So much time has passed in fact, and so much has happened, that I don't know where to start.
Therefore, I've decided to not even try and recap. I'll just ramble and see where things take me. Good place to start though is how much I have learnt about myself, and my MS over the last 6 months.
For starters, I'm feeling much much MUCH better since my last post, written during my last relapse. The steroids did their work swiftly, and IV steroids seemed to suit me much better, so that's the first big thing I learnt. No more oral steroids. The side effects are much worse and recovery time is longer.
The second thing I've learnt, is that Amantadine works for me (sadly it doesn't for everyone). Feel stupid for not trying it before when it was suggested to me, but I really didn't want to feel weird and spaced out. I try not to take meds unless I really need to. But Amantadine, just helps enough to give me oomf to survive the day. I feel much more myself.
And combined with a morning Berroca, Ginseng and Guarana supplement and I feel positively...
The third thing I have learnt is that yes. Moving house really is one of the most stressful things you can do.
I didn't really anticipate how emotionally stressful it would be. We actually had the removal firm pack for us, and me and Lib disappeared for the actual moving day, so it could have been much worse, but my goodness. The whole process was just exhausting. It's only now, sitting on my comfy new bed with a snoozy girl and pooch lying next to me, listening to the sound of birds (in our old place, it usually the constant sound of traffic/building work) that I can take a step back and realise how tough it was. But it's done now. And we have a beautiful new home, and we're all very happy. There are a million and one posts I could write about moving/new house/etc so for now I'll leave it at that!
Number 4? I've learnt that I have been sleeping badly for possibly 4 years. The new house is in a conservation area, so it's dark at night. And quiet. And there isn't a flipping great lamp-post outside our bedroom window, or traffic tearing down the main road at all hours. Or drunk people shouting at 3am. It's amazing. Most mornings (nobody's perfect) I wake up and feel refreshed, instead of groggy.
Hmmm....the fifth and final thing wot I have learnt? Following my last relapse, I've learnt that MS is an enigma and I need to be on my toes. I think I mentioned in my last post how strange it was having new symptoms crop up, and how I put them down to other causes, not my MS. Well, this relapse definitely taught me that if I experience anything 'odd' I shouldn't shrug it off. I fell into the 'well my walking's ok, so I must be alright' trap! The one thing that drives me mad (like so many other MS sufferers), is some people's assumption that you're fine because you're not using a stick/in a wheelchair/blah blah, and yet I was doing myself! Complete idiot! The cerebral symptoms, like losing memory, might not be as physically shocking but they're just as serious. There's only so much you can put down to 'baby brain' (yep, two and a half years in, and I'm still milking that one!). I was reminded when I had my steroids in Feb, that I can actually have them every 4 months, so I've definitely learnt to consider going to the neurologist earlier if there are worrying signs, instead of waiting for me to hit rock bottom. Try and be a bit pre-emptive, perhaps.
Anyway, I think that's enough waffling for today. It's good to be writing again! :)
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