Hello, it’s me.

It’s been a while since I wrote. There’s a lot and not much to say all at once. 2020 is weird isn’t it?

Back in September, after 7.5 years together, Dave finally popped THAT question. I eventually remembered to say ‘yes’ after going into shock. I’d basically written off it ever happening!

2020 is being good to me. I know it’s awful that we find ourselves in the midst of a pandemic that we were all convinced would be over by now. But, working from home life suits me so much. Almost two years ago now, I changed my hours at work to four long days with a Wednesday off. I was finding it hard, but no-where near as tough as I’d been finding five days at work. But I’ve gone back to five normal days since working from home which has been the case for me since 16th March.

I’ve lost over 30lbs since lockdown started too. Not having to commute has meant I have started to utilise my energy more efficiently. I can exercise. I make better food instead of grabbing toasties on the fly.

I’m not sure if it’s all of the above or the fact that I’m now almost 30 months past since starting Lemtrada. It seems no coincidence that I started to feel the best I have in years as soon as I hit the two year mark in June. Things have taken a bit of a rough turn recently, but with the drop in temperature, it’s to be expected.

In terms of my MS, after doing the shift.ms twitter takeover last weekend I’ve been in touch with my nurse. I’ve got a referral to a Speech and Language Therapist (SALT). Reason being, I’ve recently started choking on my own saliva. Yes. It’s horrific as it sounds. I wrote about it a while back in this blog, and it’s happened a few more times since.

I’m pretty sure it’s MS related, as is my nurse. What she does want to identify is whether it’s a bronchospasm or a fatigue response. I’m no medical practitioner BUT my gut is telling me it’s the former. Earlier this year I was diagnosed with anxiety and prescribed Sertraline. In all honesty it hasn’t made me feel any better. By which I mean I’ve still been experiencing a tight chest and shortness of breath (not dissimilar to the MS hug).

So I’ve stopped taking them for lots of reasons and as it happens I actually feel better. But the saliva thing still hasn’t stopped nor has the shallow breathing (it’s not Covid – I’m on the Office for National Statistics Survey so being tested regularly).

All I can say on this one is watch this space.

Aside from that, from an MS point of view, things are good. I feel well (by my standards) and I’m very much in the place where MS is not the first thing I think about everyday. Some days I don’t even have it at the forefront of my mind at all. I feel like I’ve finally learned to co-exist with the MonSter living in my body.