Living life with a chronic illness is definitely not easy. But I do my best to push through all the barriers this illness puts in front of me! In my heart and mind, I believe maintaining a positive outlook on all situations in life will carry us through to much better times! I hope you find the information that I provide both helpful and inspirational!
Today is the halfway part of the week! This means that we have survived the first half of the week, and the second half should be easier and better! The even better news is that soon we are going to be able to enjoy a long weekend! How has your week been so far? Even though I have been looking forward to Friday since Sunday night, the week has not been too bad! I am just a little tired, and I need a good night’s sleep, which has been difficult with how HOT it has been! I guess the hot temperatures are one of the downfalls of living in the south!
We have made it through what has always been the most challenging part of the week! Considering we do have a couple of days left in the week, I think we could all use a little inspiration! I hope the quote I am sharing with you today inspires you, and that it helps get you through the rest of the week! The ocean has always been my happy place, and nothing troubles me or stresses me when I can hear the sounds of the waves. Sadly, it has been a few years since I have been to the ocean, but I am hoping to get there this summer!
Do you have anything planned for the long weekend? I am not sure if I have any plans, but I will enjoy sleeping later and having more quality time with the three sweetest, and most loving cats in the world. It does not matter if I am having a difficult day, or if the evil Multiple Sclerosis is acting up, our three cats can lift my spirits and make me smile! Of course, the boy cat has asthma and takes medicine twice a day. Most of the time, he does not give me any trouble, but every once in a while, I have to battle with him. No matter how much trouble these three try to cause, I would not trade them for anything in the world!
Thank you for visiting my site today. I hope you enjoyed what I have shared and that you are having a good week! I am looking forward to reading your comments, and I will respond as quickly as I can. The week is closer to being over than it was yesterday, but I hope the rest of your week goes well. Please never forget that I am always sending y’all LOTS of love, comfort, support, and MANY positive vibes!
It is late Sunday afternoon, and the weekend will be ending too soon☹, but I do hope you have been able to enjoy the weekend as much as possible. For reasons that I am unaware of, I had low energy this weekend. I tried doing as little as possible, so I would be ready for the workweek beginning tomorrow. Of course, I did a few loads of laundry because it had to be done. I had every intention of finishing a blog post that I have been working on for a few days, but I was unable to finish it yet. However, I do promise that I will get this post done soon because it is an important topic to me. I will give you a little information about what I am writing about, as this was inspired by my cousin, whom I am not close to all, but the post will be about family dynamics.
How do you recover from a long week, and the changes with the weather? I know the weather always causes me issues, which I blame on Multiple Sclerosis. I do not like the warmer weather and the temperatures have already been too high for me and it is not even summer yet! How crazy is it when the temperatures have already reached the HIGH 80s? This tends to worry me about what to expect for summertime. There are many things I do not understand about Multiple Sclerosis, but one of many is why changes in the weather cause so many problems. I mean, one would think living with an incurable illness that is also unpredictable would be enough of a punishment, but of course, not because then the weather wreaks havoc on my body!
The good news is that next week, in the United States, we are going to have a 3-day weekend! I am thrilled to be able to have three days off work because I need this, and I am sure many others do as well! Please do not get me wrong, I do enjoy my job, and even though I will end up saying three days off was not enough, I am looking forward to the days off! I think it would be amazing if we could work four ten-hour days every week and get three days off😊! I think it would provide a better work-life balance. I say this, but I also think it would be better to have animals run the country because they are fair and loyal. Animals care about and love others more than most humans do, so I think it would make for a better world. Heck, my cats would do much better than any president we have ever had!
Thank you for visiting my site today. I hope your weekend has been amazing, and that you have enjoyed what I have shared today. I would love to read your comments, and I will respond as quickly as I can. Of course, I am not feeling myself right now, but I will still do my best. I know the weekend was short, but I hope you are ready for the new week to begin tomorrow. Please never forget that I am always sending y’all LOTS of love, comfort, support, and MANY positive vibes!
Most likely many of you are aware that March is Multiple Sclerosis Awareness month. There are only 31 days to raise awareness of a disease that impacts and changes the lives of those living with the disease for the rest of their lives. Although I am sure there are more, I am going to share with you 31 reasons why I detest MS. Of course, I do not mean to sound negative, but this disease is anything but pleasant or easy to deal with. Please know these reasons are not in any specific order.
1. This disease is incurable and a lifelong condition.
2. Multiple Sclerosis is unpredictable and can strike at any time without any notice.
3. Neuropathy is something that can cause issues such as pain, numbness, tingling, weakness, and a pins and needles sensation.
4. Random and frequent headaches, which no one could ever get used to.
5. Numerous appointments with different doctors.
6. The expenses of medication are higher than they should be in the United States where free healthcare is not an option.
7. Vision changes can happen to anyone but seem more common with MS.
8. Multiple Sclerosis can be hard to control considering there are no answers to the causes.
9. Never-ending fears of losing mobility.
10. Constant daily changes.
11. Back Pain, which I have lived with for years in my lower to mid back.
12. Leg pain, mostly neuropathy. This can make walking challenging.
13. Heat intolerance, which living in the south can be miserable.
14. Weight gain due to the inability to exercise much because of the pain.
15. Sleeping troubles due to waking up with pain and not being able to fall back to sleep.
16. Frustrations! You can do everything the doctors recommend, but it does not appear to make a difference.
17. Memory issues.
18. Missing the feeling of being normal.
19. Adjusting to weather changes can be challenging. Too hot creates issues, but too cold can cause me to tense and cause even more pain.
20. Dealing with doctors that do not always listen or understand. Doctors may understand the disease as much as they can, but they have no idea what it is like to live with it. Studying and reading can only do so much.
21. Understanding what creates additional issues, such as food, lack of sleep, stress, etc.
22. Worrying about the possibility of progression. This has always been a huge concern for me.
23. No answers regarding the causes of the disease.
24. With the unpredictability, one needs to always have a backup plan. This may be easy, but it is not easy explaining to friends and family.
25. Trying to stay positive without any changes in medical progress.
26. Knowing the best medication for the disease can be different for each person.
27. MS Hug. This is a painful hug that no one would ever want!
28. Dizziness
29. Flareups and steroids can weaken teeth causing them to break easily.
30. Fatigue. It is difficult to always feel tired because you are unable to get enough sleep.
31. Trying to explain to others how one can appear normal but are always in pain.
I have always known that this disease can take away my mobility and it has terrified me since I was diagnosed. Of course, I am always aware that it could be worse because my form of the disease is minor in comparison. I used to believe this disease was a punishment for something I did wrong in life, but logically know that it is not. We all have negative moments in life and trying to push past those thoughts can be challenging, but also necessary. This disease does not discriminate and can happen to anyone.
It is always important to remember that no matter what we are dealing with in life, someone else is dealing with something worse. While I do detest MS, I do know that no of us will have to endure something that we cannot handle. Whether this is true or not, it does help me to keep moving forward. Plus, I did make my late grandfather a promise that I will never all this disease to get and keep me down.
Thank you for visiting my site today. I hope you have a wonderful weekend and you are able to recuperate from last week because I know it was a long week. I hope you found what I have shared today interesting and I look forward to reading your comments. Please never forget that I am always sending y’all LOTS of love, comfort, support, and MANY positive vibes!
I am so happy to finally be able to say, HAPPY Friday, y’all! I hope you have had a good week and your weekend is filled with nothing, but joy and relaxation! When our weeks start to feel longer and we look forward to Friday on Monday morning, the weekend should be spent only doing what we want. I have been feeling a little more fatigued lately, which I assume has something to do with the weather being unpredictable and frustrating. It seems like Mother Nature cannot decide if it is going to be spring, summer, or winter like it should be. I did take a short break from the paper I am writing for the competition but need to get back to it and I hope to do that this weekend!
I always think that Friday being the end of the week, is a good time to let go of any negativity caused by the week. There is NO use for us to carry negative emotions into a weekend that is already too short. People often know how to push our buttons and stir up negativity, but sometimes the best thing to do is to walk away to avoid saying anything you might regret. I think the quote I am sharing today is one of the best pieces of advice anyone could get or give. A long time ago, my husband told me his grandfather would tell him, to keep his mouth shut and his eyes open. This has always stayed in my mind because it was the BEST advice, so when I came across this quote, I had to share it!
What does your weekend have in store for you or are you just going to take it easy? Honestly, I think after a long week, taking it easy and having nothing planned sounds perfect. The medication I must take to keep my Multiple Sclerosis at bay is very costly, if it were not for the Gilenya-Go-Program. I have been dealing with them for over a month and think I finally got things handled yesterday. They claimed they did not receive the fax I sent them last month, so I sent the paperwork via UPS mail, which can take a long time. They finally received my paperwork but said they did not have the information from my doctor. Of course, I was frantic and sent my doctor an email and they “claimed” they would get it faxed. We will see!
Thank you for visiting my site today. I hope you enjoyed what I have shared and the quote resonates with you. I look forward to reading your comments and I will respond as quickly as I can. I hope you have a wonderful and relaxing weekend! Please never forget that I am always sending y’all LOTS of love, comfort, support, and MANY positive vibes!
Happy first day of the weekend, y’all! When the weather says it is going to be a cloudy day with rain beginning in the early afternoon, how do you spend your day? My plan is to relax with my sweet cats on the couch and watch reruns of my favorite shows. I have been working on the article I am going to submit for the writing competition each day and of course, keep making changes and adding more details. I have started this article over more times than I can count, but I think it is a good work in progress and hopefully, the judges will as well!
I do not normally add quotes to my weekend posts, but the quote I am sharing has been something I keep looking back at while I have been overthinking the writing competition. I think this quote is powerful and encouraging, which I do need while working on the article for the competition because I tend to discourage myself. I think I have told myself many times that my writing will NOT be enough to impress the judges and it is a waste of time trying, but then I know if I do not try I will always wonder what would have happened!
I do not know about you, but last week felt like the LONGEST week ever! Each day of the week felt like it would never end. I think the reason might have been I did not get enough sleep, so I was extremely tired. I have experienced vertigo for too many years, but on Thursday night had one of the most intense and terrifying dizzy spells. In the past when a vertigo episode occurred, it would pass after a few minutes, but this episode would not ease and I had to crawl just to get to the bed to go to sleep. This could have been caused by a sudden drop in my blood pressure or low blood sugar, who knows, but it was miserable!!!
Thank you for visiting my site today! I hope you enjoyed this post and you have a wonderful day! Remember, today is the first day of the weekend and you deserve to do whatever makes YOU happy! I am looking forward to reading your comments and I will respond as quickly as I can. Please never forget that I am always sending y’all LOTS of love, comfort, support, and MANY positive vibes!
As everyone reading this now and who has read some of my previous posts knows, I have had Multiple Sclerosis for over 20 years. This has been something I have lived with for almost half of my life, and I still find it extremely frustrating. Even after all these years, there are still things I do not understand or know about this disease. The one obvious thing is how unpredictable it can be. I do find it amazing how much we can adapt to and tolerate life when we have no other choice but to keep moving forward.
There are many things about Multiple Sclerosis and days living with this disease that can feel like things will never improve, which can make you feel hopeless. Even though I have days when I feel like this, I also believe that we are not forced to deal with anything we cannot handle! Of course, it takes a strength we never knew we had, but it is possible to keep moving forward.
I wish I knew the name of the person who thought they were being clever and humorous by naming something the “MS Hug” because this is the worst kind of hug I have ever heard of. It completely ignored the advice from the experts about social distancing and never considered getting approval before hugging someone. I have always thought that MS Hug was very disrespectful and invasive.
Even though I still do not know who came up with the name, I do know that MS Hug is very uncomfortable, but it is not life-threatening even though it feels like it is at times. The MS Hug is an uncomfortable, sometimes painful tightness or pressure around the abdomen or chest. This can last for seconds or minutes, which is the best-case scenario but can also last hours or longer.
There are two effects of Multiple Sclerosis that can trigger the MS hug to happen. One is muscle spasms in the small muscles between the ribs, known as the intercostal muscles. The second is changes in sensations known as dysesthesia, which while they can be, are not always painful.
Just like everything else regarding Multiple Sclerosis, everyone experiences the MS Hug differently. The ways that help one person may not help another in the same way. Various things can help or even eliminate the MS Hug sensation including the following:
Discover your triggers:
This could include fatigue, temperature changes, eating a large meal, feeling unwell, or being stressed. It may not always be easy to discover what triggers the MS hug, but once you do it may be a good plan to avoid or at least reduce the issues you know are your triggers. Keeping a journal with what the temperature was each day, stress level, feelings of fatigued, and what you eat each day may help to determine what your triggers are.
Loose vs Tight Clothing:
For many people tight clothing triggers, them to experience the MS hug and even makes the sensation worse. This may mean not wearing an underwired bra or removing it as soon as your situation allows. It will just seem logical to wear loose clothing if you know tight clothing causes problems. As with everything else, tight clothing helps some people to deal with the MS hug. For reasons not always understood, the grip of tighter clothing can distract the brain, making the MS hug sensation less noticeable.
Moving and or Stretching:
For some people staying mobile and stretching relieves the pain from the MS hug, but for some people laying down is the only thing that offers them any relief. This is all a matter of personal choice and what helps you the most!
The use of hot or cold compress:
Again, different things work better for each person, so you just need to play around with heat and cold compresses until you know what works best for you. Hot water bottles, warm towels, or a heating pad when applied to the affected area may offer relief. If this does not work, you can try a cold compress or an ice pack to the affected area. Please understand and be careful of both hot and cold as it is easy to cause further damage to the skin.
Physiotherapy or other physical treatments:
his can include TENS which is transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation. I honestly do not know a lot about this because something about electrical nerve stimulation scares me, but I have heard it can be helpful!
Relaxation, Mindfulness, and CBT:
Relaxation and mindfulness exercises can be helpful for anyone, not just those dealing with MS and the MS hug. Things like self-hypnosis and hypnotherapy have been successful for many people around the world. Controlled breathing techniques can be found with a quick Google search and are inexpensive.
Multiple Sclerosis has come along way with treatment since I was diagnosed, but for some reason there still is not a cure. I wish there was a magical medication that could make all the pain and issues I deal with daily go away, but until there is I will just continue to fight and not allow this unpredictable, frustrating, and ugly disease steal the light and fire I have inside me. As I am sure you can assume, I am dealing with the MS hug right now and it has been a struggle. I am SO thankful that I work from home because with the way I was feeling today, there is no way I could have driven to an office and dealt with being this uncomfortable for 8 very long hours.
Anyone that is reading this and has Multiple Sclerosis, have you dealt with this issue before and if so what helps you? The funny thing is, normally heat is my enemy, but for this issue and other types of pain, my heating pad is my best friend. The only way I can be comfortable is wearing loose clothing because I find that to be the most comfortable. The weather has been changing each week, so I can only assume that might be the reason the evil hug is back!
Thank you for visiting my site today. I hope the information that I have shared was useful and interesting to you. I am looking forward to reading your comments because I am sure what you have to say will be helpful. I hope you had a good week and you have an amazing weekend! Please never forget that I am always sending y’all LOTS of love, comfort, support, and MANY positive vibes!
Happy Friday, y’all! How was your week? This might have been a short week for me, but it did feel VERY long! I can think of a couple of reasons why this week felt long for me. One reason is that people are exhausting and extremely demanding. I cannot understand how “some” people can be selfish enough to believe whatever they think they need is more important than the hurricane that just happened in Florida. I mean, people lost their homes and lives, so I think what they are dealing with is WAY more important than anything superficial. The other reason why this week has felt longer is that my very understanding and amazing supervisor is on vacation. Who would have thought things could change so much at work without her?!
I have always thought that Friday is the perfect day to let go of anything negative thoughts that are weighing on our minds, especially the negative things caused during the week. Our weekends are already TOO short, so wasting any time on negative thoughts is useless. We might have some negative thoughts that were leftover from last week or are still in our minds from another time because we were not able to let go of those thoughts. It happens and I understand, but we should all at least try to let all negative feelings go at least once a week. I hope the quote I am sharing today helps you to let go and not hold onto any negative feelings towards anyone in your life!
Of course, my weekend plans are limited because I feel like I need time to recuperate from the week and I do not want to do much of anything because I have felt drained this week. I think it might have something to do with the weather changes causing my pain to increase and I am not sure what else, but rest is a MUST. I do want to finish a couple of posts that I started about Domestic Violence Awareness and Bullying Prevention Month and clean the house! So stay tuned for these posts to be published soon!!
Thank you for visiting my site today. I hope you enjoyed the quote and it helps you let go of any negative feelings you are experiencing. I am looking forward to reading your comments, which I will respond to as quickly as I can. I hope you have a nice, relaxing, and safe weekend! Please never forget that I am always sending y’all LOTS of love, comfort, support, and MANY positive vibes!
Despite having lived with Multiple Sclerosis for 20-plus years and understanding it more than I wished, there are still times I get discouraged and frustrated. Of course, I understand that most of the symptoms that make me feel this way will subsite in time, they can be difficult to tolerate. Something worse than normal, and I have been forced to endure for the past several days is the neuropathy in my legs. I should be used to dealing with this because it is not new, but it does not get easier. Lately, it has been painful to walk and even sit down the sensation of tingly, pain, and the “spider dance party” on my legs have been almost unbearable. Considering I have been dealing with this for years, I can almost guarantee the reason for the increased issues is due to heat and stress.
Another issue that is not new but has been returning frequently is dizziness. It used to happen more later at night, but for the past few days it comes on suddenly at random times throughout the day. The only way I learned how to deal with this is to sit down immediately (to avoid falling), never lay my head backward, and or force on a still object. I already know I will get extremely dizzy if I lay my head backward, so I try to never do this. Heck, I also know when I go to the neurologist, they always have me do this, even though I explain what happens. It seems many doctors do not listen to their patients; you know the one that knows more about their body than any medical school can teach?
Many things can make Multiple Sclerosis symptoms flare up and we need to learn how to avoid these issues as much as possible. Summer in the south makes avoiding the heat pretty much impossible. Anytime I must leave my house and get in the car, I make sure to never drive until the air conditioning has been on long enough for it to not be too hot. How do you avoid heat when there are more hot months than cool months?
Stress is also a HUGE factor. Stress can make old symptoms return and create new evil symptoms. I am still learning how to avoid stress, but for me it is impossible. Everyone already knows that stress is a silent killer, but what it can do to Multiple Sclerosis is miserable. I know many of the reasons I have had awful relapses previously were because I was stressed about work, life, medication, money, and many other issues we all face.
Something else I have always had a hard time with is fatigue. It is hard for me to sleep most of the time and even more so during the insanely HOT summer months. I do try getting enough sleep, but it hardly ever happens, which more than likely has something to do with the inability to turn my mind off. Unfortunately, my mind is always racing, and I have not figured out how to stop this. It does not matter what day it is or what time I go to bed, I am awake at the same time every single day. If I am not awake at a certain time, the cats will play their part and force me to wake up. The truth is, I tend to wake up early anyway because of the pain I experience.
Finally, pain is a major burden in my life. I deal with pain in multiple parts of my body 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and with no breaks. The crazy thing is, that I would not feel normal if I did not have pain. Of course, I would love to have one day or even one hour when I was not in pain, but it is not in the cards for me. I try to embrace the pain and just ignore it the best I can. My logic is, why focus my attention on something that is not going to change and use up the energy I do not have I have for something cannot control when many other things need my energy and focus? Great way to think, right?
Thank you for visiting my site today. I hope you are having a wonderful and safe long weekend, so far. I would love to read your comments and any advice you have regarding what I have shared today. I promise to respond to all comments as quickly as I can. Please never forget that I am always sending y’all LOTS of love, comfort, support, and MANY positive vibes!
I am always surprised at how fast time flies. Today is the first Monday of May, which means we are almost halfway through this year! I think we have all heard people say the time goes faster the older we get, but I prefer to not think of myself as old, yet. I do try to view age as just another number because that is all it is. Yes, it also shows how long we have survived this insane world, which can be considered a success because we are all living in a crazy world!!
Hopefully, we are all prepared for another LONG week of work because ready or not it is here. I am as prepared as I can be and also hoping it is not as bad as last week was. In preparation for the week, we must find ways to stay motivated and optimistic! I find the quote I am sharing with y’all today encouraging, motivating, and positive, but I hope you will as well. I can be hard to recognize our strengths at times, but we all have a powerful strength inside us😊!
I hope your weekend was filled with everything that brings you happiness. Most of the time our weekends are so short and to the point, it feels we did not have one, but we will have another in a few days! I did not do much over the weekend because I was not feeling well. I know a lot of why I was feeling so awful is because I did not get much sleep at all. The feeling of weakness and exhaustion are a terrible combination.
Thank you for visiting my site today. I hope you enjoyed what I have shared and the quote offered you some motivation. I looked forward to reading your comments and will respond as quickly as possible. Please never forget that I am always sending y’all LOTS of love, comfort, support, and MANY positive vibes!
It is a gloomy, but peaceful Sunday. I am not sure why, but I feel chilly and still feel drained from last week. Of course, weekends are “supposed” to be a time to recuperate and prepare for the week ahead, which I tried doing. Unfortunately, I still failed to catch up on the sleep loss from last week. I guess once we are sleep deprived and have missed out on many hours of sleep, we cannot ever get those hours back and we are forced to keep going, no matter how exhausted we feel. I know the end of the weekend is near and another long week is getting closer, but there is still time left for our weekend.
I am going to continue to try doing at least one post each day this week and hope to be successful in doing so. There are a couple of topics I am working on right now and hope to have at least one completed today. One crucial thing I will be sharing information about is the importance of mental health. May is Mental Health Awareness Month and I feel this is critical to try to understand this complicated topic. At this time, I only can speak to the fact that the United States has failed miserably in providing care for individuals suffering from mental health issues.
Another topic I will be writing about is the differences between trust and forgiveness. Trust is important and fragile. It can take years to build trust in another person and seconds to break the trust. Once you lose trust in a relationship, there is no guarantee you can trust that person again. If you can work through the lost trust issues and try forming trust again, it takes time and patience. Even when we decide to forgive someone for their wrongdoings and betrayal, that does not mean trust is automatically replenished.
Another topic I would like to write about is the challenges involved in living with a chronic illness without a cure. Sadly, we have genius scientists and doctors around the world, but so many chronic illnesses still do not have a cure. I know this is not 100% true, but in 2022 there seems to be a steady increase in the numbers of illnesses and hardly any headway to curing these illnesses☹.
People should be trying to progress and evolve with the times, but that is not happening. One thing that continues to grow is hatred and mean behavior. When people do not understand the way another person lives, they become scared and decide the way another person is living is wrong and evil. This is a cowardly way to live in the world. It does not matter how another person lives “their” life, as long as they are not causing harm and they are happy, it should not matter or be the business of anyone else!
Thank you for visiting my site today. I hope your weekend has been filled with everything that makes you happy. I have found it can be complicated to find topics to write about that will be intriguing to everyone, but I am trying. Honestly, some things I write about are to help me process issues in my life. I hope you enjoy the last part of your weekend! I look forward to reading your comments and will respond as quickly as I can. Please never forget that I am always sending y’all LOTS of love, comfort, support, and MANY positive vibes!
Fightmsdaily 