In late October back in 2003 my then current company of employ moved to one of the outlying suburbs of Toronto. Now, you must first understand, this was not a career position. I had moved into the wonderfully bustling downtown core of the city from my native small town East Coast on a bit of a whim. I had a friend with a three bedroom flat near Kensington market and only one other to share it with. "I'll be your third!" I piped up when she mentioned this dilemma.
All did not run entirely smoothly with my proposed move to the Big Smoke. I was scheduled to head there for the end of August/first of September (2002). During the couple summer weeks I spent as a counsellor at easily my favourite place in the world (the NSCF's junior and youth choir camps) I began to get sleepy. I would haul my charges out of bed in the morning, head off to breakfast and do morning physical warm up with them and then, as they tripped off to the first rehearsal of the day, I would stumble back to my cabin and fall into bed - later to be awoken for lunch by my kids after a full morning of activities had passed me by. I found that I was sleeping heavily through their designated rest period and then passing out before they stopped whispering and giggling after lights out (at 9:00). After I began to exhibit symptoms of strep throat I knew that there was definitely something wrong. Once a confirmation of mononucliosis was given I was ferried off to my (wonderful) parents' place to recover in bed.
All in all, I was one of the lucky ones. My soon-to-be-roomies had managed to find someone to keep my spot warm in the meantime and by mid-October I was feeling much (if not entirely) better and had solidified plans to drive part way across the country with a long time pal who had also decided to see what fortune awaited him in the wild, unknown, concrete jungle.
My first year in Toronto was full of fun, new friends and new experiences and I was burning the candle at both ends. I had managed to secure myself a job in customer service with a company that sold endoscopes and, in my down time, was living for the day!
By the end of my first ever eventfull year I had talked a few friends from the Maritimes into moving up and renting space in a house with me. What fun! We were all musicians and played together any chance we got. More often than not you could find us all gathered in the loft of our upper apartment, each with a glass of Canadian whisky by our side, jamming our little hearts out.
This first year and into my second were happy times with a freedom that does not come easily. I was cycling and playing and laughing and living. This is where the company move comes in. In October of that year I began commuting to work - one and a half hours there and one and a half hours back. Ouch. I was tired and stressed and it wasn't long before my immune system had given in to all of this and I ended up with one doozy of a sinus infection.
The nasty cough and splitting headache weren't my only symptoms though. I began to notice an odd sensation in my legs as I was walking between the bus stop and my office. It was as though there was a tiny electrical pulse running up my right leg every time I took a step. I just shook it off as an odd happening and ignored it. This became more and more difficult to do when I began to notice the same sensation up my left leg and then in my back and then I was feeling a 'glove-like' numbness (where I could still feel things but it was as though there was a thin layer of something between my skin and the object) which spread to most parts of my body. I was also hit with a fatigue that left me needing a nap after tasks as simple as grocery shopping. I could no longer ignore this.
After tests for diabetes, low vitamin B12, a suspected compressed disk in my spine and numerous other maladies, I was finally diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis. I'm sorry?! Could you repeat that?! Did you say Multiple Sclerosis?! I walked from the neurologists office in tears as thoughts of wheelchairs, shakey limbs and slurred speach floated through my head. I had absolutely no idea what this meant for me! I hadn't a clue as to what Multiple Sclerosis really was and was left to my own devices for three months while I waited to see a specialist.
Those next three months were a torturous roller coaster for me. I have a close group of fantastic friends who were there with me through it all but I was scared nonetheless. I didn't want to do too much research on the disease because I didn't want to go through all of the "what ifs" that I thought would scare me even more.
Finally the day came. I headed to the appointed hospital at the appointed time to see my appointed specialist. She gave me a few brief explanations, was rather condescending with the few questions I was brave enough to ask and advised that I begin treatment with Avonex right away. I told her that I needed time to think about things and that I wanted to research her drug of choice. What I came up with was a list of side effects that I wanted nothing to do with.
Once I realized that there was really nothing the doctors could do for me if I turned down the medication, I became a researching dynamo and spent time reading books, talking with people and surfing the internet. I saw a naturopathic doctor and, together, we came up with an alternate route for me to take.
no gluten
no dairy
low saturated fat
lots of fish (I try to stay away from most other meat)
no eggs
high omega 3s and good fats
low sugar
no alcohol
regular exercise
regular sleep
I knew these changes could be good for anyone really and decided that, even if they didn't help, they certainly couldn't hurt!
By the end of my first five weeks following the strict program I had set for myself, the symptoms (which had built in number and severity) which I had been experiencing for nearly a year had vanished completely! I couldn't believe I had reacted so quickly. I attributed much of it to my subconscious but am convinced that my lifestyle changes were mostly to thank.
For a number of months I was doing fantastically. I had begun experimenting more with my cooking (which was a fairly new hobby to begin with), spending much more time with friends, lost quite a bit of weight and was feeling better and more energetic than I ever remembered feeling in my life! It was bliss! However, the old adage "out of sight, out of mind" could be used here. Once my symptoms were gone I slowly lost motivation. Once in a while I would nibble on a piece of cheese or sneak a piece of my favourite banana cake from a local restaurant and then it started to be more commonplace. Before I knew it I was eating something I shouldn't every other day and then I started to feel lousy again. Since then I've had some some symptoms come back and other new symptoms show up but they always come and go briefly and none have been anything but annoying (except the fatigue). I've been lucky but I've also gotten lazy. Once in a while I try to fall back into my 'chosen lifestyle' but never quite manage to do it.
More recently I've been having a bit of trouble walking (muscles in my back and legs will get stiff and it always gets worse the longer I walk). I've also been having problems with urgency and frequency. These happenings have finally been enough to spur me back into action with the diet. I've successfully cut out gluten and dairy and now I'm working on sugar and eggs (and am going to give beans a shot too). I'm also working to increase my exercise - I've joined a local yoga studio and will begin tai chi (something I studied when I was younger) this coming weekend. I know I need to increase my cardio too but I'm taking it slow and steady for now. I'm feeling very positive and am grateful that I found this site. It's so wonderful to read about others who've taken on the challenge of being in charge of themselves!
Another goal of mine is to not be tottering and stumbling as I walk down the aisle this summer. I am extremely lucky to have a fiance who supports me in every way. Wish me luck!