Invisible Symptoms

I am not sure wich is more frustrating, my inability to recall the vocabulary and grammar necessary to build a sentence when I am writing or speaking or the annoyance of losing a word mid-sentence or saying the opposite of what I am intending to say.This is just one of the invisible symptoms of MS. Frustrating the people around you or being underestimated by the people around you is just one of the consquences. It is so tempting to just want to isolate oneself so as not to look like a fool. After all this world seems to constantly be sending us all the message that we have to be perfect to be worthwhile. i.e. We abort unborn babies who are Down Syndrome and we consider it mercy to kill the elderly and infirmed. I know I need to edit this but it is too stressful. Too exhausting. So much for all those A+ grades I used to receive in grammar and spelling.
I wont shrink back though. Life is good , no matter how imperfect. I hope this disability will challenge us to find hope and dignity in places where it appears there should be none. To accept your own imperfections and embrace Life.

MS Byte #6 Spasticity/Cognitive dysfuncion, I forget

"I suffer from short term memory loss. It runs in my family... At least I think it does... Where are they?" Dory, finding Nemo

My kids call me Dory(pictured above. The forgetful fish in the movie "Finding Nemo".
According to the MS society..
"Cognitive dysfunction affects about 50-65% of people with MS. The problems can have an impact on attention, information processing, memory, planning, insight, or problem solving. Loss of myelin insulating material around nerve fibers can cause difficulty with transporting memories to storage areas of the brain or retrieving them from the storage areas.
......Whoops, I forgot I think we already had a byte on cognitive issues, lets switch gears.
Byte#6 Spasticity is a symptom of MS. According to the National MS society...'Spacity refers to feelings of stiffness and a wide range of involuntary muscle spasms (sustained muscle contractions or sudden movements). It is one of the more common symptoms of MS. Spasticity may be as mild as the feeling of tightness of muscles or may be so severe as to produce painful, uncontrollable spasms of extremities, usually of the legs. Spasticity may also produce feelings of pain or tightness in and around joints, and can cause low back pain. Although spasticity can occur in any limb, it is much more common in the legs."for more
http://www.nationalmssociety.org/about-multiple-sclerosis/what-we-know-about-ms/symptoms/index.aspx