Incredible to think that it has now been over 6 months since my life altering trip to see Dr. Fedorenko in Russia. It truly feels like it was so long ago. There are times when I ask myself 'did I really do that?!' With that being said, all I have to do is look in the mirror and see my now thick, wavy hair and realize 'oh yeah, I certainly did!'
So the burning question for so many people is how am I feeling? Was it successful? What has improved? All great questions and I will endeavor to answer them all for you.
Overall, I have to say I am feeling quite well. My energy has returned for most days, which is a good thing since I went back to work starting in early January. I certainly still have up and down days and the chemo fatigue will still surprise me by kicking in out of no where. I can be great from 6 in the morning until mid afternoon, then out of no where be dragging my bottom for the next couple of hours. The good thing at this point is that once you can identify it for what it is, you can adjust your day a bit to accommodate it and it diminishes often quite quickly.
As I mentioned, my hair is now back and full! Little different color with some grey in there too! Whaaat? Maybe it's because I turned 40 today, but I'll blame it on the chemo!
Relating to my MS, there have been some subtle changes in some departments, less so in others, but no progression. Things that have improved are no bladder and bowel urgency and some areas of paresthesia (sensory numbness) that I used to have are now gone. No more MS hug either since the second week back to Ottawa. Good riddance!
Gait changes have been minimal, but I certainly have the confidence to walk a farther now. I do not notice my drop foot on the left to nearly the same extent, but I do still find my gait gets quite sloppy after about a km. It is an area that I am going to be working on going forward.
With going back to the physical demands of my job so early, I have to this point been quite hesitant to work out. That has all changed since the six month mark as that was the personal benchmark I set out for myself to achieve before I started to push. Now that we are there, I am on the eliptical every second day, stretching, and doing physio. Very quickly, my energy has improved and I feel much stronger. I have always been an exercise junky, so it feels so great! Nice to be back in the game!
After treatment, I did my best to try to eliminate all of my medications as well. I am no longer on any DMD's (disease modifying drugs), amantidine, and use only 5-10 mg of baclofen a day. On the advice of the new physio I am seeing (who specializes in MS), I may try to regulate my baclofen a bit better as she feels a lot of my gait issues are currently tied in with my spasticity. Hopefully with the balance of stretch, strength, cardio and proper meds, I can get back to moving properly again! I told her my ultimate goal is to run again....something to aim for:)
As for was it a success? I had my first neurologist appointment this month as well. So far, EDSS is stable with no progression! I've always said, I took on this treatment to stabilize and any imrovements obtained were a plus! So far so good and I will be working on those improvements in the months to come....stay tuned!
Love from Ottawa!
So the burning question for so many people is how am I feeling? Was it successful? What has improved? All great questions and I will endeavor to answer them all for you.
Overall, I have to say I am feeling quite well. My energy has returned for most days, which is a good thing since I went back to work starting in early January. I certainly still have up and down days and the chemo fatigue will still surprise me by kicking in out of no where. I can be great from 6 in the morning until mid afternoon, then out of no where be dragging my bottom for the next couple of hours. The good thing at this point is that once you can identify it for what it is, you can adjust your day a bit to accommodate it and it diminishes often quite quickly.
As I mentioned, my hair is now back and full! Little different color with some grey in there too! Whaaat? Maybe it's because I turned 40 today, but I'll blame it on the chemo!
Relating to my MS, there have been some subtle changes in some departments, less so in others, but no progression. Things that have improved are no bladder and bowel urgency and some areas of paresthesia (sensory numbness) that I used to have are now gone. No more MS hug either since the second week back to Ottawa. Good riddance!
Gait changes have been minimal, but I certainly have the confidence to walk a farther now. I do not notice my drop foot on the left to nearly the same extent, but I do still find my gait gets quite sloppy after about a km. It is an area that I am going to be working on going forward.
With going back to the physical demands of my job so early, I have to this point been quite hesitant to work out. That has all changed since the six month mark as that was the personal benchmark I set out for myself to achieve before I started to push. Now that we are there, I am on the eliptical every second day, stretching, and doing physio. Very quickly, my energy has improved and I feel much stronger. I have always been an exercise junky, so it feels so great! Nice to be back in the game!
After treatment, I did my best to try to eliminate all of my medications as well. I am no longer on any DMD's (disease modifying drugs), amantidine, and use only 5-10 mg of baclofen a day. On the advice of the new physio I am seeing (who specializes in MS), I may try to regulate my baclofen a bit better as she feels a lot of my gait issues are currently tied in with my spasticity. Hopefully with the balance of stretch, strength, cardio and proper meds, I can get back to moving properly again! I told her my ultimate goal is to run again....something to aim for:)
As for was it a success? I had my first neurologist appointment this month as well. So far, EDSS is stable with no progression! I've always said, I took on this treatment to stabilize and any imrovements obtained were a plus! So far so good and I will be working on those improvements in the months to come....stay tuned!
Love from Ottawa!