stumbling around

For the past week I have been limping and hobbling around.  Last monday I went to see my knee dr and got a shot in my left knee.  I was originally supposed to get the first of 3 synvisc shots but when I got there, they told me "its your lucky day." Now considering my luck I should have been suspicious right then.  But they told me that someone had scheduled getting a synvisc-one shot and cancelled and since they couldn't return the shot, they could give it to me for free.  No charge for the shot or visit.  So, I discuss the differences between the 1 shot vs the 3, I had major reservations regarding doing the 1 shot, because it was basically taking the exact same formula, and doing the shot all at once vs breaking into three separate shots.  I was concerned because sometimes getting the amount in the 1/3 shot was a lot of pressure, but he said he would inject it in a little different place and that would give it more room, so I decided to try it out.

So I got the shot, and it wasn't too bad.  A little sore that day - this is typical, usually the day of the shot is a achy and it takes a day or so before it kicks in.  I went on to work, same with Tuesday.  But then by Wednesday, my knee was killing me.  I was hobbling around and could barely walk.  M said she thought my knee was swollen, at that point I couldn't see it myself.  We got snow, so I took a "snow day" and worked from home.  Luckily I can do my job as easily from home as I can from the office.  It is just preferred that we go in.  Thursday, it was worse, so I took a sick day and even called back into the dr.  said my knee was swelling, and achy and I couldn't walk, etc.  Spoke to the assistant, and was told that maybe it was just because I did the one shot instead of doing the 3, that it was a lot more fluid and to keep it elevated and ice on it.  I slept most of thursday, hoping to "sleep it off and feel better." That didn't really work.  I asked about taking another sick day on Friday but was told that no... my boss and the entire rest of my team was already out on vacation, trying to get their last days in before end of year.  So worked from home again.  Was miserable most of the weekend.

M told me to start using one of my canes... which helped, not sure why I didn't do it myself.  I think she is over me being home and hobbling.  I'm not sure if it is that she feels a little helpless when I'm sick or "under the weather" or if she just finds it irritating.  In any case she has become very irritable, and being irritable myself from being in pain, I'm having a little trouble being sympathetic.

I went back to the Dr this morning, they drained off over 10 cc's of fluid off my knee.  Two huge syringes.  The amount looked about 4 times the amount of that shot from last week.  But it did make a big difference.  The achy pain that was my constant friend, throbbing from my knee down into my ankle,  keeping a beat all its own with sharp heart beats of pain radiating.  actually I think most of the pain was down in my ankle.  Think that is a good example of "referred pain".  I tried most everything.  Ice, heat, elevate, massage, hot tub, advil, vicodin, even alcohol.  No not all at the same time.  Though, if I had thought it might help, well.... I got the best relief from some pain relief cream that I would rub on my knee and down the back of my calf and around my ankle.  Flexerall plus.  It has a stronger smell than ben-gay, but unlike ben-gay it helps when I've had bad knee aches in the past.  So Why not? I tried it.  I think all it did was distract the nerves along my leg.  But it helped.

Now after having the fluid removed, my leg no longer looks deformed.  and the constant pain is gone. Did I mention that? That is huge! Big difference.  my knee still aches, but instead of being a 9-11 on that 1-10 scale, it is now more like a 3. I can ignore a 3.  sometimes it aches and the pain climbs but again, it is bearable.  I'm hoping I will be able to sleep tonight.  I haven't slept much the past week.  My knee kept waking me up, I couldn't find a comfortable position. You know, you keep moving hoping to get situated so the pain goes away or calms down, but it wasn't happening.  Sometimes it felt better moving than stopping. But it is hard to keep moving and sleep.  So my sleep was disturbed.  Which meant I disturbed everyone else.  Perhaps that was why M was irritable? lol

I even disturbed the cats. Ziggy hates the smell of the "old lady cream" as M calls the flexerall.  Must be the strong menthol.  He gets a whiff and runs.  I should be more considerate of the rest of the family.

I think I will sleep good tonight.

Rest & Relaxation

This weekend was a great weekend.  Not that anything truly remarkable happened, but maybe because it was just an ordinary weekend. W has been off playing casanova the past couple weeks so M and I have the house to ourselves.  We both took off Friday, but not to go anywhere or do anything.  Not that we did absolutely nothing, but sometimes M feels the need to have an agenda, somewhere to go, things to do, I sometimes like to just relax and have no plans.  So this weekend we had no real plans.  Friday we got errands ran, and just took care of things that needed to be done during the week but we never seem to have time for while working. 
Saturday we took the bikes down to the Heritage trail and rode 14+ miles, then went to a friend's pool party that afternoon.  The weather cooperated, wasn't unbearably hot.  The trail is shady so that helps! Sun was out and pretty warm at the pool party but then that just made it feel good to jump in the water.  Got to swim a few laps and tease a couple of the dogs that wanted to follow along the side of the pool back and forth... I always loved swiming.  I miss having a pool or a gym membership with a pool.  I did forget though to watch my knee while trying to swim laps.  I have a tendancy to hurt my left knee while kicking unless I either wrap it first or pay close attention and dont kick hard and just use my arms to pull myself along.  Well, I forgot.  But nothing serious.  We had fun. 
Sunday we loaded the bikes up again, and went back down to the trail and this time did 18 miles.  It was a little warmer on Sunday, but there was a nice breeze and of course the shade on the trail.  This was first weekend in over 3 weeks that I was able to get out on one of the trails and ride.  I'd been on-call the previous 3 weekends. 
Riding helps my knees, but then they are stiff afterward.  They were stiff when I woke up Sunday morning, and stiff when I started out riding Sunday, and stiff this morning as I went into work.  By now they have loosened back up.  Relaxing in the Hot tub also helps my arthritis a lot.  I am sooo glad that my MS didn't take that away and I can still enjoy soaking my aching bones in the hot water.  There have been some times, usually in the midst of a flare that I can't tolerate the heat but normally it still feels good.
So here's to rest and relaxation.  And to a great weekend.

MS brain fog...

Speaking of worrying about MS related things.  I find myself wondering whenever I have trouble remembering something if it is a MS thing.  I always considered myself very intelligent.  If anything smarter than most.  I like to think I'm not arrogant or conceited about it, but in the past my brain always worked quicker than most people.  I could look at a problem and  skip past 1/2 the steps and see the solution. I'm a problem solver.  It is part of what makes me good at what I do for a living.  All through out my education I was good at math.  I was able to clep out of several general ed, basic math and even algebra and trig classed, and jump right into taking advanced calculus without breaking a sweat.  I could do math in my head without any trouble.  I still can, but sometimes my brain feels like it is in a fog.  what used to come without a struggle now is like wading through molasses.  It's disturbing.

This weekend brought it to my attention more than normal.  We had gone out for a couple beers with a friend and I tried playing a game called 21zip or something like that.  It is a video card game based on blackjack.  There are 4 columns that you can play cards on, the object is to play cards from the deck on any of the 4 columns so that it adds up to 21 which clears the column.  obviously you can't go over 21, and you want to play as many cards in the deck within the time limit.  Plus you get bonuses for the number of columns you clear and the number cards you play etc.  It isn't hard, it mainly requires that you can do math in your head and/or spot patterns of what cards to put together to make 21.  Well, basically I sucked.  Something I once would have found so easy, and my brain sits there staring at the cards going "Duh..." And no it wasn't the beer.  My friend kept helping out and pointing out plays, which helped, but I basically felt like an idiot.

The friend even brought it up to M the next day, and said how surprised she was that I wasn't any better in Math than that...  and mentioned something along the lines of thinking I was smarter than that.  Wow.  I really thought the same thing myself.  What the hell happened?  I tried talking a little bit about it to M but she seemed to think it was perhaps an off night, and just mentioned how perhaps I needed to do more things to exercise my brain.

So, what I don't want to do is to just shrug off every little thing that pops up as being, "oh that must be MS".  As in, I feel tired today - oh that must be MS Fatigue.  Oh, my brain is struggling today, that must be MS.  Oh i'm tired and my brain is struggling that must be MS.  who knows.  maybe it is all related.