Well I finally was able to take my MS meds again. Last time was January 19. That was Kesimpta. I made the decision to go back to Rituxan after using Kesimpta for six months. I had 3 UTI’s, Covid and a pneumonia within that 6 months. I didn’t think it was the drug for me. I have had issues with Rituxan in the past, skin issues. I can’t say all my infusions have been smooth sailing. I just never needed…
Another week, another month. I can’t believe it is May already. I feel like I missed something, like two months. It’s a bizarre feeling, 4 months went by and I did nothing, but they flew. I have been in bed for 4 months!!!! When I wasn’t physically sick, I had some dark days mentally. It was very easy to to give up. It still is. In a conversation I had with both my daughter and my life coach, I make…
I didn’t write it but looking back at my episode with physical therapy last week https://multipleexperiences.org/2022/04/22/breathing-issues/, may have been a panic attack. It seems that this week things aren’t going much better. I was able to stand right up on Sunday. I got into my wheelchair. I ate dinner at the table for the first time in ages. The next day I couldn’t stand up during physical therapy. This was the third visit that I felt was wasted. Medicare only…
I actually got out of bed and ate dinner at the table last night. I am tired of being in this bed. I might not have endurance. I might not be able to take a step. I can usually transfer to my wheelchair with some assistance. Key word is assistance. The aides that I currently have, that “assistance” is questionable. My weekend aide is lovely but her English isn’t good. I would have to translate instructions to her for everything….
My life has changed a lot in the past few months. I went from independent to completely dependent. I can’t do the simplest of things anymore. I can’t just get in my wheelchair and open the refrigerator for my ice coffee. I can’t just grab a sweatshirt from my closet. Hell I can’t even fix my sock when it gets turned around on my foot. A very big pet peeve of mine. I was limited in my dependence prior to…
I am very weak. My legs can’t hold me up for long. PT has been working on just getting me up and standing. I never thought something so simple would be so hard. Let me tell you, it is so hard. I try to sway back and forth shifting my weight as I hold onto a walker. I had to sit down again because I have no endurance. One day I was able to get back up once. The other…
I’m better. No more fevers. My breathing is back to normal. I’m completely done with antibiotics. I have no more signs of the pneumonia. Great news. Yes it is. Yet the aftermath is as I expected. I was weakened from being in a bed for 1 1/2 months on top of my multiple sclerosis symptoms worsening. I had no time to adjust to my new body because I was so sick. I wasn’t focusing on my MS while I had…
Today I am getting blood work done. My specialist wants to see a few things. First, my B cell counts. With the hundreds of blood tests I’ve had done in the hospital, that wasn’t done. There was no need to break out the specific white blood cells for a pneumonia. The second thing is my immunoglobulin blood test. I was running very low in the hospital throughout the few months. The pneumonia certainly could be to blame. However, every time…
Yesterday was the last day of the antibiotics. I have been taking a prophylactic drug from the time I got home from the hospital on March 5th. I was taking Atovaquone. This is an anti-fungal, anti-parasite liquid. It is supposed to be banana flavored. I personally would never eat a banana if it tasted like that. This medication is an antibiotic used to treat and prevent pneumonia. It is given to people that can’t take other antibiotics, have HIV or…
Let’s see if I can get back to any regularity writing a blog. When I was in the hospital, i was given a Fiberoptic Endoscopic Evaluation of Swallowing (FESS). My pneumonia was considered to be caused by aspiration. Aspiration pneumonia occurs when food, saliva, liquids, or vomit is breathed into the lungs or airways leading to the lungs, instead of being swallowed into the esophagus and stomach. https://www.mountsinai.org/health-library/diseases-conditions/aspiration-pneumonia When I left the hospital in January my X-ray of my lungs…
