Current Reality with MS
Hello wonderful readers,
Happy Monday!
I hope you all had a beautiful week last week and were able to pause and express more thanks.
I want to start out this week by thanking all of you for reading this blog and sharing it with your family and friends. I would not be writing if it wasn't for your consistent readership and investment in this blog.
March is National Multiple Sclerosis Awareness month. Each week through the month of March, I will share a topic as it correlates with my life and Multiple Sclerosis. If you have any questions, or would like to know more on a certain topic, please feel free to leave a comment or reach out to me directly. I adore getting questions and hearing from you! Please keep connecting with me and invite others to connect with me because, believe it or not, I am a real human being behind this blog and I love connecting.
I will start this first week of sharing insight on my life with Multiple Sclerosis with a disclaimer. Every individual, loved one, family, friend, co-worker, acquaintance, or human that has connection with Multiple Sclerosis has a different story. What I have found works for me and my body might not work for you or your loved one. Multiple Sclerosis is unique to the individual, just like every other autoimmune disorder, disease, illness, or injury.
There is not an end all, be all solution.
My intention in sharing my story with Multiple Sclerosis is to connect with other like minded individuals, shed some light on new ideas, and give you the tools to be your own advocate for health and Wealth (yes, the Wealth that has nothing to do with money and everything to do with you living your life to the fullest). I would love to hear what has worked for you, and possibly what has not worked for you, so please share. I do ask that if we are sharing to remain positive, loving, and understanding behind every comment.
We are all on our own journey, so let's support and uplift one another along the way.
I have not shared an update on my health in some time, and I would like to be open and honest with all of you reading.
I have been taking an oral medication since July 2017 specifically for MS. This is a medication my doctor, my family, and I agreed to start since the first injectable medication was not strong enough to keep the episodes from occurring. My last (known) episode was in September 2017. Just because I have not had any known episodes does not mean I still do not suffer from symptoms in relation to MS.
So, I have been taking this newer oral medication for several months and have been making positive strides. Yes, I still have "off days", but I felt as though I was getting back to some type of "normal", whatever that may be. That was all until this past Thursday happened.
I had a follow-up scheduled with my Neurologist to see how things were going and to discuss how I have been feeling since I last saw him. We have been monitoring my liver enzymes while taking this oral medication and they have been fluctuating from normal to high. I had blood work completed last week Wednesday before my appointment so we could see how my liver is responding.
I thought I knew how this appointment would go, I set expectations in my mind that the doctor would be pleased with my progress and say, "see you in a few weeks for your next appointment", but that is not how it went in the slightest.
The Neurologist came into the room and shared that my liver enzymes are still very high and that I would possibly have to switch off of the oral medication I started in July 2017.
My heart dropped into my stomach and I could feel my throat start to swell. I thought I had been feeling better and I know the next step up for medications continues to get stronger which means more potential for side effects. I felt internally that all of my positive steps forward had been for nothing. I felt like a balloon that had all of the air let out of it. Needless to say, I was frustrated once again with my body and lack of positive progression.
Multiple Sclerosis has a way of humbling me in more ways than I could have every imagined.
We all have situations in life that humble us, we all hear hard news, or go through some type of loss in our lives, so I am no different from you.
I personally thought I was getting a glimpse of a "break", but I was humbled yet again by a larger plan that is not my own.
My Neurologist and I have a very good working relationship. Please note I said "working relationship", because when I go visit with my doctor, we are working together, not against one another. We both need to be in agreement with the plan moving forward, because I am his patient and this is my one and only body.
When my Neurologist suggested the next level of medication, I asked what my other options were. I took his medical suggestion in, digested it for a moment, and then asked for my options.
I was and am my own advocate.
My Neurologist and I came to the agreement that we would cut the dosage of the oral medication in half and continue to monitor my liver enzymes. I chose not to switch off of this medication just yet, because there is a part of me that believes my liver enzymes might be elevated due to something else, and I believe this medication to be working well for me. No one is able to give me a definitive answer as to how my body will respond to lowering the dosage or if my liver is acting up due to this medication; only time will tell.
This appointment, this decision, this discussion with my Neurologist, husband, and family is my current reality living a life with Multiple Sclerosis.
This reality is not an easy one, and it is a constant uphill battle.
I will have days where I feel "normal" again, and I will have "off days"; we all will.
No one can ever guarantee that these days will permanently vanish because we are all a work in progress.
Something I had to remind myself after this appointment was I am worth it. I am worth the healing, I am worth the sacrifice, I am worth it all.
Loving yourself is an every day practice. Some days it might come easy and some days it might feel impossible, but you are worth it. Trusting the process can feel impossible, do not deny yourself these feelings, allow these feelings to be. Breathe into them and do not be afraid to ask for help.
Asking for help is a strength, never a weakness.
You are not your diagnosis or what you struggle with.
You are a living, breathing, human being, and you are worth it all.
I greatly appreciate each one of you and I cannot wait to share more next week on the blog about living a life with Multiple Sclerosis.
Have a beautiful week everyone.
Subscribe, comment share.
Together, we rise. One breath at a time.
Make a difference, light the way, share your story today.
Namasté
Happy Monday!
I hope you all had a beautiful week last week and were able to pause and express more thanks.
I want to start out this week by thanking all of you for reading this blog and sharing it with your family and friends. I would not be writing if it wasn't for your consistent readership and investment in this blog.
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
March is National Multiple Sclerosis Awareness month. Each week through the month of March, I will share a topic as it correlates with my life and Multiple Sclerosis. If you have any questions, or would like to know more on a certain topic, please feel free to leave a comment or reach out to me directly. I adore getting questions and hearing from you! Please keep connecting with me and invite others to connect with me because, believe it or not, I am a real human being behind this blog and I love connecting.
I will start this first week of sharing insight on my life with Multiple Sclerosis with a disclaimer. Every individual, loved one, family, friend, co-worker, acquaintance, or human that has connection with Multiple Sclerosis has a different story. What I have found works for me and my body might not work for you or your loved one. Multiple Sclerosis is unique to the individual, just like every other autoimmune disorder, disease, illness, or injury.
There is not an end all, be all solution.
My intention in sharing my story with Multiple Sclerosis is to connect with other like minded individuals, shed some light on new ideas, and give you the tools to be your own advocate for health and Wealth (yes, the Wealth that has nothing to do with money and everything to do with you living your life to the fullest). I would love to hear what has worked for you, and possibly what has not worked for you, so please share. I do ask that if we are sharing to remain positive, loving, and understanding behind every comment.
We are all on our own journey, so let's support and uplift one another along the way.
I have not shared an update on my health in some time, and I would like to be open and honest with all of you reading.
I have been taking an oral medication since July 2017 specifically for MS. This is a medication my doctor, my family, and I agreed to start since the first injectable medication was not strong enough to keep the episodes from occurring. My last (known) episode was in September 2017. Just because I have not had any known episodes does not mean I still do not suffer from symptoms in relation to MS.
So, I have been taking this newer oral medication for several months and have been making positive strides. Yes, I still have "off days", but I felt as though I was getting back to some type of "normal", whatever that may be. That was all until this past Thursday happened.
I had a follow-up scheduled with my Neurologist to see how things were going and to discuss how I have been feeling since I last saw him. We have been monitoring my liver enzymes while taking this oral medication and they have been fluctuating from normal to high. I had blood work completed last week Wednesday before my appointment so we could see how my liver is responding.
I thought I knew how this appointment would go, I set expectations in my mind that the doctor would be pleased with my progress and say, "see you in a few weeks for your next appointment", but that is not how it went in the slightest.
The Neurologist came into the room and shared that my liver enzymes are still very high and that I would possibly have to switch off of the oral medication I started in July 2017.
My heart dropped into my stomach and I could feel my throat start to swell. I thought I had been feeling better and I know the next step up for medications continues to get stronger which means more potential for side effects. I felt internally that all of my positive steps forward had been for nothing. I felt like a balloon that had all of the air let out of it. Needless to say, I was frustrated once again with my body and lack of positive progression.
Multiple Sclerosis has a way of humbling me in more ways than I could have every imagined.
We all have situations in life that humble us, we all hear hard news, or go through some type of loss in our lives, so I am no different from you.
I personally thought I was getting a glimpse of a "break", but I was humbled yet again by a larger plan that is not my own.
My Neurologist and I have a very good working relationship. Please note I said "working relationship", because when I go visit with my doctor, we are working together, not against one another. We both need to be in agreement with the plan moving forward, because I am his patient and this is my one and only body.
When my Neurologist suggested the next level of medication, I asked what my other options were. I took his medical suggestion in, digested it for a moment, and then asked for my options.
I was and am my own advocate.
My Neurologist and I came to the agreement that we would cut the dosage of the oral medication in half and continue to monitor my liver enzymes. I chose not to switch off of this medication just yet, because there is a part of me that believes my liver enzymes might be elevated due to something else, and I believe this medication to be working well for me. No one is able to give me a definitive answer as to how my body will respond to lowering the dosage or if my liver is acting up due to this medication; only time will tell.
This appointment, this decision, this discussion with my Neurologist, husband, and family is my current reality living a life with Multiple Sclerosis.
This reality is not an easy one, and it is a constant uphill battle.
I will have days where I feel "normal" again, and I will have "off days"; we all will.
No one can ever guarantee that these days will permanently vanish because we are all a work in progress.
Something I had to remind myself after this appointment was I am worth it. I am worth the healing, I am worth the sacrifice, I am worth it all.
Loving yourself is an every day practice. Some days it might come easy and some days it might feel impossible, but you are worth it. Trusting the process can feel impossible, do not deny yourself these feelings, allow these feelings to be. Breathe into them and do not be afraid to ask for help.
Asking for help is a strength, never a weakness.
You are not your diagnosis or what you struggle with.
You are a living, breathing, human being, and you are worth it all.
I greatly appreciate each one of you and I cannot wait to share more next week on the blog about living a life with Multiple Sclerosis.
Have a beautiful week everyone.
Subscribe, comment share.
Together, we rise. One breath at a time.
Make a difference, light the way, share your story today.
Namasté
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