I thought this was a pretty direct article about MS - especially good for someone trying to get a basic understanding: New York Times (August 15, 2009) |
My MS is pretty invisible to the average person. This is probably one of the toughest things mentally and emotionally. People tend to think if you look ok you must be ok and faking it or just plain lazy. I find that kind of thinking ignorant and hurtful. Like the young woman above I experience many of the same symptons that make people think I am hung over and/or have an alcohol/drug dependency. My MS includes at times the inability to concentrate, focus, keep a train of thought . Sometimes the word that comes out of my mouth is not what I intended. I sometimes tend to speak backwards like the "cash checking place". I often have an unsteady gait and therefore I like to walk next to wall. My speech can slur or I may stutter. Environments where there is 'too much' going on (talking, television, backround noises like fans, clocks etc) will freak me out, I suddenly become very confused hearing everything at once but not being able to separate them. That little feature of my MS seems to annoy allot of people. Sorry I can't help it. Sometimes as I walk the floor seems to come up in waves and I cannot tell where to step next. I may lift my foot like there is a step when there isn't one. A visually amusing (or freakish depending on your humor) sympton is my eyeball, usually the left, will take on a life of its own by twitching from left to right very quickly like some sort of spasm. My fatigue is huge, my need to sleep or just lie down and rest is constant. I once dozed off at a traffic light. Pins and needles are an everyday experience and not the 'my foor is asleep' kind. Mine are usually dull but fast like sewing maching fast. My feet and calves have this sensation constantly. The rest I can only describe by asking you to imagine being a voodoo doll. One that is owned by a sadistic angry person. This person takes the voodoo doll and alternately as well as simultaneously (ok so the owner must also be an octupus to perform all the sadistic tortures at once) will poke me with pins, blunt objects, punch me, poke with fingers , apply extreme to one area while applying ice to another, pour ants on me so that I have the sensation of many things crawling on me (which I am currently experiencing) and lots of other annoying and/or painful things. Often a session of this leaves me feeling like I have been hit by a car, literally. So here is YOUR chance to get back at that voodoo doll owner HERE  |
|
