In search of my MS Zen
Despite having my inner dialogue running into philosophical mayhem, parameters on what I perceived to be acceptable have been reset, and my inner dialogue needs a fix as an intuitively sharp anguish took over my mindset last week.
Preparing for your neurological appointment
Seeing your neurologist can often make you feel anxious or afraid to speak up. Each appointment should be about exploring options, not about being bulldozed by a standardised litany of things you don’t want. Going in prepared will make you feel more at ease, so why not make a list of vital questions and things you need to discuss? When you organise your thoughts, you feel more in control of the situation and sure of where you want to see your treatment go. After all, you are the one living with your illness. Don’t feel ashamed either in what you want to ask your neurologist, chances are they have heard similar things before, and they will be the least likely people to attack you for asking. Remember, the only silly question is the…
What a difference a needle makes
Needle anxiety. We all went through childhood being afraid of injections. But why would someone have needle anxiety when what you’re about to self-inject every day, in fact, slows down the progression of your chronic illness? Although my emotions regarding needles do not amount to belonephobia, I have gone through moments where I simply could not press a needle in my skin. Using an Autoinject only made it worse. Pain doesn’t scare me (anymore). In fact, I’m going through a pretty rough time right now because of trigeminal pain. Knowing, however, what the prerequisite was for having to inject myself on a daily basis, has, on occasion kept me from self-medicating.
10 ‘Little rebel, me’ mistakes
Are you a list person? I am, that’s a given. After wasting time on websites like List Challenges, I thought, ‘Well, how about the ten worst things I’ve done since being diagnosed, with a follow-up on the best things I’ve done since that day in 2005?’ Quotes are added to underline my thinking, ideas or just as some way to kick-start goodness in my life. Once the 10 best things have found their way onto paper, I will link them to each other here if you want to read lists for a while!
10 years: a lot to be thankful for
"MS itself? It took my job, but it doesn’t own me. MS doesn’t get praise for having me. No matter how bad MS treats me in the future, I am its CEO instead. I will never lose is the knowledge that I conquer MS every single day of the year. Perhaps not physically, but mentally I am stronger than MS."