Health Update
Balky the Elbow
In July of 2020, I posted an article about a problem I started having with my left elbow. I went to an orthopedist and it was determined that I had medial epicondylitis, or golfer’s elbow. I was prescribed only some exercises to strengthen my forearm and wrist and sent on my way. I didn’t bother with doing the exercises for a couple of months, and then finally just gave in, growing tired of the pain in my elbow. I continued the exercises for some time, and I wasn’t noticing any real improvement, so I stop doing the exercises altogether.
Then, after a few more months, I was starting to develop a pain in my left shoulder. This was steadily starting to get worse, just like my elbow had months prior. At this time, I was also beginning to have some problems getting any kind of sleep at night. Between the pain in my elbow and shoulder, I was forced to sleep on only my right side, else I would be in for a world of hurt the following morning.
Part of my restlessness was not just my elbow and shoulder, but partly due to my pillow not working for me anymore. I was using a softer pillow than I had previously, so I opted to go back to a firmer one. Over the span of a few days, I was getting better sleep and I was noticing that my shoulder pain was going away. On top of that, my elbow was starting to get better as well. Could it really be just my pillow causing all of these problems?
As of the time of this article, my shoulder pain is all but gone, and my elbow, while still not 100% pain free, is markedly better than any time over the previous eight months. Time will tell if a simple pillow swap has been my problem the entire time. I’ll provide an update on this in a few months.
MS Update
At the moment I’m typing this article, I am at my infusion center for my monthly Tysabri treatment. I have been on this treatment for seven years now and, I’m happy to report, my relapsing MS has been in a long period of remission. My last relapse was back around Thanksgiving of 2013. At the time, I was on a different treatment (Rebif) and I still wasn’t fully recovered from my previous major relapse in January of that same year. My neurologist suggested I be put on Tysabri as a stronger form of treatment, and after only a couple of months on the new drug, I was able to quickly recover from my previous relapses and regain 100% of my strength and all feeling in my hands and feet.
I consider myself extremely fortunate to have my MS not rear its ugly head for such a long time. I know I am much more fortuitous than so many others sharing my affliction, and I’m grateful that my current form of treatment has enabled me to live a normal life; at least as normal as can be expected given the current COVID-19 pandemic.
One anomaly I have noticed at my infusion center revolves around my blood pressure readings. My infusion center has not allowed visitors in the building since around the summertime in 2020. Ever since that time, when my blood pressure is checked, it has been much higher than it ever was prior to this lockdown. The same was true at my last physical with my primary care doctor in September 2020. At her suggestion, I got myself a blood pressure monitor to use at home, and my readings have been at or below what they were prior to the lockdown at the infusion center.
Lisa would accompany me to nearly every infusion and physical and be right near me when getting my blood pressure checked. I guess her being there had a calming effect on me. Now that she’s simply sitting outside in the car waiting for me, that calming effect is now gone. Hopefully, once things get back to “normal” again, she can continue to be by my side.
My next scheduled JCV test will be in April, so I’m hoping there won’t be much of a change from my last reading of .25, which is on the extremely low end of the INDETERMINATE scale (see Condition Update for information on this). My latest MRI was incomplete because I had an acute claustrophobic episode for the first time since I started having these routine MRIs. I am still in need of getting another MRI done, but I’ve been holding off on it until I meet with my neurologist again in June. I think I need a bit of a break from the MRIs to get my mind straight again. I very well might need to be prescribed an anti-anxiety drug (Valium) to get through the next MRI; only time will tell.
My wife, Lisa, has been my rock through all of this, and I don’t know what I’d do without her. The medical professionals, at all levels, guiding me through this process over the years, have been nothing short of outstanding. My small group of close friends have been a constant source of strength, especially of late when I’ve had a couple of emotional breakdowns (I won’t get into that here). I’ve been lucky to have an incredible support system around me throughout my MS journey and life in general.
