MS appointment

Got to see Dr Luzzio today for my MS check-up along with an intern. They had me do most of the usual physical testing: walk fast down the hall, hop on each foot, touch my nose and then the interns finger -You know, the drunk test. Then we discussed any symptoms I'm currently having. right now, I have this annoying itchy/tingling sensation on my left cheek. I keep feeling the need to wipe my cheek which temporarily soothes the area, but it always comes back.

Anyway, We discussed what went wrong with Copaxone and what to do next. My reaction to Copaxone may be link to hypersensitivity. He said he didn't like how my recent MRI looked and that I need to be on some kind of MS drug, but none that involve needles because those are administered too fast and my body doesn't like that. So we are looking into Tecfidera. I don't know how I feel about it. It is pills instead of shots so that's a plus. It has some side effects. Some mild and some alarming. If I go on this medication I would need to visit the neurologist in 3 months and then every 6 months to make sure I don't show signs of liver damage or a brain infection. Have I mentioned that I miss drinking parasites? They never threatened to damage major organs.

Anyway, with all injection medication off the table I'm left with fewer options. I think I'm going to give this a try. I just pray I don't react as badly as I did with Copaxone. In order to be put on Tecfidera they have to test my blood and make sure my body can except it. I will know in a few weeks if I will be taking it.

Philippians 3:20-21New International Version (NIV)

20 But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, 21 who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.

I anxiously await the day for His return! That new body is gonna be sweet!

Recovery

I realized I never updated on my recovery. So here it is.

I would say as of the 2nd week of July all the symptoms of my relapse have completely subsided. Yay!! I was healed in 6 weeks!

I honestly didn't noticed that I didn't feel a hint of weekness or numbness until someone asked how my recovery was going and I had to check myself. I feel a bit ashamed that I didn't praise God earlier. But I'll be doing that now. Better late than never. Throughout my flare-up I had a peace that I would recover. Never doubted it. Admittedly, I was impatient at times. Here are some scripture verses that kept me in check when I would become frustrated with how slow my healing was going.

 Psalms 37:7 "Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him"
Romans 12:12 " Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer."
Psalms 94:19 "When anxiety was great within me, your consolation brought me joy."
2 corinthians 12:9 "...'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness' Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weakness so that the power of Christ may rest upon me."
All of Psalms 31
There are more but to be honest the Bible has so many encouraging and comforting verses I might as well just link the whole book! Biblegateway.com

I experienced things during my relapse that I can only attribute to God. One man from church, Tim, smiled at me when I walked in to church with my cane and eye patch the first Sunday after my flare-up and said, "That explains it!" When I ask what he meant he told me the Lord pressed upon him to pray for me, for healing and for strength and peace for my husband. He knew nothing of my MS flare-up prior to that.
Neurologist, nurses, and other doctors all told me that if I do recover it could take 3-6 months. I told them I felt that God would heal me faster than that. I told them of my prayer warriors and the trust I had in God's timing.

I have joy about my suffering that confounded some people. If there comes a time when MS causes symtoms that I can't recover from I will praise him still. I'm not boasting about my faith for I am a weak and fallible human being. I will boast about Him though and his great power and love.

Say What???

Saw an audiologist and an otolaryngologist today. Let's just say I don't have your typical hearing problem. I'll try to simplify this two and a half hour appointment for ya.

First off, I have bilateral tinnitus. I wasn't surprised by this diagnosis. What surprised me was why I have it. It's not from loud sounds; it's most likely genetic. The tinnitus is not disturbing enough to worry about. If it was, most that he could do is prescribe something to deal with anxiety or depression. No, thank you.

Then he turned into a psychic. He guessed that I get migraines primarily on one side, that I'm dyslexic, that I have trouble hearing someone when I can't see their face, and in even mildly noisy situations (like at a restaurant or if a fan is running) I have trouble hearing what people are saying. I was shocked. It gave me goose bumps! From what I could understand, from all of the medical jargon, is that the part of my brain that processes hearing/language is the problem. As far as he can tell, it's not MS related. I'm just born with bad wiring. Normal brains can filter out ambient noise. Mine has trouble doing that. He was shocked that I sometimes interpret for my church. He congratulated me for being able to compensate as well as I have. I laughed and said, "So, it a miracle that I can hold a competent conversion."  He also congratulated me on having a sense of humor about all this.

Next, he went over the vertigo that I had a while back. While he's glad that I was able to take care of it myself, he's not sure if it was an inner ear problem or MS since I do have a lesion that is on my cerebellum. If I get vertigo again, I'm suppose to go in immediately. He is not so sure Copaxone cause my lesion. Since I had the vertigo before my major relapse symptoms started, it is entirely possible that I was already developing a lesion on my cerebellum and that my adverse reaction to Copaxone influenced the progression of it. I have a neurology appointment in two weeks so I guess I'll find out what Dr Luzzio thinks about all of this.

It certainly has been a long interesting day. I learned that my brain was broken before it was broken.