Sunshine!
The weather is getting warmer, the
grass is getting greener and the first bit of heat of the year starts
seeping through. Most people welcome the passage into spring
including myself, but it is always followed by fear and trepidation
on my behalf, and others who suffer from MS. Although i live with
this illness year round, and am prone to random attacks of Paralysis,
aphasia, fatigue, leg cramping, insomnia phantom pain, emotional
incontinence, clumsiness, problems swallowing, disorganised thinking
and my all time favourite blurry vision and or blindness, (because
it's not hard enough to stay on your feet when you can see what you
are tripping over, MS throws that little extra kick in!) summer is
probably the worst for people who have ms for flare ups.
Recently I had a run in with my old
friend leg cramps. They come and go, sometimes they signal the start
of an MS attack, sometimes they are just there to remind me to be
grateful that I can still walk albeit slowly! Spring does not
officially start until my legs randomly (and usually at the most
inappropriate times) start to spasm, cramp, flex, or harden all by
themselves. Often times I'm mystified how many odd signals my brain
sends out and would actually spend time pondering this fact if I
wasn't busy trying to fight back the tears. Ever had a foot cramp
on the arch of your foot where your toes bend backward all by
themselves? Same feeling but usually spread out over the entire
legs. On a scale of one to ten in reality it's probably and 8. I
would also have to put an appendix pain at an 8 to give a better
scale of reference.
Muscle
relaxers such as Bacolfen are usually prescribed, but since my body
(not due to MS but because I'm weird) does not respond to such drug
it is pointless to take it. I have found humour to be a pretty
affective way to deal with the pain of leg cramps, or the MS hug
(intercostal muscle spasms) and generally pretty
much every symptom that MS happens to toss at me.... except
problems swallowing because there is nothing funny about just about
choking to death on your fig newton..... and yes this has happened.
Okay maybe it is a little funny.... like considering what the death
notification would say.... Pamela was taken too soon from us by a
chewy cookie of deliciousness. In Lieu of
flowers please donate a Nabisco product to the homeless as she was
always an advocate for the underprivileged. See funny right?
Oh I've digressed I
was speaking about summer. Did I mention short term memory loss?
The good thing about summer is the extra amount of sun which produces
vitamin D which helps to combat flare ups and ward off the crippling
depression that generally comes with MS. Although Doctors are not
sure if MS is the causality for depression or co morbid disorder
caused by being ill the one thing they can agree on is that Vitamin D
is good for people who have MS and people who are Depressed. Woopie,
I fit both of those bills so sunshine here I come! I'll
just have to stay cool doing it. :D
For those friends and
family members out there of people who have MS and those that have
it, here are some tips on how to make life in the summer a little
easier:
* Make sure you bring
water or some other liquids to keep cool
* Make sure there is
adequate shade when planning outdoor events better still make sure
there is an reconditioned space close by to get him or her to.
(It's not the heat it's the humidity is very true)
* Imagine yourself
running full tilt in a sauna after you have just
run a marathon. This is how it feels to
someone with MS when it is humid. Walking 10 feet may just be a
physical impossibility with the heat.
This can include getting from the air conditioned car to the grocery
store or other appointment. During a heat wave
offer politely to accompany them for company.
If you have MS, avoid going out when there are heat warnings out,
make sure you have a fully stocked fridge and
if you do go out remember:
* Ice packs are
a lifesaver!
* Remember
the speed at which a person with MS can run into a problem in the
heat is equivalent to the terminal velocity of an anvil dropped out
of a helicopter at low altitude, so be thoughtful when dealing with
your friend or family member. Perhaps the hottest day of the year
would not be appropriate for that outdoor barbecue. Do by all means
invite (no one likes to feel left out) but do not be surprised or
hurt if he or she is not able to attend.
Keep cool my friends.
Oh and once again I apologise for the weird spelling errors in the
first couple of blogs, I will have to go back and correct them at a
later date. The program I use to write on is significantly different
than the one I blog with.
