Home

I love my house...we bought it in 2002 - been here ever since.  It's perfect for G and me - we have no complaints.  when we started looking around, i had specific instructions for the realtor.

• It had to b close to a highway (i have too many friends who live 15 miles from the exit and i didn't want that)
• it had to be close to Atlanta (i know u get more for ur money the further out u live, but that shit is NOT for me)
• The bedrooms had to be equally sized (too many places we looked at had a huge master and 2 closets for the other rooms - NOT acceptable)

This one has all that and more.  I've mentioned before (i think) that it's 3 stories...yup, 16 steps (but who's counting) between each floor (if only i knew then what was in store for me).  2 of the bedrooms are all the way on top (G and mine) and there is another all the way down - that's where i work.  So everyday i have to make the trek up and down all 32 steps at 1 time or other because i work all the way down and the kitchen is in the middle.

I love my house - until last Saturday!  i finally got to celebrate my birthday with the crew on Saturday (what with the weather and scheduling and whatnot).  We did the usual - eat, drink and be merry and then it was time to come home.  I got here and i swear it took me about 5 mins to climb 16 steps - WTF?!?!?  it was a looooooooooooooooong, slooooooooooow, "painful" process.  I'm not sure what the problem was - i didn't try to figure it out - but, for the 1st time since being here,  boy did i wish that i owned a FLAT house!

Now and again, i really feel like this...

good grief!

have i ever mentioned that i hate having ms?  i do!!

so i got some new boots.  they are cool and they are tall boots with no zip so i have to pull them on and off as i go.  This morning i had an appointment with the devil (my dentist); i put on the boots and off i went.  i got back home and needed to take them off so i could walk around with ease in the house.

i'm not sure if i ever mentioned before but the left side of my body is my probelm side.  Everything always happens on the left side

• the first sign that prompted me to go to a doctor that eventually led to my diagnosis was twitching of my left eyebrow
•  the vision of my left eye was off 2 years prior to my diagnosis, 
• my left foot would drag more etc etc - 

and in general, it's weaker than my right.  Well i go to pull off the right boot with my left hand this morning and NOTHING.  the blasted boot would not budge.  Try as I might, I couldn't, for the life of me, find the strength to pull off the boot.  WTF????  i'm heading out later - i had visions of having to keep the bloody thing on until i returned and then ask my friend to pull it off for me before i go in the house.

well my persistence finally paid off; i was so determined to get the shit off - someone from my past always used to say "persistence is the key" I finally i was able to get it off and pelt it way.

Did i ever mention that i hate having MS???  i DO!!!!

Ah Shit!

Wednesday was not a good day.

i actually had a few thoughts of "if I continue to walk like this, I'm not going anywhere anymore"... it was really not good.  I even decided that maybe i need to contact my neuro and go back on that other drowsy medication 3x a day and was trying to figure out how i could take it without it's interfering with my life too much.

Anways, in the midst of my wallowing my alarm went off at 4pm - it was time to take my afternoon sets of pills.   I opened my handy dandy "Wednesday" container and what greeted me?  every single pill that i was about to take as well as those that i was supposed to take at 8 AM!  ugh!!!!  is this y i was having such a hard day again??  i remember it'd happened before...i took the 4:00 dose and went on about my business.

Later that nite, at 8pm, the alarm went off yet again for that round.  I took out the container and what did i find?  i'd taken the 8:00 tablet at 4!!!  WDF????  where was my mind yesterday?  i guess in my confusion about realizing that I hadn't taken the morning pills, i didn't really think about what i was doing at 4???  who the hell knows!

well....it was too late by then to do anything about it and I had to just chalk up Wednesday as a lost cause and move right the hell along to Thursday

Side Effects Again

I don't think I will ever stop talking about side effects!  lol...

so for a long time i've been feeling a tickling sensation in my throat and each time it happens i have to cough to try to get past it.  it wasn't really making sense to me why it was happening and just out of the blue for no reason, but hey, i just chalked it up as 1 of those mysteries of life.  G kept saying that it was the damn MS doing something but this time i actually wasn't convinced.

1 of the tablets i take is mailed to me and it always comes packaged with the drug facts and information etc.  They say u should read it each time and i do for the most part but never really put 2 and 2 together until a couple months ago.

One of the side effects is:

irritation in your nose and throat!

well hell!  that must be it then...it's really odd, it's not painful but it feels like a small piece of hard plastic just stuck there and i have to cough to get rid of it.  Doesn't happen a whole lot, but of course, it's good to finally have an explanation.

Smuggler's Cane

I used it yesterday/last nite...not in its entirety - there was nothing in the flask; i was going to a restaurant - but using it is more work than the others because of the "handle" or lack thereof.  Before G2 bought it we discussed my being able to use the cane because of its handle and we figured that if I couldn't use it she would try to change it.  All the canes i've used have a "L shaped" top; this one has a knob (there are actually proper names for the different handle tops, but i won't bore u with those details).

We figured, correctly so, that it certainly would be a different experience.  It was - it's much more work.  I guess i never realized just how much i rely on that little "handle" part of the other canes, but i do...i won't go as far as to say that i can't use it, but i actually have to be conscious of the fact that i have to lift it off the ground.  I don't drag the others (i don't think) but if I don't lift this one up entirely it will fall flat and we definitely don't want that to happen...

suppose the flask inside doesn't survive - GASP!!!

      

geez!

I'm so tired of this cold weather and snow and ice and...but

I eh go lie, living in Atlanta is not too bad; it has its perks...5 inches of snow and the city has been shut down since Monday.  Of course I can't take advantage of this snow week because I work from home, so things are just normal for me.  I havent left this house since Saturday and I can't imagine that i will until Friday.  Have to go to my infusion (WOOHOO!!!) , but will probably need to leave now to get there on time (what with all the closed interstates, accidents, people who cyah drive in rain - far less for snow)

I'm seriously thinking of celebrating my birthday in May instead of now.  Accept all birthday wishes on Jan. 10th, but celebrate in warmer temperatures.  This is the 2nd year in a row that Ive had to cancel plans because Mother Nature had other plans for me - but things could be worse; i certainly am not complaining...I'm just saying...

anyhoo, hope everyone out there (in the US) is safe in this awful weather and keeping warm - Stax out!

OB, Dr.G & Me

Well, it's that time again...

OBs - only the best father a gal can have - Jan.9

Dr.G & Stacey - we ran the streets together, we share the same birthday; some might say that we are 2 peas in a pod - Jan 10

HAPPY BIRTHDAY to US!!!!!

More Canes

I got 2 birthday presents in the mail 2 days ago.  I have my "starter" canes - they convinced me that the canes are helpful and would be a good investment.  They are pretty banged up now, because i didn't have a cane holder (thanks Dee!) - who the hell knew that that existed...certainly not me!  So of course every where i took the cane and tried to prop them up, they would fall and i would have to announce, "it's just the cane!" because ultimately, everyone would wonder if it was me!

Anyhoo, so i decided that it was time to upgrade so to speak, so I bought myself a "fancy" wooden cane; that was my gift to myself and that came in the mail.

Along with that one, G2 decided to also give me a cane.  That one is an absolute hit and already my friends are rallying around me and have decided that they too need to get the cane (in a show of support nah) LOL!!!

It's called a "Smuggler's Cane"!  Here is the description from the website www.fashionablecanes.com:

A Brandy smuggler cane that has more than one purpose. There is a hidden compartment with an internal flask so one can have a tip of a beverage at hand from time to time... Also, stored inside are 2 tiny thimbles so one can take a thimbleful with a friend.

It's an ABSOLUTE BEAUT....can't wait to use this puppy :-)

Thank Goodness

I am tired of napping!  i mentioned before that I'm on 2 sets of muscle relaxants for Spasticity.  they both cause drowsiness so about an hour after taking them the drowsiness knocks me for 6 and sometimes it's completely embarrassing.  last week, I went to the dentist and actually was falling asleep in the dentist's chair! - i just couldn't help myself!!  WTF???

Now i didn't start taking them at the same time, so I know that my body is used to the 1st one (that caused me to be sleepy at first and then soon after there was no effect) - it was when i started the 2nd one that i just started getting so sleepy that i couldn't help but go to sleep even if for a short time (once it was during the week at work, i put my alarm to go off in 7 mins and i swear that it was the best 7 mins of my life, i woke up COMPLETELY refreshed) - but alas i can't afford to that everyday.

This looks just like me when i took that 7 min. nap

I called my doctor's office yesterday and told them that something had to give because the drowsiness is not going away.   I was so happy when the nurse called back and told me that i can cut out the dose that i take during the day, but i should keep taking it at nite.  I have no problem with that because nite time is time to sleep anyway - unless i have to be out, then i'll have to deal somehow.

I cut out the dose this morning and no glazed over eyes, no sleeping, no napping - NOTHING!!  Hopefully, the dosage of that medication was so small (2mg 3x daily) that it won't make too much of a difference my NOT taking it as often.

Right Back to Normal

The expectation here is that Christmas is done and u must just jump back into things as if the past 2 weeks didn't happen.  everything just DONE - i hate that about being here...I know that there is no Carnival to gear up for, but still...

anyhoo, i think i mentioned before that I'm not big into New Year's resolutions - in fact last year on this blog, i made a resolution for the first time - to work out consistently.  Well i started hot and heavy of course and then...but sometime in the middle of the year i actually started working out with a personal trainer and have been doing that consistently ever since.  So i guess u can say that i actually kept my resolution (is that what u say?).  I don't know if it helps me in any way as far as the MS is concerned - i guess it does, but hey!

This year I'm back to not making any resolutions - i have no clue what to come up with.  My fingers (toes, eyes, legs) are crossed that the MS is quiet, stable and doesn't shoot me with anything I can't handle. I'm also hopeful that i won't have to spend as much money on my health as i did in 2010 (hopefully tho, i spent enuf last year to claim the money spent on my taxes this year). 

Here's to a prosperous new year to u and urs!

HNY!!!

Have a safe and prosperous New Year!

Falling

I haven't talked about falling in a while and trust me it's NOT because it hasn't happened...the thing about falling is that when i trip (or whatever to cause the fall), i always try to "catch" myself to avoid - this is normal, i s'pose.  But the times that i actually fall is when i realize "shit - this is not going to work" and i just resign myself to hit the ground and hope that i don't hurt myself or land on my face.

That happened one morning last week...i'm really not sure what the hell happened but i knew that the fall had potential to be a great disaster.  I think that I've mentioned before that I've noticed that it's almost as if my legs need to warm up before they work "properly", so who knows just how shaky I was that morning.  All i know is that I was somewhere between the porcelain goddess and the sink which had more stuff than usual around it and so there was no telling how the tumble could end.  I tried, I tried, I tried to hold on to something/anything to balance and then eventually, i said, "fuck it, i'm going down!"  It wasn't as disastrous as I'd anticipated, but there was a helluva lot of noise.  My mother said (yes she's back) that it was the fastest that she'd ever climbed stairs (she was downstairs in the kitchen and heard the noise).

By the time she got to me, I was already down - of course - and had decided that i was going to finish brushing my teeth before even bothering to try to get up.  And the end of it all, I only had a bruised thigh to show for it - could have been MUCH worse!

Merry Christmas!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!! 

...here's hoping that you all have a safe and perfect Christmas!!!

The Formula

it only took 8 months...but i think i've finally figured it out.  I always try to drink at least 6 glasses of water a day - i tell everybody that the only things that i drink are water and alcohol :-).  Anyhoo, so 6 glasses a day, so i figured i (my veins) was well hydrated.  WRONG!  obviously something wasn't right because i would always have to get stuck so many times on infusion day.  but...i think that i've figured out the right formula....

I actually need to drink about 4 glasses the NIGHT before and then 6 more the morning of!  I did that the last 2x and there was no drama each time -the vein popped right up and blood was flowing ( ah lil slow, but that's beside the point).

4 more shopping days before Christmas!!

Tysabri

I didn't want to say this out loud before but I think that the Tysabri might actually be working.  I can see a slight improvement.  Trust me, I won't be running any marathons anytime soon, but I am almost positive that there is a small improvement.  Now, I'm not sure if someone looking at me can tell if there's a difference, but I can feel it, altho...

My mother surprised OB and G last week and came back up here for Christmas and i overheard her say to G some day, "but Stacey was walking real good this morning...", a good friend came to see me for a brief 24 hr stint last week and by the end of the day that i'd picked him up at the airport, i was struggling but the next morning, he said to me, "...but A  A, where u running going?"  A few weekends ago, we went to do our Saturday ritual (get eyebrows done) and G was amazed at how well i was walking.

On all the occasions, i had been walking "normally" - well -  as normal as I can be.  It was always that in the mornings, I would struggle less than at the end of the day, but i definitely feel better and look better these days.  There may be a light at the end of this tunnel afterall.

hmmm, Christmas

I  realize that not only did having MS mess with my thanksgiving this year, it's also going to mess with Christmas.  I've spoken about routines - managing my MS is all about routines; changing, adding, removing routines as you go.  I guess because it wsn't this time of year, i never thought about the holiday routine - cooking up a storm on thanksgiving, shopping way too much for Christmas, making puncha creme, rum punch, sorrel and i can go on.

well...this year i cannot shop like i want to and it is putting a little (just a little) damper on my Christmas spirit.  I have to shop online - UGH

• Altho I'm no big shopper, it's not as much fun as going to the store
• I'll have to buy the specific item - there is no shopping around (altho one can argue that that's a good thing - less $ spent)
• Kinda limited to the one store - kinda sorta, other stores won't catch my eye as I'm walking out the mall

but i guess it is what it is and there isn't much that I can do about it.  Always have to keep the alternative in mind and that is, going to the mall and then getting depressed WHEN i can't walk out!

I still hate MS!

Boots

I've said it once, i'll say it again, "I HATE WINTER", "I HATE COLD WEATHER"...in fact, the temperatures that we've been having here in Atlanta in Dec are a little concerning to me because Lord knows what January is going to bring - but I digress.

So there is absolutely nothing i like about winter - cept some of the clothes....a nice sweater, absolutely LOVE scarves... and boots.  I think that 1 of the best things that a woman can wear during the winter is a pair of high heeled boots.  Unfortunately my days of that are over :-(  I am deathly afraid of what could potentially happen to me if i put on a pair of high boots - it can only end in disaster.  The last pair of boots that i bought were completely flat - hate that - they are nice, but so not me.  Now don't get me wrong, even before the MS, heels were not really my thing, but every shoe that i owned had to have some height - let's face it,  i'm not the tallest gal at the party!

Now, I'm relegated to flat boots - boots with no heel, no height - nothing!

Yesterday

was not a good day - it was a "lovely" 30 degrees last nite and never rose above 40ish all day.  I was supposed to go out but opted not to because my legs were not working as they were supposed to at all.  i know that u're tired of hearing me say this, but I don't care what anybody says, my MS works better in warmth/heat and acts like ah ass in the cold.

Effin Side Effects - AGAIN!

so the side effects for both spasticity drugs are like the disease itself - totally inconsistent!  They both cause unbelievable drowsiness, in fact, a friend used to try to encourage me to take naps during the day; he'd be happy to know that sometimes these days i take naps by force - not really because i want to.  so anways, i'm on 2 medications (1 of them is 2mg 3x a day - how powerful do u think that is!) and I take them both at 8am, 4 pm and midnite.  when i take the 8am dose - i've already started working and it's unreal just how sleepy i get SOME days.  On those days, the drowsiness kicks me in the face around 9 - 9:30 - i always fight thru it and by 10:00, i'm good.  when i take it at 4? NOTHING - ABSOULTELY NOTHING!!!! cept for the time on the truck in Miami carnival and i was bepin like fus time (nodding off like the first time ever)! 

well at midnite, it's no biggie because 9x out of 10, i'm already in the bed!

Saturday nite, De ParangSide had their kick off to parang season and of course i was at the fete at midnite when my handy dandy alarm went off.  i was good for a while and then here comes the drowsiness.  Now falling asleep at home is 1 thing, dozing in the middle of a party?  totally nother story!!!  but it was unbelievable and i couldn't fight it...so what did i do?  i had to slink off to the back of the place, hide in a corner and sleep for about 1/2 hr!  when i was done, i woke up and continued partying like nothing had happened.

there is no rhyme or reason to when I'll be sleepy and for how long.  it's crazy!

The Cane

alright, so I'm sold on the use of the cane; it helps me most of the time.  Now, don't get me wrong, there are times when having a cane does not help at all, but those times are few and far between.  i bought 2 - a black and a brown, c'mon now, a chick needs to be stylish and co-ordinated.  They have both served me quite well and so now, i think it's time to put a cane on my christmas list.

• A thinks i need a limin cane (she's thinking one that lights up or something) to be used only when limin
• Another friend saw a cane with a sword in a movie - if he sees it on Fulton (he lives in NY); it's mine!
• G2 is on the prowl for a blinged out 1 with a pimp cup

When i started thinking about/looking for canes, i was amazed at how many options there were "out there".  Never in my wildest dreams would I have thought that canes would be on the market for $800 or so, but they're out there and there are so many differnt types.  It does make sense tho, i s'pose...for someone like me who has to use canes regularly, you would approach it as an investment and be willing to spend some money on it as opposed to someone in search of a cane temporarily.  Now, would I spend $800 on it?  Absolutely not!  but i am will to go beyond the $14.99 that I spent on the ones that i have now.