3/17/09

Time keeps on slipping, slipping, slipping...

Hi again, I guess I must be feeling better, as I'm not hanging around on the 'Net, blogging as much as I used to. Even tho I'm housebound much of the time, I find so much to do & I'm extra-slow at it, because I have this handicap called MS. Just went for my 35th Tysabri treatment last week. I got nervous about staying on it for so long, so I went for a consult with a doctor who I consider to be a "Tysabri expert" (Dr. G. in the Phoenix area). He is on some Tysabri committe that meets regularly (drug-maker Biogen). He assured me that I don't have to worry about getting the fatal condition PML, as I have 1 in 6,000 chances of getting it. There is a risk of getting some deadly from Novantrone use (1 in 500), so he has taking ALL of his MS patient off of it. There are roughly 18,000 MS-ers who've been on Tysabri for 2 years, he has 42 MS patients on Tysabri right now. The average time for getting PML is when you've been on Tysabri for 11 - 17 months. So I feel better now about staying on Tysabri. I've tried all the other "popular" MS drugs except Copaxone. I even had 2 treatments of Novantrone in 2005. My heart's "MUGA" was not good after those 2 treatments, so that was enough for me. I've got a scooter to zip around the house in (yes, it's that big). I was feeling lots better in Feb. & "scooted" around too fast. This caused me to catch door frames with my back tires, jam to a halt, & fall over on the floor, still in the sitting position. This is a funny mental image, but I did this not once, but 3 times before I got the hint to "cool my jets". The falls caused no bruises, no broken bones, no blood clots. But a month later, I'm getting a "zinging" like lightning up & down the outside of my left leg (the first fall) whenever I put weight on that leg. My neurologist said yesterday that it sounds like a nerve problem, so in I go for an MRI. I've had many MRI's & I'm curious as to what it will show & what the treatment will be. The ER tried a splint on my leg, but I couldn't stand it for more than 12 hours & took it off. I'm trying the R(Rest) I(Ice) C(Compression) and E(Elevation) treatment, except not the C(Compression). It's helped. Bye for now.

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