Changing Ireland
I’m well into my 10th year of living in Ireland, and I often wonder about what changed during those years. A long list builds itself in my mind on people, mentality, culture, politics, nature, life… Writing about everything would result into one very long blog post that will eventually bore everyone, so I will try to keep it rather short. After all, I’m here to be entertained myself. During my first weeks in Dublin I was house hunting and it’s fair to say that I saw serious differences in what was up for grabs. Apartments with bright blue carpets, surely there to blind its tenants and with hallways like a maze. Now how should I find my way out here? I can’t even find my way out of a cereal…
Dublin: a state of mind
‘Dublin is as much a state of mind as it is a city’ Tom MacDonagh It is, that I can tell you for sure. Dublin has a way of getting under your skin. In a good way and in a lesser way. Dublin is Dublin is Dublin, but sadly Irishness is disappearing from the city.
Gilenya in Ireland, part 2
It’s been a tumultuous week. I didn’t win the lottery or meet my knight in shining armour, but I had my MS/neurological check-up in one of Dublin’s biggest hospitals. It created ripples of emotions, questions and very few answers and as expected, Copaxone will remain my disease modifying drug (DMD) for the next few… hhmm… years perhaps? I expected – or hoped – to hear about new drugs on the MS-horizon as there are silent whispers about more new meds coming out later this year, but none of that happened. Off I went so re-adjusting my beliefs, my hopes and my dreams. I just wasn’t happy about having to stay on Copaxone; in my eyes it just wasn’t effective anymore. I should have known better. My neurologist has studied at…
MS fatigue… the invisible monster
MS fatigue… The most common, yet most difficult to detect a symptom in multiple sclerosis. Aside from feeling exhausted, having to explain people over and over how different it is to normal tiredness, you often get a stigma assigned of “yeah, yeah, you’re just being lazy” or “sure, now keep walking, it’s probably not that bad.” Not everyone will express their opinion out loud, but people will think about why you’re “just not making a bit more of an effort”. MS fatigue is more or less an invisible symptom and it’s hard to explain exactly what it feels like. Some people will stop talking, walking or you will notice changes in their behaviour. Unlike normal tiredness fit people feel after exercising or working 8h a day, MS fatigue is an…
What MS feels like in your mind
What multiple sclerosis feels like on a mental level? How does it affect your mind? These are questions many people wonder about: those with MS, wondering how others feel with the illness they share. Or people without MS, like your family, your friends, just curious how you are feeling. And then there are those that ask that question as well because they don’t believe a word of what you’re saying. These are questions I sometimes ask myself, because the symptoms come and go, change and get better or worse. Disappear altogether while new ones appear. So what goes on in your mind with the constant changes? Knowing what MS feels like if you have MS yourself, that makes you an expert patient… of yourself. I’ve met all three types of people;…