Today is officially the first day of Autumn. Many of you know that I’m just not a lover of the heat so I’m relieved to welcome the cooler weather. The heat gives me brain fog, I sweat buckets and generally just find functioning tough.
Having said that, Poppy’s play date yesterday morning was freezing and I’m already feeling pain in my left thigh. If it’s not one thing, it’s the other. What a nightmare!
Generally I’m pretty good though. I went to see my GP on Friday about coming off Duloxetine, which I’m taking for both my mood and for neuropathic pain. I just don’t think it’s doing much for me. Or rather, it’s more what additional things am I putting up with as a side effect, and does what the drug actually do for me outweigh that. And I’m just not sure.
So I’m weaning myself off by taking one every other day. Doctor’s orders.
We’re still waiting on a completion date for our house at the moment too and that’s causing all kinds of stress and frustration. But it feels like a fresh start in so many ways. With this in mind, I’m planning on finally reading my “Overcoming MS” book as I feel like I’m now in the right frame of mind for it. I’ve briefly talked about OMS before. It’s a seven step programme which can help mitigate MS. I generally feel that the word overcoming is a bit misleading. It doesn’t cure you from it. You don’t really “overcome” it. But you can do everything in your power to change your diet/lifestyle to reduce the likelihood of further relapses and to help your mental health and general wellbeing.
It was initially that that made me consider going Pescatarian last year. I dabbled for a bit but I’m pleased to say I haven’t eaten meat since Christmas Day 2018 now! It’s funny, because actually “my health” wasn’t a strong enough reason “why” for me. But somewhere along the line, ethics kicked in and I’m not even tempted by meat anymore.
Anyway, that was a bit of a digression (not like me!) but my point is, I think my transition to the OMS diet will be a lot easier now that I’ve already changed the biggest hurdle: not eating meat.
Another part of OMS is having a daily meditation practice. It recommends 30 minutes a day. And when you think that’s tough to fit in, think about how much time you’ve wasted faffing about on Facebook (I know what you’re thinking. I’m a right one to talk!) But honestly. If you want it enough, you’ll find the time. With this in mind, I’m going to follow the OMS September meditation challenge which you can find here. I’m pretty sure the actual programme isn’t exclusive to MSers so if you’ve been thinking about meditation, join in with me!
MS Understood 