When I was first diagnosed it put me out of the game for about 2 months, then as my symptoms remitted gradually over the next few months I started to feel very good, in fact I even started to doubt the neuros diagnosis because I felt on top of the world.
When my symptoms were slowing decreasing I would ātestā myself by doing silly things, like hopping on one leg around the living room to see if I could still hop !!
I would walk along the street then gradually pick up my speed until I was running for my life like a lunatic.
If there was a straight line painted on a super market floor or a line on a pavement I would walk along it to test my balance.
The wife thought I had gone nuts, but it was my way of reassuring myself that all was good and things are back to ānormalā.
Unfortunately MS has a bad habit of not wanting to play the ānormalā game, and sure enough the neuroās diagnosis turned out to be correct all along, obviously a case of wish full thinking on my behalf that he was wrong.
I would say that it was about a year or perhaps a bit longer before I started noticing that the MS symptoms were starting to show again, and then gradually I had/have the symptoms with me almost everyday some day worse than others and always if I over did things, not obvious to anyone looking at me, but I could definitely feel things were not right.
Today almost 4 years on my strength is no where as good as it was, my walking distance & balance can be awful some days, even worse if I exert myself.
Stiffness and fatigue are probably the worse things for me.
I am still working, and in fact I hold my own very well amongst my work colleagues, in what could be described as a physical job.
I do get very fatigued and do try to steel a few minutes here and there just to try and re-charge the legs, some days after work though I cant even walk back to my car without needing to stop every few mtrs.
My legs, especially the left one feels very robotic sometimes when Iāve pushed my self too far.
I would class myself as a stubborn git who will push myself to my limits, whether this is a good thing I really dont know, but again itās my way of trying to stay ānormalā.
One thing is for sure, Iāve come to realise that I wont beat MS but I also wont just sit down and take it.
At the moment Iām on the sick, first time in 4 years, mainly because Iāve picked up a bloody cold that for some reason is just lingering on and on and feels like the worse cold Iāve ever had, also my MS symptoms seem to be more obvious at the moment, which Iām guessing could be down to this cold.
Personally as far as your MS goes only you will know if itās getting worse, I started with Relapse & Remitting, but have noted that my symptoms arewith me daily, some days worse than others, but there all the time.
Last week my neuro said theres a āhintā that it might of progressed, yet he could only come to this opinion by speaking to me and asking how my symptoms have been, and how long do they stay with me, he basically said that itās the person with the MS that will ultimately know when things are moving along.
I used to be a bit of a physical person, always working on the house, DIY, fixing cars, doing stuff for family members, in fact everyone would always come to me for help.
But now it can be struggle, I do sometime even find myself getting a envious of people rushing around doingt things, things that I would do a few years ago without batting an eyelid.
I think for me Iām still yet to accept that I have to change my life style and keep a check on my physical tasks, I guess it could be a case of denial, and thats why I still push myself ??