Sunday, July 12, 2009

Can't Remember With MS

This weekend we were able to travel to Ruidoso, NM, to enjoy a weekend away. The trip was great, but I am seeing signs of fatigue and emotional stress in my wife. Over the weekend I noticed my wife was not able to recall conversations we have had recently and had forgotten other details. This is not like her and has only happened a few times in our marriage. She normally has a rock solid memory and can recall details about events or activities that happened years ago. These moments of memory loss are far and few between, but when they do happen, it is frustrating and unpredictable.

The other part of her losing memories is her mind not functioning as normal. She goes through moments when she doesn't process information at the speed she normally would and I have to repeat myself for her to understand. Again, this is not everytime or everything, but sporadic and unpredictable. One conversation we had over the past few days I have had to repeat three or four times and I know it is driving my wife nuts to have to ask over and over again. She also has delayed hearing during these times. I will say something and she will ask me to repeat the information. By the time I start repeating the information, she has processed it and carries on the conversation. This can lead to some frustration on both of our parts.

We both know exactly why she is having the memory issues and the mental fatigue. When we moved, our whole lives were turned upside down. Everything from our finances to our schedule is unorganized. We have learned through the years that the more organized we are the more consistent my wife's health. When we are out of sorts like right now, she has more extreme emotions and more MS issues. Multiple Sclerosis is a strange disease in the way it attacks and affects the mind, but we do have some choices. From the beginning we have been told by Dr Swank to minimize our lives and de-stress them to help live a more normal life. We know this works, and after this weekend we realize that we are going to have to take some action quick or the problems are going to become worse.

3 comments:

SisterP said...

Yes, unfortunately MS does cause cognitive issues in many, including me. We affectionately call it "CRS" at my house as in Can't Remember ... well you get my drift.

It's one of my biggest issues and fears for the future.

I'm the one who has the MS and my husband has become wonderful at charades. LOL

There are many books available on this subject and my favorite is Facing the Cognitive Challenges of Multiple Sclerosis by Jeffrey Gingold.

You will probably see more evidence as the weather warms and I have truly serious issues when overheated. Try to be patient and it does seem to get better with time or at least mine has ... for now.

Dreamer said...

Hi,
I really like ur blog, and have asked my husband to visit too.I need some advice from you and it would be so great if you can help.Im 25 yrs old and have recently been diagnosed with MS,though the symptoms started 8 yrs ago but i was unable to realize until the attacks became too frequent and diverse to handle. My problem is that i dont want to take any medications in the treatment for MS and dont know anyone else who is using alternative treatments for the disease, infact its a rare disease in my country due to the severity of weather. My dr. emphasizes that i should take injections of interferon or steroids, but im not ready. Can you plz let me know what are the alternate treatments for MS. Currently im watching my diet and doing meditation(yoga). I have found 2 methods by ur posts, Bowen treatment and Chiropractor but if there are any more i would like to know.Waiting for ur reply. Thanks in advance.

Unknown said...

Dreamer, thanks for the comment. We have also chosen an alternative path of treatment and feel like we have had some huge success with it. I would love to share more about specifics that we have done, and share some of our successes and frustrations. You can email me at mywifehasms@gmail.com and I will try to help you as much as I can.