I remembered to take my night vitamins last night! I really think that I like my new pillbox. I think it is strange that I take vitamins four times a day and it’s kind of a lot of vitamins. They are called supplements, but I think I’m more comfortable calling them vitamins.
I am slowly learning my pillbox! At first, I didn’t even know how to open it, but now, I realize it’s made for older people who take vitamins four times a day. I didn’t understand how to open it and all I need to do is press the heel of my palm on the top of the box, and then the latch releases quite easily!
I also have figured out what my pillbox reminds me of. It’s the movie Passengers. I didn’t realize this at first, but it’s totally what it looks like! Here’s my pillbox.
I don’t even really like the movie! I didn’t see it in theaters, but my Mom likes it and I watch it with her. It took me a minute to figure it out, but I thought back to when Chris Pratt was looking through all of the manuals, trying to figure out how to wake up Jennifer Lawrence. I watched this clip yesterday, and when I saw it, that’s my pillbox! At least that’s what I think:
At least, that’s what I see as I’m kind of fumbling with my pillbox at this point. I can’t control my hands anymore but it’s a little bit easier. #MSsucks!!! 😒😒😒…
I forgot to take my night vitamins yesterday. I am not in that habit yet, so I took them this morning with my breakfast vitamins. It was a lot of vitamins to take in the morning! I had to take two wafers as well. And like 17 vitamins! It took me a long time to do that.
I got the ‘oomph’ again about an hour after I took them. When I felt it, I smiled to myself. It’s kind of crazy that I’m going to need this many vitamins a day to feel okay. And I really DON’T feel okay but I feel better.
I thought of this movie and I was able to watch it for free on one of the channels I subscribe to on cable. I have not watched this one in a while! I had really forgotten about this song until when Allegra jumped out of the plane:
Last Tuesday, when I saw Dr. Le May, Yama, was working with him and I asked her if they were changes to my supplements. She told me that there were a lot, but it’s all written down! I decided to wait until I pillaged on Saturday to change out my vitamins.
Yanna has told me before that she likes to overload supplements in the morning so then it will give you more energy throughout the day. I listened to her this time! Yesterday when I pillaged. I knew that I put a whole lot of vitamins in the morning slot and they just barely fit!
So this morning, I dumped all the vitamins into the ramekin that I keep by my pillbox that has my therapy putty in it. I counted the pills and I had 12 pills and one wafer to eat. I took the wafer first and slowly took each pill. It was probably an hour after I took my pills, and while I was praying that I felt a huge, “Oomph!” it felt like I was sitting up straighter, and I could see clearer, even even though I was not wearing my contacts yet!
I have decided that I like my new pillbox! I’m a little startled, though. It was easier to open each slot. I was startled that I had already had 20 vitamins and I had yet to eat lunch! I guess it’s just a little bit crazy that I am THAT in-firmed now! I need this many supplements just to make my body feel better?! That’s something I’m going to think about for a while, but I think next week when I pillage, I should do it a little more neatly, especially in the morning!
*Bu the way: I didn’t notice if there was more energy, even if there was today.
I can clearly see my disease progression. It took me four rosaries to fill my pillbox today. Going from 20 pills a day to 31 pills a day constitutes a little bit more time!
I’ve gone from this:
To this:
I now take supplements four times a day. I am at a loss! I never expected it to be like this! This is difficult!
This disease progression is getting to be too much! This morning, I awoke to my legs feeling swollen and I thought, “Oh yeah, I forgot about this!”
I saw my naturopath on Tuesday, no, I didn’t see him, but I saw a different doctor who does the same thing in his office. My normal naturopath is still injured. I’d liked this new doctor and he adjusted my supplements a little bit.
I ordered a new pillbox that is arriving tomorrow:
My current pillbox has spaces for supplements three times a day, but with Dr. Le May wants me to take my supplements four times a day. He just added the amount of pills I take each day.
I take a combination of tablets and capsules and I have gone from 20 pills a day to 31.
It’s taking me a minute to process this! I’m going to ask my Mom to wash it out when it arrives before I pillage on Saturday. I can’t believe it’s like that now!!!
Today, is ”Recovery Day” for me and this heat is not helping at all!!! I didn’t get out of bed today until about 2 o’clock. By the time my Mom put my compression, socks on, my legs had already begun to swell!
It feels like my legs are trying to rip out of my compression socks! No, it doesn’t feel like because that that sounds gross. it feels like my legs feel like they are bread rising!
I remember back in April 2022 when I got fitted for my compression socks. So the day I first put them on, when my Mom was taking them off, she noticed that there were red marks on the top of my thighs. She thought that we bought the wrong size! We called Befitting You where we got them from, and she told us that during the summer months, Bodies swell.
My Mom keeps asking me how it feels, and I told her, “It doesn’t feel good!”
I liegt the house today to get blood work done and to go to my naturopath. Dr. Clark is still injured so Dr. Le May saw me. He adjusted my supplements a little bit and we talked about supplements to help my eyes. Because that’s a thing now…
He, like Dr. Clark, told me that my nutrition is good! I like hearing that and I will change out my vitamins on Saturday when I pillage. It is only a matter of dosing changes I think, instead of taking four, I will take eight a day.
All of this makes sense to me and it kind of gets me excited. I really feel that I have found what works for me! (Not that any of this is easy?!!!!) I heard this song as I was waiting for my Mom to pay. I wish I could talk more about it but this heat?!!!!:
So, I have been thinking about this since last Thursday at my endocrinology appointment. I think I need to start off this blog post by explaining the type of person I am.
I think Sean was very young and we had gone to a doctor appointment. And getting into the office, (which we were going to often) was NOT handicapped accessible. There was a probably an inch gap between the sidewalk and the actual floor to the office. It was difficult for me to get in! Not TOO difficult but annoying.
I don’t know what it was, but I was given a survey to complete after Sean’s appointment. I do not know why I took the time to explain how difficult it is for me to get into the doorway the building. I just remember that I did that and I think that I was irritated that it was so difficult so I wrote it on the survey.
I think it was like a month later when we went back to that office for another doctor appointment and to my surprise, the sidewalk square right where you open the door was redone. It was on a slight incline so I could get into the office easily! I was completely aghast! I looked at Sean with disbelief, and with my voice shaking, I said, “This is because of me?!”
That building is no longer a Henry Ford building and Sean and I don’t even go there anymore but I was completely floored that I said something about it and it changed. I guess the “Squeaky Wheel…” is correct! I was thinking about this experience when we went to my endocrinology appointment.
My endocrinologist is in the same building that my dermatologist is just on a different floor. It is downtown at New Center One. It is a building that is newer to Henry Ford I think. But, let me tell you that anything downtown is definitely NOT handicap accessible!!!
I am just going to put some pictures that show the lack of accessibility. This was my face as I try to navigate through it:
let me first start up by saying that 23 years into this MS diagnosis, I constantly hear that d*mn doctor who told me that I was going to go blind and then die at the outset. I am not blind… yet and I’m not dying. I just have to live with this! It is getting difficult! Let me ‘splain ya:
I want you to take note of a couple things in this picture. My Mom took it when we were leaving. Notice the cobblestones?! Oh, I sure did!!! That is so NOT cool and it’s a pretty large area that has cobblestones.
Notice the entrance. Normally, and doctor appointment I go to has the automatic double doors clearly marked! I could not see this little button and my mom told me it was there. Unfortunately, there were nothing but standard doors in this building and as a power chair user, that really doesn’t work!:
But then you have to:
My Mom took this picture because I was inching down the hallway because this was what I turned in to:
It was such a tight squeeze! And remember, my vision isn’t as good as it used to be!!! And then we left:
This entire appointment, I just kept thinking, “Disabled people matter too!”
A majority of my appointments are in Dearborn which is completely accessible. Otherwise, I usually go downtown to Henry Ford. And I’m just used to it there, so that’s not a problem either.
I was thinking that I cannot be a squeaky wheel here as I was in the elevator that was way too shallow for a power chair. And I know because my feet were right up against the glass as we rode up and down:
I only need to come here for my dermatologist, and my endocrinologist and I think that seeing my endocrinologist is a little bit premature. Next month, I’m going to see my internist in Dearborn completely a completely accessible place!!! It’s like this now… 😒😒😒…