Newly Diagnosed

The appointment with the neurologist at the Cleveland Clinic went well, as well as a diagnosis of MS can go that is. The doctor I met with was Dr. Lael Stone and I liked her immediately. She, herself armed with no Physician Assistant or RN, came and greeted me in the lobby. She sat with me over 1.5 hours and answered all my resounding questions with such grace and comfort I would not have believed she was a doctor. I have NEVER and I mean NEVER had such a great feeling from a doctor. Talk about looking at a patient as whole; she even got me a tissue when I got a little teary eyed over all of my "fears" of this dx. I left knowing that everything I was feeling was normal, I am not an emotional rollercoaster, just another person taken a back from something.

There was a lot of good news. First, she thinks I have the less aggresive form of MS called Relapsing-Remitting. Which means I will have bouts of MS signs & symptoms with periods of nothing. The good news is that I can start to work out again. She wants me to continue the things that I love, just with a little more care and attention to my body. I am only allowed to start walking for this week, but she said I could start running (slowly) after a good week of brisk walks. My limitations are few as of now, but I must listen to my body, work on my diet, start taking more supplements, and managing stress.

Phew, a lot to think about. I have already cut out all alcohol, since I had not been feeling well I figured that was an easy one. I have been drinking a lot of water and I have been more careful with my diet choices. After the holidays I will look into pinpointing certain foods that could trigger MS exacerbations (as they call it). If you had asked me two months ago if I could think of giving up beer, cheese, and possibly bread, I would have called you crazy. It is amazing that when you really have to look at your health, these things seem like an easy change.

After my appointment, Dr. Stone handed me a plethra of reading materials. I also ordered 3 books from Amazon.com that arrived today. I am sure that these will keep me pondering about things for the upcoming months. I was never one to not research things to their fullest.

Anyway, the day ended with some of my favorite CTC Akron peeps for a good dinner at Crave. Thanks Kim and Erin for the much needed fun.