I was trying to think of a witty title for the post, but as so much has happened since my last one you got the very succinct title above (at least it's better then urgh, which was my first thought).
Has a lot really happened though? I'm unsure. Having an 11 month old just seems to suck time away from you. It's not long before Ed is 1. Flipping 1! It has gone ridiculously quickly. Everything is just brilliant with him aside from the fact that he's so heavy, so lifting him has been a real issue. Luckily though, just as we really started to struggle he started to crawl, so at least I can now tempt him along instead of have pick him up. You know. Like a dog...or a horse. ;)
The biggest thing on my mind is that I'm due to start disease modifying treatment tomorrow. It's been a drawn out wait, but we are GO for Tecfidera, people! It's an oral drug so 'hurray' for that, and I'm excited to see whether it makes a difference, once the possible side-effects wear off. Apparently it can be pretty horrible, but I've just got to stick it out for 12 weeks when it will a lot better (again, apparently).
I was gearing up for it a few weeks ago though and what happens? Yep indeedy. A relapse. To be honest, I was struggling through it for a long time (as usual going " oh, it's probably just a virus"....until it slaps me around the face like a wet kipper) so actually by the time I went in to get steroids the worst was over. It was my 15th relapse in 15 years, and I'm well aware of the fact that on average it's around year 15 when things start to progress to secondary progressive MS...but I'm trying not to dwell on that. As I'm sat here now though, I am feeling very positive about things. I've made a really good recovery and I think it's mainly down to one thing. Sugar. Or lack of it.
Ahh sugar. The food of the devil surely? So good, yet so very very bad for me. I have noticed the correlation between me eating refined sugar and the flare up of symptoms for a while, but you know, it tastes nice so I turned a blind eye! However on some days, when you can't eat a yoghurt without your whole head going tingly, it's a bit harder to ignore. So I looked into it, and after finding an interesting article about why sugar is so bad for MS, I decided to try cutting it out, and I am AMAZED by the results. Literally gobsmacked. Normally at this stage of recovery I would still be stiff and suffering from aches and pains and getting tired out really quickly, but I'm doing so well. I feel strong, full of energy (for me!), and the tingles and stiffness have pretty much disappeared (bear in mind that normally, even in remission, I get the tingles after walking)!! I'm sure that the steroids have done a huge amount too, but the combination has really worked and I feel happy that I've done all I can to reduce down the inflammation.
Again, I think this little morsel of good news deserves it's own post (which I will attempt to do this week), but for now all you need to know is that it's been flipping ace and I feel surprisingly confident and strong enough to deal with starting Tecfidera head on tomorrow. Win Win! I will endeavour to keep you posted. :)
Bad, Chloe. Bad!
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