FORT Koffee Klatch

[MRD]

Hi all,

Miss Kitty and Gabriel have been so kind to let me know that you all have been missing me and wishing me well.

I thank you and I have missed you all greatly. I am feeling much better, but am taking it easy so I don't relapse.
The last couple of weeks have been really hard and I have had a really rough time. But a change in medication and diet and hopefully a couple more days of rest and I hope to be back in the swing.

I have missed this place immensely and I think about all the fun I'm missing.

Thanks again and I plan to be back as soon as I can.

You all are the greatest. Thank you.

ETA: I might as well tell you the rest of it. My neuro thinks now that all the shaking I'm having (think junkie 2 days past his last fix and that is how I look) that it might be Parkinson's. He says the amount of shaking, head swaying, jerking, etc. point to Parkinson's. My dad had it and so I am really scared as I saw how difficult it was for him and how quickly he deteriorated. He was in his late 60's when he got it. I'm only 45.
But I shake so badly that its been hard to type, cook, eat. In fact, we went out to eat about 2 weeks ago and most of my food fell off the fork on the table or floor. Very embarrassing. And most disconcerting as it's very difficult to do anything when I'm shaking like that.
The dr. put me on phenabarbitol which made me really sick. I could be parked in the corner and just allowed to stare and drool while on it. Also it made me as hungry as if I had the munchies. When I wasn't in a trance, I was eating us out of house and home and I don't need that after losing all this weight.

So it's been a rough few weeks dealing with the MS, the shaking and the possibility of parkinson's. That really has me depressed.

But again, I appreciate all my friends here that has wished me well. I am on new medication that is helping somewhat and I've decided to change my diet as I'm also a tad hypoglycemic according to one doctor. I now have a "team" of health care professionals. I hope none of you ever get a team as I feel like a guinea pig for them.
But am trying to eat small amounts of protien and complex carbs every couple hours and it does seem to be helping me feel better. The shakes continue, but for the most part only get bad when its time for my medication again.

This has been a time I would not care to revisit. I have felt helpless because I can't control my hands. If I had a choice, I'd rather it be my feet and legs as I've become very dependent on others due to my hand problems.

Thanks again everyone.

[DesertRose]

oh man, I am going to have to work extra hard on this short animation I am working on for school! I found out today that Pixar is going to be at my school's Animation Festival in October.

That sounds exciting! Good luck.

[prhoshay]

mrd, glad to see your post. So sorry to hear about your troubles. Your experiences have allowed me to put any problem I may have into proper perspective. I'm sure your family is reeling from this madness, too. I am sending up extra prayers for you, your daughter, and hubby.

[MRD]

mrd, glad to see your post. So sorry to hear about your troubles. Your experiences have allowed me to put any problem I may have into proper perspective. I'm sure your family is reeling from this madness, too. I am sending up extra prayers for you, your daughter, and hubby.

Prhoshay. Hey, don't worry about my problems. Everyone has problems and there is always someone else who has worse ones. But when the problem belongs to you, its important, because its YOUR problem.
When I worked for the dr. , the RN took me aside the first day and told me: "what you see here will become routine, but to our patients, its important because its their problem and to them its unique and we must treat them as if it were so".

Great advice.

Anyway, I've had a couple people tell me they feel guilty for worry about their problems after they heard about mine. That's ridiculous. We all have problems big and small and they are ours to own and therefore they are important to us. doesn't matter that someone else has a worse one. There are people worse than me but I can't compare myself to others as its a negative thought and those are definetly not good for anyone.

But thank you for the good wishes. I'm trying to stay positive. Some days are harder than others. But I'm hoping that I can deal with this. I've dealt with some other crappy stuff in my life and survived it. I will this too. But it may be harder, but I'm not giving up yet.

And thanks for the thoughts for my family. They have been a big help, but its hard for me to see them having to do stuff that I should be doing. But I am thankful that they are great and have been a tremendous amount of support and love.

[Duxxy]

ARRG!! I'm feeling quite petty at the moment so I am going to complain...

The bedspread incident is finally at an end. You may recall that I told the seller to go ahead and relist it. She emailed me back that she thought I should pay her listing fees. I told her I would send her a little something if she relisted and it didn't sell.
I watched her auction for that reason. Well the bedspread sold last night. For $127!!! my bid?? $27.50.
Holy cow!! I sent her an email that said congrats, and I mean it. The petty part: I beg she is feeling quite smug and it burns my butt. Hey! since she was such a pain in the neck maybe I should email her again asking for a finder's fee


MRD Here's hoping that you have many more good days than bad ones.

[ScoutMom]

MRD - I'm so sorry about your troubles and am glad that you're starting to feel better. My dad had Parkinsons Disease. The medication he was on (and I don't remember what it was) really helped him a lot. I hope you at least find some answers quickly to you'll know what you're dealing with. I'll continue to keep you and your family in my prayers.

And I'm with the others about putting problems into perspective. There's always someone who's in worse shape than you are.

[lei]

MRD, it is good to see you here, and I'm so sorry about what you're going through. My thoughts and prayers remain with you. You have an amazing outlook on everything and that will help you (as it does us, too!) I hope the meds and your "team" help very soon. I know I speak for many that you are very much missed here, and that most of all we want to see you well. Love to you and your family.

[Ellen]

Good to "see" you, MRD! I'll continue to send lots of positive thoughts your way to get through this latest thing. You've got an awesome attitude, which is really the best medicine. Laughter, too. Several years ago when I was going through my worst stages of CFIDS/fibromyalgia, my hubby and I learned to find things to laugh about in just about any circumstance. (that's probably why I'm such a sicko today!) People think we're weird, but my doctor told us that the laughter and offbeat sense of humor is a big part of what got us through.

[prhoshay]

Like my mother was fond of saying, "May as well laugh.....can't dance." That always cracked me up!! Didn't get it then.......don't get it now!

[Ellen]

from SuperBrat:

oh man, I am going to have to work extra hard on this short animation I am working on for school! I found out today that Pixar is going to be at my school's Animation Festival in October.

How exciting! Wow -- hope to see your name in the credits soon!

from Gutmutter:

We got our exchange student from Thailand today. He's a cutie, but shy and not very good English. He went to bed early (exhausted) . . .

That's normal -- getting used to surviving in a second language (even if you're fluent) is mentally exhausting. On two different trips when I was a student on a two-week homestay with a family in Germany, I found I needed an afternoon nap for the first several days. The same happens with my French clients I work with in my adult ESL program -- they're at an intermediate or advanced level, but even they start "fading" around noon for the first few days.

Best wishes -- hosting people from other countries is (usually) so much fun and very rewarding!