ever had so much cash in my hands before) I was able to hand it over to the place who would tell me what is wrong with me.
My First Avonex Shot
Although, this moment lies almost six years in the past I can still remember that day the like it was yesterday.
It didn’t take long for me to set up the appointment for the Avonex nurse to come see me. The nurse came into our house and showed me how I am supposed to clean my hands, set up the clean area so that I can mix my Avonex – yes, during my first couple of years I didn’t have the pleasure of receiving an already filled syringe, clean the injection side and put the long needle into my leg. I had to withdraw 1.0 ml of normal saline and mix it with the white tablet in the other bottle, gently swirl the vial without making bubbles, looking wether the liquid turned yellow or stayed nice and clear before filling up the needle that should soon get in contact with my leg. My problem wasn’t really the mixing of the drug. My problem was that long needle. How should I ever jam that thing into my muscle? The Avonex nurse showed me via an orange how to stick the needle into the orange skin. Again, I don’t mind sticking an orange skin. An orange skin can’t feel pain. But I can!
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Avonex CDs
When I first looked up information on Avonex I knew that the side effects would be awful. I couldn’t find anywhere that people would take the shot go to bed and wake up the next morning as if nothing had happened. This is just not the way Avonex works.
You will feel like having the flu. And the first weeks and months you might feel bad for even the next day. Later on you will only feel bad during the night. This is the reason why I am taking a sleeping pill every Friday. If I can sleep through the side effects I am so much better of on Saturdays.
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Take care of Yourself
How often did you hear this? “Take care of yourself!” Everybody should take this saying serious. But people with Multiple Sclerosis should not only listen, but also act accordingly. If you are like every other person you know that you can get sick if you take your child into the sick child waiting room at your pediatrician. But people with MS have other things to look out for that might cause major trouble along the way. This doesn’t mean that attacks might come for no reason. But some attacks or flare-ups might come your way because you invited them to join you for a while.
Here are some examples of things that you should avoid (if you can):
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