The routine is easier to manage since I retired. I often used to find myself totally out of energy early in the afternoon, and even the walk to the parking ramp was daunting, just because of couple of stairs and a skyway with a slight incline. I was sometimes so tired walking in the door that the prospect of making dinner seemed like an insurmountable task. Today, I can change the day's pace if I've undertaken too much and a 10-minute break helps revive me. The simple idea that I can manage my time has reduced my anxiety level.
I will soon reach the 10-year milestone. In the decade since my diagnosis, I've progressed from being furious most of the time to some measure of acceptance. The anxiety of dealing with this damn disease every day has taken its toll, but I've also learned a few useful lessons along the way:
- I'm lucky to have relapsing-remitting MS. It's treatable with one of the disease modifying drugs (in my case, interferon beta 1a, an IM injectable marketed as Avonex).
- For me, it seems to be best to minimize the number of drugs I use. For most of these 10 years, Avonex has been my only drug. I did experiment with a couple of medications for "MS fatigue", but they made me jumpy and didn't do anything for that debilitating lassitude that sometimes hits at inopportune times.
- Life is full of daily choices. I prefer to err on the side on "moderate risk" and go for the change-up. Keeps life interesting.
