Thursday, May 15, 2008

One Day At A Time....

For the first time in a week I got a decent night's sleep--of course the fact the doc gave me sleeping pills probably accounts for that. It's okay, I'll take it. I'm feeling stiff this morning but that could be from being in bed or it could be this crap. Hopefully once I get up and going a bit I'll loosen up--I certainly hope so. My goal is to get moving towards a normal routine sooner rather than later. I return to work on Monday and know what I'm facing there. I am determined to not let this slow me down any more than possible.

Meeting with my doctor and reading various things I have come to the conclusion that I have been very fortunate in the fact the doctors last week acted quickly. Heck my doc yesterday didn't realized I had been given test results and had already received the steroid treatment. He thought I'd gone home from the hospital on Friday and had just been waiting for the follow up yesterday for the results and subsequent treatment. Granted he was pleased to know I had already received five days of steroids. I guess with time they will kick in and I will return to some state of normalcy--I hope. At least that's what I've been told by more than one doc.

I was presented with two options from here forward. Wait for the steroids to take full effect and just return to life as normal and do nothing else for three months. At that time he would repeat the scan and hope there were no more lesions or episodes--what to me amounts to doing nothing. The other option is be aggressive and begin an injection therapy several times a week in the hopes it will prevent other episodes from ever occurring. I felt I've been through the sit and do nothing approach for so long that I am opting for the aggressive approach. Now I am just waiting to be contacted about the injection training and getting my meds, etc. From what I understand so far this particular drug program offers support 24/7/365 in the event I need something and that to me is another positive.

I'm still trying to wrap my head around all of this. And maybe that's because it's all so new. I think my mission at this point is to figure out how to best manage this for me. One thing I do not want is others dragged into my drama. I love the fact that everyone has been here for me and I really appreciate that. I also know everyone has their own life and issues. At the moment my thoughts are that I want to return to as normal as possible so my goal now is to try to focus on something other than my all consuming-what-the-hell-is-happening type posts. Let's see if I can lighten this up instead of always whining!!

It's time to get back to posting things like silly stories and strange pictures. And hopefully do some scrapping too!

2 comments:

Kim said...

Hang in there, Merry! I"m glad you know what it is and can take action to manage the disease! Luv ya!

Anonymous said...

Best of luck to you. It sounds like you're teeter-tottering on whether or not this is an MS diagnosis, or have they indeed told you it's MS (RRMS)? The thought of sitting back for three months and doing nothing frightens me (as an MS patient who is a true believer in immediate treatment for a better prognosis). Feel free to peruse my site past the Spoon Theory as well. There are many links to great info that will help you decide on your course of DMD's and when or when not to possibly begin them. Regardless, I hope you're feeling better soon (two weeks or so from when you finished Solumedrol and many of the symptoms should subside -- unless they are symptoms that will be permanent and part of your "new normal." Remember you now have friends, too, in the Sunshine!
Kim Fabrizio