3rd Flare Up & More

Hi everyone! This is going to be the easiest way to get everything out.

This post needs to begin around my Birthday! As you may have know I turned 30 on March 25. I decided to celebrate with many of my friends with a hockey game and a little get together afterwards. We partied hard! Apparently I partied too hard because I got my first cold of the year that following Tuesday. I thought I was quite lucky this year. Hadn't gotten sick at all this winter. My luck would let me get sick when it was 80 degrees out! I took it easy last week, even had to stay home for Rodney's 31st bday celebration last Saturday. Was sleeping by 10:30 pm on Saturday, lovely!

I was feeling better on Monday, still a little snotty but not sneezing and had bad congestion. I thought I was on the mend. Wrong! Tuesday came around and when I went to go get my emailing done for work I was finding it hard to concentrate on the screen, like I am now, but figured it was still the congestion. Drove home that day and noticed my depth perception was off. I was supposed to drive to The Score for Rodney's b-day Dinner. He was 31 that day! Had to have our friend Ken drive instead. I didn't want to put anyone's life at stake. I will call the Dr. in the morning to see if maybe I have an ear infection.

I was always susceptible to Ear Infections growing up. I have small ear canals and they are slightly twisted. They were so small I could not get Tubes in my ears. :( So Wednesday morning I call my PCP (Primary Care Physician) to get the Ear Infection ruled out. I had an idea in the back of my head that this was probably MS related but I need to get everything checked out.

Drove to work on Wednesday, no change. Had an appt set up for 3:15 that day and as I was driving home I noticed I had double vision. I was already driving slow due to the depth perception but this was making it worse! Nothing like seeing 2 semi-trucks coming your way and not knowing exactly where it is. So saw my PCP and she ran all the necessary tests. No Ear Infection, a little fluid, but unfortunately she says it is another flare up. Normally the office requires you turn your cell off but she allowed me to use it to call my Neurologist immediately. She put me on driving restriction except to get home safe. Luckily the PCP office is close to home.

Hello today! Due to the restriction I need rides everywhere. I hate it! My mom and little cousin Julia took me to the Neurologist. My regular Dr. is on Spring Break this week so I get to see his RN, Louise. She confirms this is another relapse. Lots to figure out now.

I am currently doing a 5 day IV drip of steroids to get the eye issues taken care of. The meds can fix me up soon or could take me a few weeks to get back to normal. Louis put me on work restriction due to the double vision. It would be very difficult for me to work. I can't concentrate for long periods of time. This blog is taking quite awhile due to the fact that I need to look away often to keep the screen from moving.

So my weekend will be filled with IV drips. I only had to do 3 days last time in October but since eye sight is more important than the numbness of limbs we are hitting it hard! Due to the fact that I am still getting over an illness the IV may have some adverse effects. It could actually cause my body to increase the symptoms of my cold. I may end up in Emergency this week or next if things get bad.

So the IV treatments are no big deal at this point. I actually was tired today and took a nap when I got back from lunch and running my errands. Louise prescribed me a sleeping pill because this next week is going to be hard for me.

So now that you are updated on that let me bring you up to something else. This would be my 3rd relapse since Feb 2009. That is not good. When I had the last one in October I had to get an MRI. That showed that there was no more lesions and we had decided to stick to my Rebif treatment. The Rebif, if it was working for me, would slow my relapses to 2-3 every 3 years. Well 2 in 1 year is not good. So going in for another MRI on Wednesday. I am going to have to switch my meds.

I have a follow up in 3 weeks with Louise to look over the MRI and to talk about the new meds. She also drew some blood today to see if my Vitamin D levels are good and if I need to start taking a supplement. Vitamin D is what we get from the sun. Since we don't get tons of sun here in MI people are more susceptible to MS. Not to mention my body has never dealt well with the sun. SPF 60 here I come! I will know more then.

So now I need to decide what is going to be the next plan of action. I have 3 options.

1. Switch meds to Copaxone. It is another Interferon like the Rebif I am taking. However I need to inject everyday! Louise thinks that if the Rebif is not working it may not do any better.

2. Get myself involved in a new drug trial. They are working on a pill form to help reduce flare ups and lesions. I would be involved in a 3 month trial which would include lots of testing like more MRIs, urine tests, blood tests and many other tests. All these tests would be paid by the Drug company sponsoring the trial. During the 3 months I may be on the actual pill or a placebo like most trials. After the 3 months I would continue to be on the pill and more than likely have more tests.

3. The last option is Tysabri. This is an IV infusion that I would take once a month. This is not an Interferon like most of the drugs. It is an antibody. It inhibits my White Blood cells from getting into my brain and attacking nerves. This would be the last plan of attack. It has 1 big draw back that happen to about 1 in 1000 people. It can cause PML or progressive multifocal leukoebcephatlopathy ( I hope I spelled it right!). It is a rare brain infection that can cause death or sever disability. There is no treatment, prevention or cure for PML. So MS would be the least of my worries. I need to do more research on this drug but leaning more towards no..... The Tysabri should only be used for 2 years.

So without doing a ton of research yet, my eyes can't handle it, I am leaning more towards the trial. Yes it will take some time out my life. The first day I take the meds I need to be at the Dr.office all day for testing! But I want to do more research on everything.

When I first got diagnosed I thought no big deal but I guess I need to re asses that. I appreciate everyone reading this and thanks for letting me get it off my chest. When I got for my 3 week check up I will put up another post and let everyone know what the deal is.

Love you all!