Week 73

Last week I moaned a bit about the return of the invisible monster that is fatigue. I ended the blog with questions about why it is back. 

I've had a couple of good days and a couple of bad days since I last wrote. The bad days culminated in falls. That's 6 now in January, one every five days on average.  Not great, a bit more than the previous few months, but my falls have been more frequent in the past, so I'm not complaining. Okay I am, but I'm not, if you get me. It does seem like the falls are more common of late though. 

It could be fatigue that is related to the falls. That would make sense, I suppose. Fatigue in MS is physical as well as mental. My muscles are weaker when I'm fatigued. The falls aren't balance related. It's a case of me not having the strength in my legs to keep me standing. I don't fall when walking (well, sometimes I do), my problem at the moment is transferring. I seem to struggle a bit getting out of my mobility scooter and getting onto the bed/chair/toilet, or getting back on my scooter from one of the above. 

I've even questioned the Gilenya and wondered whether it wasn't working anymore, or if my body had built up immunity to it. Hang on, isn't that the same thing? Anyway, this is a tricky one to answer, but I'm going to give it a go: My body has been in decline for a few years now. All the different medications I've tried haven't stopped progression. Some ofdrugs have given me symptom relief, but it hasn't done much for the actual illness. Maybe they have and I would be so much worse if I hadn't taken the disease modifying drug route. There's one way to find that one out, but no, I'm not going to stop it. 

If my fatigue is a sign of Gilenya losing its effect, you would assume that the other improvements I've noticed would also be on the wane. Well, there's a good bit of news. I still have the best control of my bladder and bowels that I've had since diagnosis. 

This is the reason why I am not entertaining the idea that the Gilenya has stopped working. I've left a message with my MS nurse to see if there's any advice she can offer me any advice on my new companion fatigue. Vitamin B12 maybe?

Have a good weekend,

Dan