Days 5-9…sort of
So, I hung on well until needing to do day 9. Day 9 was this past Saturday. I wound up being too tired to do it, so I picked up day 9 today. I am having trouble with about 35% of it. My trouble has to do with needing to pick up my left leg and I can’t do that because my left arm does not work….so I am trying to pick up my left and right legs in some exercises with only my right arm. When my core gets stronger this may be more possible, but right now it is FRUSTRATING.
I have continued with my supplements and taking my medicine at regular times instead of when I remember.
I did get off the floor after exercising without assistance….so yay!
Days 1-4
I actually started on Saturday, March 30. When I say that I started, I mean that I started trying to get on the MS Gym website and began taking all of my supplements as prescribed. My neurologist has prescribed 300 mg of biotin per day, 1200 mg of Alpha lipoic acid per day, and five thousand milligrams of vitamin D per day. Additionally, he has prescribed an old medicine called clemastine. The biotin, alpha lipoic acid and clemastine are all substances that have shown to be beneficial repair. I believe most of the studies have come from Australia. I take the vitamin D because I’m chronically low in vitamin D as are most people with multiple sclerosis. As of today, I have taken all of these supplements for a total of six days.
I started the MS Gym on Monday. I had promised myself I would follow the program carefully. Therefore, on Monday I watched over an hour of introductory videos. Any of you who know me, know that this is not the way I like to do things. I would rather just jump in. So, Tuesday I was ready to start. Each workout is 30 minutes long. I think I cried through 15 minutes of the first one. The reason I cried was not that it was hard…. Or I should say it didn’t look hard. I cried because it looks so easy but it was so hard for me. The video required heavy use of both hands. Because one hand does not work, I had to do everything with my good hand. This proved to be exhausting. Wednesday was the second day. This day did not prove to be any easier than the first day because I had to get on the floor. Getting up and down off the floor is very hard for me. If you doubt me, I challenge you to get on and off the floor using only your right arm and your right leg. I didn’t cry during this video I just cursed. I woke up Thursday feeling awful and exhausted so I did not do my exercises. I felt very guilty that I couldn’t do it. Today is Friday and I rallied. I completed day three in the allotted 30 minutes. Today was very heavy on upper body which meant I had a tough time because of my left arm.
On a sidenote I quit Coca-Colas on Monday and in trying to recommit to no soda and looking to restarting the Dr. Wahl’s diet.
PS…..started my ESTIM on my hand today.
Health…definitely a slippery something
When I started this blog, I called it slipping through my fingers because I’m a knitter so yarn slips through my fingers; I’m a mother so I felt time would slip through my fingers; and I have MS so I was afraid that my health would slip through my fingers. All of these things have come to pass.
My knitting progressed by leaps and bounds over the years. I’ve documented a number of beautiful things of which I’m quite proud. I worked hard to increase my skills and began teaching young and old alike. I’m proud to pass on my knowledge to more people than I can name, but now my MS has progressed to the point that I find it difficult to hold my left needle…. meaning, I do very little knitting these days. However, I do still teach…successfully.
Our oldest child is now 17 and a junior in high school. She is looking at colleges, working a part-time job, and looking toward her future. This means she will be moving out of the house soon….our time with her, as a child, is slipping away. Our youngest child is 14 going on 25. She, unlike the oldest one is ready to fly the coop…now. All that we can do is love her gently and make sure she understands she always has a soft place to land. Again, my time with her is slipping through my fingers daily.
My health is beyond slippery at the moment. In addition to the left arm that is as useful as a wet noodle, my left leg likewise does not hold up it’s end of the bargain. The purpose of starting this blog again is to have a place to record my thoughts regardless of if anyone else wants to read it. I am starting a new exercise program called the MS Gym. I am both hopeful and desperate. It seems at that nothing to lose and perhaps something to gain. Most of the posts will simply be a record of how I feel on that day and if I took all of my supplements and did my exercises.
slipping through my fingers 