My first MS flare lasted from May – July of 2017 (read about my MS diagnosis). My symptoms were fatigue, cognition issues, vision problems, face numbness, hard to swallow, and tingling legs. These symptoms weren’t happening all at once, but some days were worse than others. I did a 5 day IV steroid treatment and that helped with a lot of the symptoms. Fortunately I have been in remission since my diagnosis. Relapsing – Remitting MS does not mean you are symptom free when you’re in remission. You have your good days and what I call my “MS days”.
MS Symptoms
I consider myself very fortunate when it comes to MS symptoms. I am grateful every day I can walk, see, swallow, and speak. My rotation of MS symptoms include fatigue, low energy, brain fog, pain in my eyes, dexterity challenges, weird things with my feet, poor balance, headaches, and anxiety. These symptoms show up sometimes due to lack of sleep, stress, something I ate, or it’s Tuesday. There is no predictability to this disease.
The Spoon Theory
The hardest thing for me is working around my limited amount of energy. In my mind, I have many things I want to accomplish over a weekend. In reality, I can only accomplish a third of those things because I have to ration my energy. If I go grocery shopping on a Saturday morning, I am pretty much out of energy the rest of the day and will need a nap. If I have something planned on a Sunday evening, I need to rest Sunday during the day to store up my energy. Have you heard of a Spoonie? The spoon theory was developed by Christine Miserandino and uses spoons as a unit of energy. People with chronic illness have a limited number of spoons in a day. I have been known to cancel plans at the last minute because I don’t have any spoons left.
Symptom Management
While this disease is unpredictable, managing my MS symptoms with diet and lifestyle contribute to me living my best life. I eat a nutrient dense diet following principles from the AIP (Autoimmune Protocol) and the Wahls Protocol. I have identified foods I’m sensitive to (such as eggs and nuts) and foods that make my body feel good (like organ meat and fish).
Lifestyle habits are harder for me to maintain than a nutrient dense diet, but they have the largest impact to my overall well being. It is essential I have good sleep and stress management to feel my best. I experience balance issues and brain fog on days when I didn’t get enough sleep. I call them my ‘wobbly days’.
Meditation, breathing exercises, nature, and laughter help with managing stress. Stress is a huge trigger for MS and life is going to be stressful. Stress management is an area that I continuously work on improving.
My team of professionals include a functional doctor, a chiropractor, a MS specialist, and massage therapist. Each of these professionals play a key role in my overall health and managing MS. While this disease is unpredictable, managing my MS symptoms with diet and lifestyle contribute to me living my best life.
“But you don’t look sick”
The symptoms I experience with MS are all invisible (sometimes I have a certain swagger when my foot is acting up). It’s not uncommon for people to say things like “but you don’t look sick” or “you would never know you have…”. I know these sentiments come from a good place but can be offensive to those with invisible illness. It somehow diminishes the challenges I face with a disease that cannot be seen.
My motivation for starting this blog is to spread awareness and connect with others that may face similar challenges. Everyone with MS faces different challenges but we are all warriors.