July 2001

Wow!  I haven't updated these MS pages for a long time.  Well, after the first Solumedrol IV steroid treatment in March I ended up having to have another treatment.  I had a brain MRI done and it showed that there was a lot of disease activity going on.  My neurologist decided to ran this one for 5 days with the hopes that the outcome would be better than the first time.  Unfortunately, it didn't seem to do much either.  This was definitely starting to get frustrating!!  The Solumedrol seemed to work wonders for everyone else but me!!!

I had my last neurologist appointment at the beginning of July.  He has given me new pain medication and I continue to take the Baclofen for muscle spasms.  Things really haven't gotten better or worse for me.  I've really had to learn to take things one day at a time.  Being a fairly active person this has been quite a challenge for me.  Some days I feel okay and other days are the exact opposite.  I still continue to have the spasms and some pain in my chest and back.  My arms and hands feel weak and tired quite often.  My hands also tremble, sometimes bad enough I can't hold small things like a pen or book.   Someone once told me that with MS there's never a dull moment!  I think I'm beginning to see what they mean!

At the beginning of the month I had to go on Long Term Disability through my work.  This was very sad and disappointing for me.  I had always hoped that I would continue to get by fairly well with my MS and live a 'normal' life.  These last 7 months have definitely shown me otherwise.

I've also had to apply for Social Security Disability.  This was another sad experience for me!  I never, ever imagined myself walking into that office at the age of 26 and applying.  Wow!  They've told me it will be 60 to 90 days before I hear back from them.

I will try to continue to update this on a regular basis for anyone who is interested!