Whoa, Slow Down Nelly

Here's another entry that's been sitting, waiting to be edited prior to posting.

- January 3rd, 2013 -

Happy New Year Dr. Blaney!

How are you?

Fine, just fine. Well... there've been these little things troubling me:

- numbness and lack of control of left middle toe on occasion (giving me the 'finger' so to speak)
- rigidity and lack of control of left ring finger on occasion
- stiffness and pain when bending left knee
- confusion and disorientation when driving to a friends house
- discomfort about driving at night (too dark, details aren't a clear as I'd like them to be)

He gave me an adjustment, after which we our usual discussion. I told him that it feels like I'm "shorting out". He explained that the Copaxone is busy preventing a major relapse and we spoke about the relationships between my immune system, inflammation, and my overall health mesh together. Over the past few months I've been working on the various aspects that I am able to influence or control:

Sleep: I'm sleeping better these days and only occasionally use a sleeping pill. I go to bed at roughly the same time each night and have drastically reduced the light sources. I'm working on getting Andy out of my room and into his own. I also never have any caffeinated products in the evening. Well, very rarely - we're not perfect after all! Ha!

Food: I will be trying Terry Whals Mind Your Mitochondria diet. I haven't fully researched it yet, or done the grocery shopping. But it involves ramping up to 9 cups of greens a day, grass-fed beef, wild fish high in omega 3 fatty acids and also small amounts of organ meats. Ick I don't know about that last part. Here's Terry Whals' TED Talk - it's worth watching.

Rhythm: I must focus on keeping my daily rhythm relatively similar from day to day. Nothing too jarring, nothing too crazy, just keep my system ticking along. I believe this is to keep the alarm bells from sounding and kicking my immune system into high gear - the end result of which would be it attacking my central nervous system and cause a flare up or another relapse. So, keep the daily routine and don't put too much on my plate, keep extra activities to a minimum (should I tell him I've become a Cub Scout Leader?)

Exercise: he recommended that any exercise needs to have a minimal chance off trauma so as to not overstimulate the immune system. Okee dokee, skating is definitely out of the question. Frankly, given my balance issues, walking and even standing are relatively hazardous. I'll focus on walking and using my elliptical trainer. What a wimp. Now, to find 30 minutes each day to exercise. Perhaps first thing in the morning before the boys wake up.

In a month we'll re-evaluate my status. At that time he may, or may not, put me on an anti-yeast treatment as it will have minimal impact on my immune system. He's treading very lightly. Once that's done, he may consider putting me on a low dose antibiotic. In the meantime I'm to stay on course with Copaxone, as it may likely be working hard, as we speak, preventing a major relapse.