Dark And Stormy Night

I have a lot of stress, which means I buzz most of the time.  If you don’t have this symptom, then you don’t know what this means.  It is kind of like sticking your finger in an electrical outlet.  Not pleasant!

According to My-MS.org , “Sensory symptoms are the most common symptom of MS, with up to 90% of those with MS reporting some form of numbness and tingling. The main sensory symptoms include numbness, tightness, tingling or burning. At times these sensations are painful but even when they aren't painful, they may change how you move and can affect balance and decrease mobility. The location specifically determines the type of symptoms you may experience. The greater the damage at any given location will typically determine the severity. The number of areas with damage will typically have a great impact on the effect on all your symptoms. With this in mind, one area with severe damage may have the same impact as 10 locations with mild damage. It's therefore difficult to determine what any single person should expect, but rather what most people in general do expect or experience on a daily basis. The nervous system includes many sensory nerve fibers dedicated to helping you be aware of your environment. They provide the sense of touch in your fingers, and your ability to feel cold or heat on all parts of your body. When these fibers are damaged by MS, your sense of touch may be replaced by feelings of numbness or tingling. Parts of your body may feel burning or cold, even though there is no heat or chill present. MS symptoms can be temporary or more progressive, and can occur in various parts of the body.”

I have the hot/cold sensation most of the time, but the tingling/buzzing is an ongoing thing.  I have noticed that when I am startled or fearful, the buzzing gets really strong and almost unbearable.  I guess, since MS is a brain/nerve thing, this would be expected.

I have two reasons for not liking the summer months.  One, the heat is really hard for MS patients to tolerate.  I have the cooling vest, hat, etc, but they only help for a while.  Eventually I have to come inside because I am getting weak, nauseated and can barely walk.

The second reason I do not like the summer months is storms.  I know, when you “grow up” you are supposed to get over that fear of storms.  I didn’t.  If anything, it has gotten worse as I have gotten older.  My grandmother told me that I was in a tornado when I was 3 or 4 and she thought that was one of the reasons I was so afraid of wind and lightning.  I was also at ground zero during Hurricane Hugo, which did not help this situation.

My husband says I go completely crazy during a bad storm.  I have to agree with him since I really don’t have a sense of what I am doing at the time.  That is hard to share, but the truth is the truth.  In a bad storm, I am a basket case.  The "startles" that I have gets much more pronounced also.  Each flash of lightning and clap of thunder seems way out of proportion to me.

One of the offsprings of this is that when I am upset, even during a mild storm (if there IS such a thing!) is that the buzzing I usually have turns on full blast.  The stress of trying to deal with my fear makes the buzzing really strong.  I have talked with several others who have noticed this when they are stressed out.  I guess, as with many things with MS, our normal isn’t normal!

What really makes me angry is that I love a good mystery.  Most of the really great ones occur on a “dark and stormy night” in a creepy old house, with eerie music.  I wish I could just put myself into that mode and enjoy a storm……..oh well........maybe one day……..

Emotional Roller Coaster

The doctor is putting me on Wellbutrin.  I am supposed to start it today.  Some of the side effects listed include: drowsiness, excitement, dry mouth, dizziness, headache, nausea, vomiting, uncontrollable shaking of a part of the body, weight loss, constipation, excessive sweating.  Let me see, I already have drowsiness, dry mouth, dizziness, headaches, uncontrollable shaking, constipation and excessive sweating.  So how do I know if the medicine will cause this or not??!!  I could use the weight loss and excitement!

I also have a problem with the cost.  My doc prescribed a medicine for me once that cost almost $600.00.  I nearly had a heart attack when the pharmacy told me the price.  My husband insisted on getting it to see if it might help, but I ended up not being able to take it and it is sitting on a shelf unused.  I hope this will not be the case with this medicine.  The doc said it would be around $4.00 and it is $54.00.

I know that, to some, this does not seem like a lot of money.  It isn’t in one way, but if I cannot take it, and it sits on the shelf with the other one, it is a LOT of money.  We don’t have money to just throw away on every little thing the doctor wants to try.  It makes me very upset to spend money on me that is wasted.

My husband, on the other hand, is all for anything that might help.  He says that he would drain our savings dry if there was something out there to help me.  I love him for this, but it really makes me uneasy to think I would be the cause of us draining our account.  I hope we have some years left and want to be able to do some of the things we have dreamed of doing without a financial strain.

I know that many of you are in this same boat.  I hope that when my disability hearing finally is, I will get some money and Medicare.  The Medicare is my goal to help with these costs of drugs.  It would be so nice not to have to worry about these things and feel like I could try some more things and hopefully find something that eases some of the symptoms I have.  It would not only help me, but my husband and our friends and families.

Only time will tell what the medication will do……………..and what, if any, help I will receive from disability……….I will just ride this thing out and hope that it comes out positive………..I guess I will go buy another ticket and see where this journey takes me…………..

Walking Crooked??

There was a crooked man and he walked a crooked mile,
He found a crooked sixpence upon a crooked stile.
He bought a crooked cat, which caught a crooked mouse.
And they all lived together in a little crooked house.

I have a lot of problems with my back.  Sometimes it burns, sometimes it tingles and many times it just plain hurts.  I know that a lot of people have back problems, so I don’t feel alone in this.

I was noticing that when I stand up a lot (for me!), like when cutting up veggies for a salad type thing, that it hurts badly.  On thinking about it, I may have the cause of this.

My right leg is always numb.  When I walk, stand or lean against something, I bend sideways a little.  I am wondering if not having my weight evenly distributed over my frame, it causes my back to hurt and get in a strain. 

I was trying to compensate for this today, but didn’t quite pull it off.  When fixing dinner, I tried to stand solid on my legs, not leaning to one side or the other.  It did not work.  When I tried to stand up straight, I would topple to the right.  I KNOW my leg is there, but my brain doesn’t seem to recognize the fact.  I cannot seem to stand without leaning just a little.

I’ve always felt sorry for elderly people who are all bent over and seem to have such a terrible time walking and getting around.  I fear that, if I live, I will be in that same shape.  I guess I can be the old crooked woman!! (I’m gonna have to think about the crooked cat and mouse, though!)

Wash Your Mouth Out With Soap!!

Remember the phrase “a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush”?  In other words, having something that is certain is much better than taking a risk for more.  Chances are you might lose everything.  Most of us sometimes forget this.

I was thinking about this the other day when looking at one of the sites I visit regularly.  So many people have terrible diseases that have no cure….those of us with MS fit into that category.  Many other people have had accidents or other things that have left them maimed in some way.  These things cannot be undone.

Like most people, when I get on the net I surf from here to there.  Facebook is something I really enjoy and have made some really good friends there.  Unfortunately, some people are not polite, kind or understanding of anyone’s rights and tend to shoot off their mouths about things they have no clue about.  I ran into one of those the other day.

I am old-fashioned enough to like to think that most “harsh” language originates with males.  That is not always the case.  This lady was spouting things that most men would not say.  Her comments only showed up on my page because of being a friend of a friend.  My friend promptly removed her from her friends and there have been no more comments like that since.

Most of us having taken things for granted.  I know when I was young, I never thought about getting old and not being able to walk, run and do the things I wanted to do.  I took for granted that I would always be able to learn the things I wanted to and not be constantly on the lookout for ways to ease the pain in my body.  This is no longer my life.

It would be nice to have a miracle cure……one size fits all.  Not only an MS cure, but a cancer cure, ALS cure, Alzheimer’s cure and so on.  I don’t think I am an overly selfish person, so I would want the cure to help all in need, just not those who are in the same category of disease as I am.

The person who was making the rude remarks was commenting on how so many on Facebook seemed to always whine, whether it was about illnesses, politics, the weather or whatever.  My first thought, as were many who commented, was why you don’t just skip over the ones you don’t care for, or get off all together. 

I realize that a lot do get all bent out of shape over politics and such, but so what!  If I don’t want to read some of the comments, I just flip right by them.  They have the option of doing the same for any comment that I might make.

I have not felt, in all the blogs, Facebook comments and other articles that I try to read each day, that most people with illnesses whine a lot.  Most are looking for answers and sharing problems, but NOT whining.  I am very proud of my MS friends and how strong they are.  With all the problems most of them have, they whine far less than “normal” people!!

I hope that all of us will stop and think before we post something, whether a negative or a positive comment.  It may make or break someone else’s day…………besides, my grandma used to threaten to wash my mouth out if I used bad language so I have not ever gotten in the habit of doing so…..soap is really bad when it gets in my eyes and I would hate to think what it would be like in my mouth!!

Dreaming of Moving………..

When I was young, we lived in a duplex.  My grandmother lived in the other side of the duplex.  It was wonderful having her so near, but I dreamed of having a big house and lots of room.

I used to spend the night with friends from school sometimes. It was like being in heaven staying in a real house.  I always thought those people were rich and most of my fantasies were of one day having my own home to live in.

The house we have was built in 1922 and is big, sturdy and roomy.  It has a lot of wonderful, unique things that are usually only found in older homes. The kitchen has a built-in hutch, there are three fireplaces and a fairly roomy upstairs.  I really like the house.  The problem is that the house is becoming too big for us to take care of and going up and down the stairs is an even bigger problem.

Like most with MS, walking and managing everyday chores are becoming more and more difficult for me to handle.  I am often not able to do much more than get dressed, eat breakfast and get to the computer or recliner.  Sweeping, moping, washing clothes and taking care of the house often has to wait........... or, on most days, it just does not get done. 

Helping with the garden and flowers was one of the things I really enjoyed.  Picking up pecans in the Fall and sitting out in the swing under the trees were things that I always looked forward to.  They are just fond memories now.

My husband helps me down the steps each morning and helps me back up them each evening when we are ready to settle for the night.  Many days I think of all the things I wish I could do upstairs, but they are just more things that I am unable to accomplish.

We have talked about getting a condo or similar type dwelling.  The yard work would be taken care of and the living area would all be on one floor.  It is something that we talk about a lot.

As long as my Mother is with us, this dream cannot be accomplished.  She is adamant about not leaving this house and being uprooted at her age.  In some ways I understand this, but in most ways I don’t.  She would have more freedom if things were handier to get to and it would be easier for us to take care of her.  She cannot understand the limitations that MS puts on me and thus will not see the advantages that moving would bring to all of us.  It is a losing battle for us and one that we have not fully come to the conclusion of having to get into with her.  The time may come someday soon that we will have to just take the bull by the horns and battle it out.

This problem weighs heavily on my mind.  It would be so much easier for my husband, as well as me.  He has the burden of taking care of most of my needs as well as my Mother’s and his own.  If we were in a simpler environment, it would lessen this burden.  I guess it is one of those “if it is meant to be it will happen” things.

Until then, I will just dream of the moving van sitting in front of our house getting us ready to move on to a better, more suitable place………….

So Very Sad…………….

Such a tragedy…………….all those people killed and injured by one person………my thoughts and prayers go out to all of the family and friends of the people involved in that terrible crime.

I know that there will be lots of talk about movies, books, television, music and such being the cause of this act of violence.  I cannot agree with any of that.  I will always feel that if you are not a violent person, watching, seeing or hearing about it will not make you so.  The only exception I see to that is during war, and that is in a category all of its own.

The news media has already jumped on the bandwagon that The Dark Knight was full of violence and it influenced this person to do this terrible thing.  I loved the first movie (I have not seen the second).  There are two roles by actors that have really stood out in my mind as never being able to be topped: Val Kilmer as Doc Holliday in Tombstone and Heath Ledger as the Joker in The Dark Knight.  If you have not seen them, please do.  I think you will be as impressed as I am with these.

But, that is not the point.  My point is that all of us have grown up being exposed to different forms of violence from an early age.  Cartoons, movies, newspapers, television shows and life in general had various forms of violence in them.  Very few of us acted on those influences.

It is so very sad that some people let their “demons” overpower them and strike out at people, most of whom are  innocent bystanders…………………all we can do is pray for those who were harmed, the families and friends of those who were killed and for that person who performed the deed………he probably needs our prayers most of all….

Emma Jean

For 20 years, I lived beside a lady who raised birds.  She had an aviary and there were usually over 600 birds in residence in her yard.  She had everything from tiny finches to large macaws.  Early each morning, I would awaken to noises that sounded like a Tarzan movie!

She and I became good friends and for my birthday one year, she gave me a set of peach-faced love birds. Since so many people named their pairs Lucy and Desi, I decided to name mine Emma Jean and Sidney (after Sid Caesar and Imogene Coca).  They were so precious and such fun to watch!

A few years later, my neighbor presented me with an egg to hatch on my own.  It was an Indian Ringneck egg and I was so nervous and excited about this gift.  Finally, she called me one morning and told me to pay attention to the egg that it would hatch that day.  Sure enough, Hadji was "born" that morning!!!

Love birds don’t have as large of a vocabulary as ringnecks do.  When I would take food to them, Emma Jean would yell her name and get so excited.  After a while, Hadji began to associate “Emma Jean” with food and start saying it when he wanted something you were eating.  He still does this.  Although he has quite a good vocabulary, he still insists on the meaning of “food” as “Emma Jean”.  (When Sidney died, Emma Jean only lived for 3 days more.  Lovebirds mourn themselves to death when they lose their mate.  When Hadji would start yelling her name, it broke my heart.)

I was thinking about the way we associate words and meanings.  When most people think of hug, it is a good thing.  When people with MS think of hug, it is a terrible thing!  When most people say they are tingling, it means they are excited or in love.  When MS people say they are tingling, it is a feeling that can be anything from unpleasant to downright painful.  I guess it is all in how you look at things and what things you are going through at the moment as to what emotions you get when you hear certain words.

As it is, we are used to “Emma Jean” meaning food.  The pain of losing Emma has lessened and I have only good memories of my two silly lovebirds that were once a part of my household.  Now, I  have a spoiled Pomeranian and a ringneck clown.....which is more than a handfull some days!! :)

Thinking About Noah……

Some days are long……..but most go by so quickly I wonder where they went.  It’s not that I stay so busy that they fly.  I really don’t know what it is, but I don’t like it.

I would like to make my little list and be able to accomplish each of those tasks.  I rarely get past the first two or three things.  It is discouraging.

Grandma used to say that as you get older time flies.  I believe her.  My husband and I have talked about wondering how we got all the things we needed to do done when we were still working. Now, it doesn’t seem possible.

I know that I am slower at doing things so they take longer to do.  I am slower at thinking, so things take longer to figure out.  I eat slowly because I choke easily.  I guess it just takes longer to do nothing than it used to!

I was reading about Noah the other day.  He was 500 years old when he began building the Ark.  He was 600 when the floods came and 601 when the Ark came upon dry land.  He lived 349 years after the flood.  I don’t see how he got around, much less built the Ark! People lived much longer life spans before the flood, but that is a seriously long time.

I wonder if we would really accomplish any more if we absolutely knew that we would live a certain amount of time, or if we would spend most of that time counting the days until we died.  It would be an interesting concept.

I don’t think I would want to know when my day was going to be up.  I like to think that not knowing, I try to live each day as good as I can and try to be a better person each day. If most people knew when they would die, they would do as much as they could to enjoy life and wait until the last moment to change toward being a better person.

Poor Noah.........I can't imagine going through the trials and hardships of life for all those years.......he had to be a really tough guy..........he had to have "what it took" to go through what he did...... God is so much smarter than we are and knew he could……… but you already knew that!!

When She Was Good………

My husband wanted me to write his side of the story I wrote about having problems with the telephone company.  He INSISTS that I am not a whiner ……… I tend to disagree!

He said that most of our problems revolve around my Mother.  This is true.  She complains constantly, is very critical and judgmental, whines and usually is in a bad mood.  Needless to say, she is very hard to live with.  We would “let” someone else keep her for a while, but there is no one to do this.

Another of our problems, of course, is the daily struggle with MS.  Each day we wake up and wonder what I will or won’t be able to do.  As most of you know, MS does not always give you the same problems to deal with and often likes to throw in a few new ones. It definitely is NOT boring!

Put those together with the normal problems of everyday life and you have a boiling pot that tends to overrun and spill over sometimes. My pot tends to boil over more than I would like it to!

I am trying to keep my emotions more balanced and level.  Reading, playing games online and putting together my lesson for Sunday School helps.  I try to keep my mind busy so that the little irritations don’t build up so much and cause me to worry and fret.  Most of the time this works…………some of the time it doesn’t.

My husband worked in management most of his life and is very organized.  He keeps notes and lists for just about everything.  I am trying to start doing this and not let things overwhelm me because I have forgotten something.

My mind is really getting “dull”.  Words and thoughts do not come easy anymore.  I can write this blog because I can take my time and do it at my leisure.  Life is not like that.  When things come up, you have to react and have an answer immediately.  I am losing that capability.  It is scary.

There are a lot of things on tv about alzheimer’s and dimentia.   The more I see them, the more I worry about having early development of these diseases.  Since many of these different types are caused by nerve damage, it only makes sense to me that MS patients are in that category.  We are often confused, have problems remembering things and other symptoms found in the list of problems that develop with these diseases.

Maybe things will lighten up one day.  Most days go pretty well.  I try to make an effort to stay calm and not to let the little things bother me so much. It is a constant battle.

I don’t want to be like that little girl in Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s poem!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hello??????

My husband tells me I am losing my patience.  He is right.  People used to tell me I had the patience of Job, but I am quickly losing it!

I have read that MS causes our emotions to go haywire.  One of the things listed about the subject on the National MS Society page is this:

“Emotional liability or “moodiness” may affect persons with MS and is manifest as rapid and generally unpredictable changes in emotions. Family members may complain about frequent bouts of anger or irritability. It is unclear if the emotional liability observed in MS stems from the distress related to the disease or if it is caused by some changes in the brain. Whatever the cause, emotional lability can be one of the most challenging aspects of MS from the standpoint of family life. Family counseling may be very important in dealing with emotional liability since mood swings are likely to affect everyone in the family.”

I totally relate to this!  Things that did not bother me before get all over my nerves now.  I used to be a laid-back, easy-going person.  This is no longer the case.

I am presently having an emotional roller coaster ride with our telephone carrier.  Several weeks ago our home telephone quit working.  It took a week for the repairman to come out, find the problem, and fix it.  Six hours later, we had a bad lightning storm and the telephone went out again.  That was a week ago and we are still waiting on them to come and fix it again.  They were supposed to come today.  I looked on the website and they have moved the repair time ahead three days.  I am really frustrated!

My husband and I have cell phones, but most business contacts and such have the home telephone number.  My mother only uses the home phone as a cell phone is too complicated for her to get the hang of.  When we have to go to the store or something, she is at home with no way to call for help.  That really bothers me. 

Maybe it really is “small potatoes”, but it is driving me crazy.  I explained (by email, since you cannot talk to a REAL person anymore!) to the representative that my mother is 83 years old and I have MS.  Between the two of us it is imperative that we have a phone.  He emailed me back with an “I’m sorry you are having these problems” reply, but offered no solution. 

I don’t expect special treatment for the most part.  That is not what bothers me – it is the total lack of caring and understanding on the part of the company and their unwillingness to find a solution to the problem.

OK - I have ranted!!!  I am hoping that this will be fixed soon – if not, we can always go back to the string and can method of talking to each other. Wonder where I could buy a gazillion yards of string????

A Teardrop

According to an old legend, every time we lose someone or something we cherish, a new teardrop is placed in our heart.  A teardrop can be placed there for a person, an animal, a place, a thing or whatever we cherish.  When our heart fills up, God has compassion on us and we leave earth for Heaven to be rejoined with whatever we have cherished.

Although I am an only child, I was blessed with a lot of aunts, uncles and cousins.  I have a large, loving family that means so much to me.  We only have one aunt living now, but I have a lot of wonderful cousins that are very special to me and we have yet to lose one of them.

Unfortunately, we are all getting older.  It is only a matter of time before we lose one.  I am afraid it will be soon. My cousin, Billy, is very sick and under hospice care.  Although he could outlive all of us, it is very unlikely. Another of my cousins sent a recent picture of him to the rest of us.  My heart broke seeing how sickly and pitiful he looks.  It is hard to watch as someone we love suffers.

As the old legend says, it is not only people who put a tear in our hearts.  Most of us have many tears from our beloved pets we have lost over the years.  Many have tears from homes, land, trees and such they have had to leave.  Those of us with chronic diseases have a tear in our hearts for a lot of reasons.  For one, we miss our lives as they once were. 

All of us age and expect to go through changes as we adjust to more aches and pains and difficulty doing the things we once did.  With MS, these changes come on rapidly and forcefully.  We do not have a chance to adjust to one before it throws something else on us.  We have tears for walking, thinking, talking, writing, etc.  It causes many tears to fall into our hearts to join the ones that are already there.

Although I am already grieving my beautiful cousin, I know that he is saved and will be in Heaven with the part of our family that is already there.  In many ways, I envy him that reunion and hope that we will all be there one day soon. No, I do not want to die or hurry along that process.  I am not in a depression.  I just know that being in Heaven beats being on earth in so many ways and there is joy in dying as well as the joys of living.

At least in Heaven there is no more MS, leaving friends, having friends, pets and other things leave us, and .........the best part ... no more tears!!!

Summer Daze

Hot days

In the summer

Sweaty body

What a bummer!

Kids playing

Having a ball

I sit here

Wishing for Fall.

Walking slowly

Always prayerful

Taking pains

To be very careful.

Aching legs

Pounding head

Trying hard

Not to be abed.

Knowing this

Too shall pass

Hoping it

Too long won’t last.

Reading books

Sitting down

Trying to smile

Not to frown.

I fully know

I’m not alone

Others share

And don’t bemoan

We are down

But not defeated

None of life

Have we been cheated.

All the love

That we receive

Should be our shield

In time of need.

We are an army

Of the strong

And we can fight this

All the day long!!

Rest In Peace Andy

Like most in my age group, I grew up watching The Andy Griffith Show. From what I have read, it has been on TV every day for 50 years.  Other people must have liked it as much as we did!

We live about an hour and a half from Mt. Airy-----Mayberry to all the Andy Griffith fans out there.  We have been there many times and really enjoy the small town atmosphere that the town has.  The town we live in has approximately 50,000 people, which I guess is small to most people.  Considering how it looked when I was young, it is huge now.

I really miss the way things were when I was growing up.  We left the doors unlocked, played out in the yard with the kids in the neighborhood and no one panicked if we didn’t show up at dark ......we were just playing hide and seek and didn’t want to stop to eat.  It was a wonderful, easy-going time.

Many people have their favorite entertainers, but as a general rule, most people loved Andy and the characters that lived in Mayberry.  Those of us in my home state feel like we have really lost something special in his passing ……… I know that many of you do also......

Ode To My Left Leg

I really miss my left leg

It’s been so good to me

It seems that it has run its course

It’s dead as it can be.

I know I ask a lot of it

Through each and every day

I thought that I was good to it

I don’t know what else to say.

I know I bumped it into chairs

The walls, the desks, the drawers

But lately we have done just fine

And stayed off the cold, hard floors.

Maybe I have asked too much

To try and walk like others

But I have not one single time

Been jealous  of another’s.

I love you, I can tell you now

‘Though you seem not to care

Although this love is with the left

A love I have to share.

I hope that your vacation time

Will be short and you’ll return

Please don’t stay long, and hurry back

For your presence I still yearn.

And so until that happy day

I’ll hobble on one leg

Please hurry home, I miss you so

I really HATE to beg!!!!

Raynaud's Phenomenon

I wrote a blog last week about the terrible heat wave we are experiencing over most of the country.  I appreciate all the comments on the different websites that carry this blog.

One of the comments asked that I write something about the opposite effect which occurs in the cold temperatures.  So, here goes:

According to the Mayo Clinc website, “Raynaud's phenomenon (RP) is a condition resulting in a particular series of discolorations of the fingers and/or the toes after exposure to changes in temperature (cold or hot) or emotional events. Skin discoloration occurs because an abnormal spasm of the blood vessels causes a diminished blood supply to the local tissues. Initially, the digit(s) involved turn white because of the diminished blood supply. The digit(s) then turn blue because of prolonged lack of oxygen. Finally, the blood vessels reopen, causing a local "flushing" phenomenon, which turns the digit(s) red. This three-phase color sequence (white to blue to red), most often upon exposure to cold temperature, is characteristic of RP.

Raynaud's phenomenon most frequently affects women, especially in the second, third, or fourth decades of life. People can have Raynauds phenomenon alone or as a part of other rheumatic diseases. When it occurs alone, it is referred to as "Raynaud's disease" or primary Raynaud's phenomenon. When it accompanies other diseases, it is called secondary Raynaud's phenomenon.

Secondary Raynaud's," occurs secondary to a wide variety of other conditions. Secondary Raynaud's has a number of associations including MS.”

Most of us with Ms have both of these problems.  We get very overheated in the warm weather and over chilled in the cooler weather.  It takes me a long time to get chilled, but when I do, it seems to take forever to get warm again.  Our bodies just do not seem to be able to regulate themselves into a normal temperature range.

Because of these problems, many people with MS have opted to stay inside and not risk getting overheated or over chilled.  That is the best answer as far as being comfortable is concerned, but a horrible answer as far as depression is concerned.  So many times the easy answer is not the best answer.

One of my online MS buddies fits into this category.  He is young, good-looking, intelligent and has so much to offer.  Unfortunately, being young, his friends want to do this and that and he can no longer keep up.   He stays inside and is slowly becoming a hermit.  Those of us who are his friends try to stay in touch with him and see that he has some contact if only from the web.  Most of his friends do not understand and have pretty much abandoned him.  It is so sad.

One of the hardest lessons I have had to learn is that most of the people I know, both friends and family, do not have a clue what we endure on a daily basis.  I am not talking about just pain or lack of mobility.  I am talking about the isolation and depression that most of us feel at some points in our lives.  Most of us do not “live there”, but visit this area from time to time.  Sometimes it is a hard place to stay away from.

Contrary to the above writings, I STILL would rather have cold weather than hot------hot weather hurts-------hot weather causes my brain to turn to mush-------and hot weather makes me sticky and yukky------Besides, there is always the hope that winter will bring snow and blanket the world in a beautiful, clean, new look!!!!