Midweek Inspiration

Posted on May 8, 2024 by Positively Alyssa

Happy halfway through the week😊! The week is halfway over, and we only have the second half remaining, and it should be easier! How has the week been going for you? I hope everything is going well and you are maintaining your sanity in the chaotic world we are living in. We might not go through the same situations, but we can see the many issues happening in the world that inflict the world with different stresses. Some of the insanity we see on the news seems more comical and not real news, but I suppose what we see is the media considers critical news. I think it is rather shameful there is nonstop coverage of a former president’s legal trial and “alleged” criminality because I believe there are far more critical things that should be acknowledged and relayed. I think it is obvious that I am more than tired of hearing the former president’s name, seeing his face, and hearing the lies coming out of his mouth. I apologize if you thought what I just said was offensive or if it upsets you, and if you disagreed, I would love to see your reasons.

That is enough of my opinions regarding the news, and now it is time to move on to an inspirational quote. Wednesdays are great because we have survived half of the week, and the weekend will return soon! I hope you find the quote I shared inspiring and motivating because we can all use that during these long and warmer days. I thought it was only spring, but these temperatures feel more like summer, which terrifies me on what summer will be like. I do not get along well with the temperature when it is too hot because it makes me feel terrible, and I do blame that on Multiple Sclerosis. Regardless of how your week has been so far, how do you plan to get through the rest of the week? If your week has been great, I am sure you want it to continue the same, but if the week has not been great, I hope it gets much better for you!

My dentist appointment yesterday went better than expected, but it was frustrating. It never fails because even when you have a scheduled appointment, there is always a LONG wait! I waited one hour before being called back to see the dentist, and then I had to sit in the chair waiting for the staff to get their thoughts together and be on the same page. By the time everything was planned, if I wanted the dental work done the same day, I would have had to wait longer, and I had already lost my patience and did not want to wait any longer. I have an appointment tomorrow for a cleaning and will go back on Monday for the rest of the work to be taken care of. I want everything done and out of the way, and I will return tomorrow and hope there is not another LONG wait again!

Thank you for visiting my site today. I hope you enjoyed what I shared, and you found the quote inspiring! Often, it is the smallest of things that can make a bigger difference, but I did love the quote. I thought it said a lot about Wednesdays, but your opinion on it matters to me as well. I always want the chance to read your thoughts on what I share and will do my best to respond to your comments as quickly as possible. Please never forget I am always sending y’all LOTS of love❤️, comfort, support, and MANY positive vibes🌈!

Always, Alyssa

Sunday Weather Thoughts

Posted on April 14, 2024 by Positively Alyssa

When you have a health condition where the heat makes it worse, looking at the weather for the upcoming week is an awful idea! Mother Nature has been slightly disagreeable lately and has caused issues with how I feel physically. I am sure I am not the only one who thinks weather plays a role in several conditions, including pain and migraines. What is it about the weather that can trigger issues in someone with medical conditions? Is it all in a person’s mind, or could there be truth to this phenomenon? Between every other day being another rainy day and the temperatures rising, I am ready to move to an area where the temperature does not get above 70 degrees tops, and rain is limited. Sometimes it seems that Mother Nature and Multiple Sclerosis are ganging up against me and are behaving cruelly.

Does anyone else experience allergies? When are your allergies the most severe? Unfortunately, my allergies are not just in the spring, and I suffer from them all year long, which is VERY annoying. I do realize that the medication I take for Multiple Sclerosis is known to cause sinus issues, and many people cannot understand why I do not end that medication and try something different. The simple answer to this is that I would rather deal with sinus issues than the alternative to trying another medication because the last time I attempted to try another medication, I had a massive relapse, which terrifies me. When you have a choice between dealing with sinus and allergy issues or having your illness possibly progress, it seems like a no-brainer to me.

A few positive notes are that I will have my Anatomy & Physiology class completed next week, and I have come a long way with the feral cat warming up to me since she had her kittens. She has not come close enough for me to pet her, but she is starting to trust me more. I am letting her do things on her terms and not pressuring her because I know we will have a trusting relationship. I do not plan to bring her or any of her babies inside the house, but I look forward to getting closer to them😊! The last thing I must do with my class is the final exam, which I have completed already, but I am rechecking my answers because the grade depends on the final exam 100%. Talk about feeling extra pressure with a test, but I know I will do well and pass my class with an excellent grade!

Thank you for visiting my site today! I hope you enjoyed this post, and I look forward to reading your comments. I will respond to your comments as quickly as possible because I always love knowing what you think! The weekend will be coming to an end soon, and everything will be back to normal. Of course, my weeks are all the same as I am still searching for a job. I forgot how frustrating the job search process was, but hopefully, I will find something soon. My husband has insisted I wait until I complete the next Medical Coding class, but I am not sure I can do that because I miss getting a paycheck and feeling independent. Please never forget I am always sending y’all LOTS of love❤️, comfort, support, and MANY positive vibes🌈!

Always, Alyssa

MS & Fatigue

Posted on January 24, 2024 by Positively Alyssa

Even after living through the highs and lows of Multiple Sclerosis, one of the most frustrating and challenging issues I deal with is fatigue. I think it is twice as hard because anyone who does not have Multiple Sclerosis does not understand and thinks it is exaggerated, which it is NOT. I became used to a typical schedule when I was working because I did not have a choice, and earlier in the day, I felt more awake. Unfortunately, as the day progresses, I quickly become more fatigued, so when my husband, who works the night shift, has days off, we eat dinner late, and I start to fall asleep almost immediately after dinner. He is understanding for the most part, but he gets a little frustrated with me. Mostly, it is later at night when this happens, but it has happened not long after I get out of bed and he is getting out of work and wants to watch something on Netflix or YouTube, and because he always watches to see if I am asleep, he notices when my eyes start to close. It is not like I always want to be tired, and even though I have explained MS Fatigue several times, he does not truly understand.

For those of you reading this who have Multiple Sclerosis or know someone who does or has another condition that causes fatigue, you understand my struggles. However, many people do not understand, and why would they? Until someone must battle through something like this, they can never fully understand how challenging and frustrating it is. My goal when I started this blog was to spread awareness about Multiple Sclerosis, so I wanted to share some helpful information about fatigue and Multiple Sclerosis with you today.

80% of people living with Multiple Sclerosis battle with fatigue problems. MS fatigue is more severe than traditional types of fatigue. This issue can impact one’s abilities at work and home. Fatigue struggles typically manifest between the ages of 20 and 40 and affect women two to three times as often as it does men. The reasons may include but are not limited to muscle spasms interring with sleep, bladder troubles causing one to get out of bed multiple times a time, and is often aggravated by heat and humidity. This issue occurs daily and may happen early in the morning, even after a full and restful night of sleep. Fatigue tends to worsen as the day progresses and can come on quickly and suddenly, so it is hard to plan for. A few symptoms of MS Fatigue include limbs feeling heavy that cause difficulties in grasping things or writing, and balance, vision, and concentration issues may get worse temporarily.

That is going to be all I have for today but thank you for stopping by my site today. I hope you found what I shared helpful and can help others to understand the battles with fatigue and MS. It is not any fun and I wish there was more that could be done, but we can only do what we can do, and nothing more. I hope your week is going well and you are not dealing with too many stressful situations. On another lighter note, our cat is continuing to get better, and we are remaining very hopeful♥. I look forward to any comments you may have and will respond as quickly as possible. Please never forget I am always sending y’all LOTS of love♥, comfort, support, and MANY positive vibes!

Always, Alyssa

Random Saturday Thoughts

Posted on August 26, 2023 by Positively Alyssa

Another week has passed, and I am still deciding if I will try again to do another writing competition. I know what I want to write about, but each time I sit down and try to start, I find myself trapped in my memories! I think the reason for this being difficult is because the topic is painful to write, and even more painful to remember the details I have tried so hard to forget. This competition is a personal essay, but I think this topic might be too personal, and I do not believe I have the strength to do this. Many things we have gone through during our lives never leave our minds, no matter how hard we try to forget, but I believe the topic I was considering writing about is too much for me. I guess we shall see what happens. Is it worth bringing up those memories for a writing competition, or would it be best to leave those memories in the past where they belong?

I am unsure, but my pain levels have been considerably higher for the past couple days. It is hard to say if this additional pain is happening because of the extreme heat or stress, I am causing myself. It could be a combination of both, but I am ready for it to end. The weather in the south, where I live, has been ridiculously high, and heat always causes me additional issues. It does not help that we do not have central air in our house, but we have two window units. The window units help some, but not as much central air conditioning would. I can admit that I have felt increased stress, but it is because of things I wish I had done differently at work. I have always been harder on myself than anyone else could be, and I know that is not a good way to be, but I have been this way for as long as I can remember.

Do you have a favorite season? My favorite season is Autumn, and I only enjoy Summer if I can be at the beach. Summer is way too HOT, but the ocean breeze helps. In my opinion, the temperatures during Autumn are not too hot or too cold, but perfect! Hot weather and Multiple Sclerosis do not get along, and tend to create massive issues, which can be nearly debilitating. Considering I have lived with Multiple Sclerosis for more than half of my life, I should be used to all the pain issues, but I cannot say that I am. Most pain I can deal with and try to ignore, but when the pain is in my head, I am unable to ignore the pain or function like normal.

Thank you for stopping by today. I hope you enjoyed what I shared, and I would love the chance to read your comments. The weekends are so short, so I hope you can enjoy it to the fullest. My plans for the rest of the weekend are to try to relax, stay where it is cooler, and make a final decision regarding the writing competition. Another thing I hope to do is to read more of the 23rd book in James Patterson’s Women’s Murder Club series. If you have not read any of James Patterson’s books, I highly recommend it. He is a phenomenal author with talents I cannot even grasp. Please never forget that I am always sending y’all LOTS of love, comfort, support, and MANY positive vibes!

Always, Alyssa

Neuropathy Triggers

Posted on July 16, 2023 by Positively Alyssa

Multiple Sclerosis is a nuisance, painful, troublesome, and unpredictable, which makes for a miserable combination of frustration and anger. Those of us that are trying to get through the days with what feels like a rain cloud over our heads and never leaves can understand that we cannot predict how the days will flow, but we sure as hell figure out things to avoid. I know science has come a long way, even since I was diagnosed over 20 years ago, but something must change with the symptoms related to this disease as they are extremely annoying and daunting.

Of course, there is an overwhelming amount of information online, and there are many great neurologists that have studied this disease, but they might not be living with it personally, and everyone experiences things differently. I could ask 100 people living with this disease what the worse part about Multiple Sclerosis is, and I am sure that I would get 100 different answers. This does not mean that each person does not experience similar issues, but they will NOT be felt the same way. I guess I finally understand why Multiple Sclerosis is often referred to as “snowflake disease” because no two snowflakes are identical, no two MS cases are either.

As I am writing this post, it is 2:00 in the morning. Everyone in the house is sleeping, and I am awake unable to sleep because of the neuropathy pain in my feet and legs. They have not been feeling well all day, which I chalked up to the rainy weather, but then I made the mistake of having something with too much dairy for dinner. I know how much the weather affects my legs and realize it is unavoidable, but I am wise enough to know that dairy increases neuropathy issues but did it anyway. After living with Multiple Sclerosis for more than half of my life, I know the triggers, and try to avoid them. I have no excuse for why knowing the triggers I ignore some, such as dairy and stress.

Thank you for visiting my site today. Last night was very brutal, but I am trying to stay hopeful the neuropathy will subside and stop causing so much pain. As you can tell, I did not post this at 2:00 AM when I was unable to sleep, but wanted to get this out there and hope it helps someone else not feel alone. I hope you have been able to enjoy your weekend, but the good news is, it is not over yet and we still have several hours left of the weekend before we begin a new week. I look 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!

Always, Alyssa

Sunday Thoughts

Posted on July 9, 2023 by Positively Alyssa

Good afternoon, and happy Sunday😊! I hope you are enjoying your weekend and you have been able to do something that brought you happiness! The weekends can help prepare us for the upcoming week or at least as much as we can be prepared. We never can know definitively what the following week will have in store for us, but we can hope for the best. Challenges can arise at any moment, but we must have faith and believe we are strong enough to handle them because we are! One of the biggest challenges I face in the summer is the heat, and there seem to be limited ways to escape from it.

What have you been doing this weekend? I made the mistake yesterday of going outside to repot a few plants. I thought doing this early in the day would be better and not nearly as HOT, but I was wrong. Of course, living with Multiple Sclerosis, I know better than to get overheated because it can cause extreme issues. Heat intolerance is very real for those with Multiple Sclerosis, and it is a miserable to deal with. After I repotted four of my plants, I felt awful and stayed inside for the remainder of the day. I also drank more water than normal and snacked on ice pops because this was the only way to cool my body temperature.

I have always felt the best way to spend the weekend is to rest on Saturday, and do as little as possible, but take care of what needs to be done on Sunday. I think many people do the opposite and use Sunday as their restful day. Everyone is different, and what works for one person will not work for another. What is the best way for you to spend the weekend? There is no right or wrong with this! Do you enjoy summer, and do you think it is hotter than it was last year? I am sure I am exaggerating because I always think it is too hot!

Thank you for visiting my site today. I hope you enjoyed what I have shared, and I look forward to reading your comments. I will respond to all comments as quickly as I can. Yes, the weekend is close to being over, but we do still have several hours left and I hope you enjoy them to the fullest. Please never forget that I am always sending y’all LOTS of love, comfort, support, and MANY positive vibes!

Always, Alyssa

MS Kryptonite

Posted on June 28, 2023 by Positively Alyssa

Happy Midweek and I hope you have had a good week so far😊! Thankfully, we have made it through the first half of this week, and I would like to believe the second half of the week will be easier. I am sure everyone is looking forward to the week, and next week there is a holiday, so it will be a shorter week, which honestly always feels longer to me. It would have been better if Monday was going to be the holiday, but it is what it is, and I will not complain! We do not have any plans for the 4^th of July, but I will say our poor cats will be terrified because people will be setting off fireworks and they hate every second of it☹. I am sure they will be hiding under the bed until it all ends.

Something I want to talk about in this post is how much heat is the enemy for anyone that is living with Multiple Sclerosis. The heat can cause numerous issues, and each person will experience the heat differently. Any MS symptom can become worse in the heat and trigger newer and unfamiliar symptoms. The symptoms may include numbness in the extremities, fatigue, blurred vision, tremors, weakness, and cognitive issues. These symptoms depending on the individual can range anywhere from annoying to debilitating.

I can speak for myself, but I am sure many others that living with Multiple Sclerosis may agree about how much heat is like our kryptonite. I live in a southern state in the United State which seems like the weather is too warm for about nine to ten months out of the year. Recently, another blogger who was recently diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis had a suggestion regarding a neck fan that she purchased on Amazon. I had never heard of something like this before, but after her recommendation decided to purchase one, and mine will be arriving today at some point. With that said, I also want to recommend for anyone interested in ways to deal with Multiple Sclerosis to check out her site at https://calmwithkari.com/. Also the neck fan on Amazon that I purchased https://www.amazon.com/Portable-Operated-Rechargeable-Bladeless-Headphone/dp/B0BK8FS5ZG/ref=sr_1_4?crid=1EIS65IUG6VQZ&keywords=neck+fan+purple&qid=1687911304&s=home-garden&sprefix=neck+fan+purple%2Cgarden%2C119&sr=1-4, but there are many others available.

As soon as I try out the neck fan, I will share my thoughts with you, and you can decide for yourself if it is something you are interested in trying. Of course, I had to get the purple neck fan because it is my FAVORITE color! Now that summer is in full force, it will only continue to get hotter until Autumn. There is no need to suffer when there are options to avoid the burden of the heat. I know the weather will change at different times depending on where you are living, but as I said in the south where I live that might not be until November.

Thank you for visiting my site today. I hope the information that I shared was helpful for you and you have a wonderful day! I look forward to reading your comments, and I will respond as quickly as I can. I do sincerely hope you check out the blogger’s site I suggested because she is sharing some amazing, and helpful information. Please never forget that I am always sending y’all LOTS of love, comfort, support, and MANY positive vibes!

Always, Alyssa

Increased Dizziness

Posted on June 18, 2023 by Positively Alyssa

Even after living with Multiple Sclerosis for more than half of my life, each season still has some unique challenges I must adapt to. Although it does take my body time to adjust to any weather changes, I always find the extreme heat the most challenging and harsh. It is not even summer yet, but it has already reached over 90 degrees. A few of the challenges I must overcome are increased fatigue, an inability to sleep, lack of energy, and intensified and escalated dizzy spells. For some reason, yesterday I was dealing with the worst dizzy spells, which typically only happen at night, but I was dizzy all day.

The rare times I do leave the house, especially during the warmer weather, I always must allow time for my vehicle to cool off before I begin driving. I know the extreme heat will cause my dizziness to be even more brutal and I never want to be driving when it happens. It helps to roll down the windows and turn the air conditioning on high for a few minutes. Another thing I do to help with the hot weather is keep a bottle of cold water with me at all times. I have four insulated water bottles that I purchased on Amazon. I fill the water bottles up about halfway and let the water freeze and continue to add water to the bottles, so my water is always cold😊!

Do you have a favorite and the least favorite season? I absolutely love Autumn because the weather is not too hot or too cold. Honestly, where I live, I am pretty sure we only have two and a half seasons, HOT, warm, and cool. I miss living where there are four seasons, and it has been more than 20 years since I have seen all the seasons. It seems like the summer lasts way too long, and it is only getting more intense☹.

Thank you for visiting my site today. Have you been able to enjoy your weekend? There is still a little left of the weekend, so I hope you can relax and enjoy it as much as possible. Tomorrow is Monday and our week will begin again, so we must try to only view the new week as an opportunity. I hope you have enjoyed what I have shared today, and I am looking forward to reading your comments. I will respond to your comments as quickly as possible. Please never forget that I am always sending y’all LOTS of love, comfort, support, and MANY positive vibes!

Always, Alyssa

My Sunday Thoughts

Posted on June 4, 2023 by Positively Alyssa

Happy Sunday, y’all! I hope you are having a great and relaxing weekend! I had planned to write a few posts about topics I feel are important, but unfortunately, I have been struggling with awful leg and feet pain this weekend. I know it is just neuropathy, and I am assuming it has something to do with the change in weather. Yesterday, it was 90 degrees where I live, which I feel is way TOO HOT! I have never dealt well with hot weather, but this weekend has been challenging. I am doing everything I am supposed to do, at least according to my Neurologist, but I cannot deal with the neuropathy all summer. I am sure my body will adjust to the extreme temperatures, but I wish it would do so faster!

What have you been doing this weekend? As I already mentioned, I have been dealing with neuropathy issues, so I have not left the house or done much of anything. I was able to rest most of the day yesterday, but I did do a few loads of laundry. A few things I remember about last summer were to start my vehicle and let the air conditioning run for a little while before driving. Also, it is crucial to stay hydrated, so I have been drinking tons of water!

Considering I have no intention of leaving my house until Tuesday when I must go to the pharmacy to pick up prescriptions, I am hoping to work on the posts I wanted to do yesterday at some point today. I am not going to make any promises, but I hope to have both completed by the end of next week. Every month has awareness topics, but there are two in June that I feel are important to share and discuss. One of them is, Pride Awareness, and the other is Gun Violence. Pride Awareness is important because I do not think anyone should feel any shame because of who they love or be discriminated against. And Gun Violence because there is too much of this happening and it needs to end!

Thank you for visiting my site today. I hope you can enjoy the rest of your weekend, and you are able to do something that brings you joy. I always enjoy reading your comments, and I will respond to all of them as quickly as I can. Please never forget that I am always sending y’all LOTS of love, comfort, support, and MANY positive vibes!

Always, Alyssa

Pick-Me-Up Friday Eve

Posted on June 1, 2023 by Positively Alyssa

I know it has been a shorter week, but it has felt like a long week! As much as I enjoy long weekends, I always dread the short weeks because you have to consolidate five days into four, which tends to be chaotic! How has your week been? Of course, Tuesday was disastrous, and Wednesday was only slightly better. Today is the first day of June, which also means the HOT weather is coming, especially in the south where I live. I know I have said this before, but I do not like when the weather gets too hot to even leave the house. Does anyone reading this enjoy warmer weather or rather HOT weather?

This week is almost over, but we do still have one more day until the weekend returns, so I thought a little pick-me-up could be helpful for everyone! I know it is not a long weekend, but do you have anything planned for this weekend? I am happy to say that I have nothing planned but am hoping for a nice, and relaxing weekend. Unfortunately, during the week, or maybe even in our personal lives, we might feel as if we are expected to be how others want us to be. I have always been happy to be myself, which includes all of my imperfections and many flaws, and if someone else cannot accept me for me, that is their loss, not mine. This is why I wanted to share this quote with everyone today because you should be proud of who you are and know how amazing you are!

What do you think makes a home feel homier? Does hanging pictures on the walls, decorating the inside and or outside of your home, or it is all love that makes your home feel homier? Since the weekend when I finally hung pictures on the walls in our living room and added beautiful plants to our front porch area, our home feels more like we are living here and it feels like home. Of course, our house has always contained a lot of love, but these simple things made everything prettier! The only things we still need to do is, hang more wall art, put curtains, and shutters up in the living room, and curtains in the guest bedroom!

Thank you for visiting my site today! I hope you enjoyed what I shared today, and it provided you with the pick-me-up needed near the end of the week. More than a pick-me-up, I hope it reminded you how amazing, and wonderful you are regardless of any imperfections. We all have imperfections, but they make us unique! I look 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!