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Redbanks, South Australia, Australia
Contact me if you'd like to know more about this writing group. My email address is jeebers@aussiebb.com.au

Ananka - one of our Pharaoh Hounds

Ananka - one of our Pharaoh Hounds
Ananka knows how to enjoy life - catch and eat birdies!

Tuesday, February 14, 2012

My symptoms caused by Multiple Sclerosis (MS)


My life has changed a lot since I became ill with MS, but I’m working hard at keeping positive. Stress makes MS symptoms worse, and I certainly don’t want to make myself sicker. Life is still good.

Weakness in the arms or legs
Loss of balance
Tendency to drag one foot
Loss of coordination
Extreme fatigue
Continence problems
Loss of mobility
Problems with or changes in memory functioning
Muscle spasms

I began putting this list together using information from this website http://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/bhcv2/bhcarticles.nsf/pages/Multiple_sclerosis_explained

Different people have different symptoms caused by MS. It depends on which part of their Central Nervous System (CNS) is damaged. That’s what MS is, damage caused to the myelin that coats and protects the nerve fibres of the CNS.

So I’m dealing with the symptoms as listed above. Some of my symptoms are dealt with using medicines, some are being dealt with by having a healthy lifestyle and diet.
Some of my symptoms though aren’t being helped at all, and I’m still affected in some way by most of the symptoms. There is no cure for MS yet, though lots of people are trying to find one. The problem in finding a cure is that the scientists and medical people don’t really know what causes MS.

There are some theories, but none of them have been properly proven to be true. There are also some treatments that are supposed to cure a person with MS, but again, none of these have been proven to work, not sufficiently anyway.

Most people with MS use treatments that can help to reduce the effects of the disease. The treatments tend to be injections, given daily, every other day or weekly, depending on which treatment is used. Up until now, there hasn’t been a tablet that helps fix the symptoms. Now there is one. It’s been available overseas for about five years, now it’s available on the PBS in Australia.

The idea of taking a daily tablet instead of giving having an injection appeals to a lot of people with MS, as you can imagine. The new treatment comes with some risks though, as do many treatments for many diseases. Some people have received excellent effects from this treatment, so others are happy to take the risk of using the tablet.

I’m going to begin taking this new tablet, Gilenya on Wednesday next week. I hope it will work as well for me as it has for other people. 



4 comments:

john malone said...

an enoyable and informative piece, Carolyn; all I can say is that in my observations you are coping very well and you \are s trength to the poetic community

Carolyn Cordon said...

Gee, thanks John. I'm just trying to live my life in the best way I can. Being positive keeps me going well, and being involved in the poetic community suits me beautifully well. I love words, and I love helping others to find their love for words.

Everyone can write poetry, I believe, I think they just don't realise the joy there is in getting the words written. If it were playing the violin, people would give themselves credit for every little improvement. With writing though, people think they should be perfect right from the start.

As we know, good writing takes time, and practice does indeed lead to perfection. Editing is a necessary skill to learn too. It's not easy, but it's blissful when it goes well!

john malone said...

gesttrI find a great deal of joy these days in small poems like 'Acciddental Art' and in doing short stories in the 1000 to 1500 word range: this allows them some of the intensity of poetry while being, generally speaking, more accessible and entertaining

Carolyn Cordon said...

I'm writing more poetry and non fiction so far this year, I can't remember the last time I wrote a short story in the 1000 - 1500 range. I've written a couple of super short bits of flash fiction, less than 100 words. Fast Fun!

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