Week 6 - 18.10.11

Dear Anyone,

I have decided to update you on my disease modifying therapy on a weekly basis. This way you only have to endure my banal blog about nothing once every 7 days.

As all I have to inform you about Fingolimod is that I still haven't had any side effects at all in the 6 weeks that I've been on it, I am going to talk about me.

I've had a pretty crap summer. In June, I fell over whilst at home and as I landed, my arm twisted around my back, breaking it at the top where it joins the shoulder. Ouch!

I spent a month on a surgical ward as it needed to be operated on. I now have a plate and 7 pins in my arm. By the time physio got involved, I hadn't used my legs for nearly 3 weeks. The muscles in my legs were completely gone due to my inactivity and I had an effort standing unaided, and it took a while to be able to walk - with a Zimmer frame. I got discharged from hospital with the assurance of 6 weeks of daily physio.

I was making good progress with the rehab. I had a regime of core stability, leg and shoulder exercises and I was slowly rebuilding the muscles that I had lost whilst in hospital. Then my body decided to remind me that I have MS in the way it knows best - I had a relapse! This was confirmed with MRI results at the hospital when I went there for my first Fingolimod tablet, so they sent me home with a months supply of my new disease modifying drug and a 5 day course of oral steroids.

How am I now? I'm back from square one. The prednisolone did its job and I have re-started my exercises. I still need a Zimmer frame to walk, but my legs are getting stronger and I was using aids to walk anyway in the form of a stick or a crutch. I WILL get there eventually.

Hopefully my next blog will have something to do with Fingolimod. Or not...

Kind regards,

Dan