Mike Has MS
Wednesday, July 27, 2005
Injections
Miyagi is going to be giving me my shot next weekend while Frank is in Oslo. Last time he was away, Craig did it, but he's going to Oslo, too. I appreciate having friends willing to do this for me. I mean, Kenny, Marty, and Liz have all said they'd do it. I could even go to New York and Evan would do it. You all totally rock and I love you for it. It is quite cool having friends who aren't afraid of needles.I could do it myself, but I have worse side effects, and frankly, it's a head fuck. Having someone else stab you with a sharp object is so easier than doing it yourself.
That is all.
Multiple Sclerosis • Medications • Imported from BME • Permalink
Monday, January 20, 2003
Medication Paperwork
I talked to the people at Biogen today. They have all the information they need to get me started on the medication. Right now, we just need to get the insurance preauthorization before filling the prescription.
Once I get the prescription filled, they’ll send a nurse to my house to train me on giving myself the shots.
I’m a little concerned about the side effects of the medication, but I think it will be okay. For the first month or so, they say I can expect to feel like I have the flu one day a week. That hardly sounds like fun.
I’m scheduled to follow up with Dr. Anderson, my primary care physician, on Thursday afternoon.
Sunday, January 19, 2003
Friday Events
Friday was the first time I’d seen Dr. Silverman after having the spinal tap. He showed me the results of the spinal tap. The tests are conclusive. This is certainly MS, and he said that it’s cut and dry. The other reason he wanted me to come in was to answer any questions and to talk about medication. He believes that Avonex is the right medication to start with. He said he was going to give me an info kit for the medication so I could review their product. He wanted me to look at it over the weekend, think about it, and get back to him on Monday.
As he stated that he wanted me to think about this, I recalled something a coworker had asked. Shaun had asked “Do you trust your doctor?” I do. I said “Do you think this is the right path to take?” He said that this is absolutely the path we should take. On that, I told him that there was nothing to think about. He knows a heck of a lot more about this than I do, and I’m going to trust that my doctor won’t send me down the wrong path.
Avonex is a once-weekly intramuscular injection. While I’m hardly thrilled with getting a weekly shot, it won’t be so bad because its self administered. It’s extremely expensive, but my health insurance will cover all but the co-pay. The paperwork has been started, and now we just have to get the preauthorization from Highmark. Dr. Silverman says that he’s never had problems getting this preauthorized.
I did have a few questions, and I’m not sure I like his answers. One of my new year’s resolutions was to get into better shape. I asked about working out at the gym, and he advised against hard workouts. He says that exercise is good, but I don’t want to push it too hard. He says that when I start dripping sweat, I’ll end up draining myself later in the day. He also said I should avoid hot, steamy environments like saunas and spas. He even suggested avoiding hot baths. That one could be problematic.
He gave me a media kit for Avonex, and sent me on my way. I have to arrange with Biogen, the manufacturer, to have a nurse come to my house and show me how to administer the injections. Biogen called me right away. That doesn’t suprise me, since this is very expensive medication.
After my appointment, I called Dr. Anderson’s office to see if he’d followed up with any of the reports from Dr. Silverman. He was aware of what was going on, of course, but he was more concerned with my emotional state. He wants me to come in early this week.
My medical day wasn’t as bad as it could have been. But then the rest of the day turned into a bad episode of Home Improvement.
Friday afternoon, I was painting my kitchen. The ceiling needed a coat of paint something awful, and that was the task at hand. The whole ceiling was almost complete except for the spot under my huge pantry/butler cabinet. This cabinet was about 36 inches wide by about 36 30 inches deep by about six feet tall. It was HUGE. Well, I tried sliding the cabinet a bit out of the way so I could paint under it. The darn thing collapsed. Everything in this cabinet landed on the floor. I’ve never had such a mess in my life. I had jars of my mom’s vegetable soup on the floor. I had a couple of glass pans shatter. I had a very big mess on my hands. Cleaning up the mess was a big project. The only thing bigger turned out to be replacing that huge storage space.
Tuesday, January 14, 2003
UPDATE
My neurologist called this morning. The results of my spinal tap came back, and unfortunately, they’ve confirmed my fears. The tests do confirm a diagnosis of Multiple Sclerosis. At this point, I don’t know much else. I have an appointment to see him on Friday, and I expect to learn more. While I’m hardly thrilled with the diagnosis, at least know what’s been causing the numbness in my hands and legs since October. A burden of frustration has been lifted.
I want to thank everyone for their kind words, thoughts, and prayers over the past month. It’s been emotionally draining, and the stress of my downstairs neighbor has hardly helped. Fortunately, that burden, too, is being lifted.
I’m still encouraged by the fact that the MRI shows inflamation instead of leisons, meaning my case is still very early. I’m also encouraged by the fact that there are some new medications about to be launched for clinical trial. Again, I expect to know more after my appointment on Friday.
Friday, January 03, 2003
Diagnosis
I went to see my neurologist today. He performed what they call a lumbar puncture, better known as a spinal tap. Who would have known that a 20ga needle could cause so much pain. The doc believes that I have multiple sclerosis. The spinal tap will confirm that. Before anyone gets all mushy and weepy, I’m not dead yet. In fact, he says that if it is MS, it’s in the very early stages, and it doesn’t appear to be very aggressive. I told my mom that I still plan on outliving her. I’m keeping a positive outlook, and that, more than anything, will keep me going.