My Day Off and MS

It has been six weeks since I ran out of my multiple sclerosis (MS) meds; this is my third day back on Tecfidera.  It is like starting over...feeling sick, hot, itchy, nauseaus, and yet,  very relieved to be back on track.  It will take awhile but I k now once I get through this period of adjustment I will return to the level of functioning that I have grown accustomed to during the past year.

Today is my day off. I woke up feeling really, really tired they call that fatigued in MS vocabulary. Extreme fatique keeps me on the couch today. I get up and make my bed, walk my dog around the complex to then come back to stretch out on the couch…drift back sleep. I wake up find something to eat, make a few calls including one to one of my sons telling him I will send money on Friday. I pay an old bill, check my e-mail, return to the couch, and fall back to sleep. I wake up, get dressed, and go to work to get my time sheet…I need to fax it to the office so I will get paid this week. I make sure to mail a parcel off to my step daughter that she knows is coming. Noted foot drop several times as I was walking…almost tripping like that tells me I am tired. It also scares me because falling is something I can do quite easily…not good.

Remembered to stop at the drugstore to pick up some baby aspirin to help with the flushing from the Tecfidera, a prescription refill, and some snacks. Return home to change back into something comfortable just to stretch out on the couch, check my email, munch on some crunchy snacks, and fall asleep.

I wake up to walk the dog, check the temperature outside, come back the couch, and wait. Wait you say…for what? Wait to see if my body has recouped enough to permit me to get back on my feet. You see when you have MS and you learn that you have to listen to your body. My body will tell me when I have rested enough to prepare myself for a full day at work tomorrow. I love what I do…it is worth it .