#thisgirlcan
Category: Exercise Referal Scheme
Love to exercise, addicted to pilates!
This was me today!
May have pushed myself a little too far in pilates as the MS fatigue took my voice & I had to sit for a while in my car with the air conditioning on before I could drive home!
Felt so good though, was well worth it!
I’m proud! Nailed the ‘100’ as well! (I think I did anyway ;))
#Ishapeme #pilates
Our duty to maintain our health
I shape me
#thisgirlcan ‘Body Balance with Kate King’
Tomorrow I am booked in for ‘Body Balance’ a new (to me) exercise class where the only person I know is the instructor who just happens to also be my pilates guru ‘Kate’
Kate is very keen for me to go to this class which is lovely & also thinks I will love it as it’s challenging! I do love a challenge!
She’s promised she’ll look after me but I still can’t help but be nervous! Like really nervous! I can feel my heart pounding in my chest just thinking about it!
Ooooo! My MegaSpecial alter ego thinks she’s going to win by bringing an anxiety attack on!
Ha! Think again MS! I got this! I control u not u me! U came along for this ride! U didn’t ask me for permission to share my life so deal with it!
I’m doing it! Kate will be there! I’ll be ok!
I got this! This girl can! This girl will! THIS GIRL DOES!
A weekend to remember!
So last week I was like…
Then last Friday, thanks to being able to return to exercise after having my back procedure-surgery-thingymebob I was all like “let’s…
And I over came another obstacle when my MS anxiety kicked in due to ‘Change’
I knew that my normal pilates instructor wouldn’t be teaching on Friday, a different lady was filling in for Kate!
I’m so glad Kate told me about this!
I had a choice, face up to my anxiety of change or let my MS win and ruin what kept me so positive through the physical pain of the week before….
I did it! I attended pilates and I took my normal space, at the front of the class next to the instructor!
I’m so glad I didn’t let my MS win! The instructor ‘Hannah’ was lovely! It was a different kind of pilates, different is good! Change IS good!
After the class Hannah asked me to hang back and wait for her.
She had been asked by my wonderful pilates instructor/guru to walk with me down the stairs. How lovely!
Due to the combination of my MS tremors after exercise & then the heat from outside of the air conditioned dance hall, I get quite weak so Kate always walks with me to my car. She had asked Hannah to do the same & she did. So kind!
I chatted with Hannah & a friend of hers for quite a while. They wanted to know all about me, my MS & my journey. It was great to share my story with them both, I think I did a good job of raising MS awareness!
That was Friday, a brilliant day that really lifted my spirits!
I had know idea what was planned for the rest of the weekend & neither did my partner.
Neither of us knew that the next day was going to be possibly one of the most exciting days of our lives, well mine for definite!…..
But before I sign off here’s some teasers for you…
My next blog, continuing from this one will contain these
These…
And this person…
Intrigued much?
Back ‘on it like a car bonnet’
Back to it today after a week recovering from my back procedure-surgery-thingymebob
Looking forward to it! Just one thing, it’s a different instructor & my MS Anxiety doesn’t like change!
Bring it on! One more thing for me to overcome! I can do this! Sticking my tongue out to the alter ego ‘MegaSpecial’ in me! She will not win!
#strongerthanMS #MegaSpecial #megaspecialinme
A MegaSpecial weekend to remember
I must say, it’s been a MegaSpecial kinda weekend & this week has started off just as good!
Full of awesome peapods & many giggles!
It started at 17:30 on Friday 8th May 2015 with the takeover of a twitter account belonging to an MS charity group called Shift.MS
Every weekend they let a member of the MS community take over their twitter account & this weekend was my turn!
I’d been really looking forward to it since I was first asked at the beginning of the year!
It took me a while to find the right subject to get Tweeps engaged but once I did the response was just brilliant!
I hear u asking what was the top subject?
Exercise & fatigue!
It’s amazing to see the reaction I get when I tell people how much I enjoy working out in the gym, attending pilates classes & even the occasional aqua aerobics!
I was one of those type’s of people that didn’t believe in myself enough to go to the gym or take part in exercise classes. Last July my neuro physiotherapist referred me onto an exercise scheme at my local gym & I’ve never looked back since!
The general chat on the @shiftms Twitter takeover was what sort of exercise people with MS do. I was also made aware that there is large amount of people that don’t agree with exercise & MS because of the amount of energy used and the problem most of us get with MS fatigue!
Very interesting chatter!
You won’t find me stopping my exercise though! It helps me manage my Chronic pain & as long as I pace myself I can generally cope with the fatigue side of it! That does tend to mean I have a lot of short naps!
The twitter takeover finished this morning at 9am. Before I said goodbye I shared some of my inspirational sayings and left people to mull them over.
I met a lovely lady after my first Wednesday pilates class, talking with her I found out that she not only teaches the ‘forever fit’ class (for the more seasoned) Laura also teaches an MS exercise class.
When she heard that I have SPMS (Secondary Progressive Multiple Sclerosis) I exercise at the gym & I was doing pilates she was amazed!
Laura then invited me to her MS class!
She told me the dates & times but with my MeSsy brain I forgot. Luckily my pilates instructor Kate got the dates & times for me again.
That class was today! I felt really nervous about going to the class but the fact that Laura really wanted me to attend was enough of a push to get me there!
I had a lovely reception from everyone when I arrived and a great introduction from Laura.
I’ll be honest, I had thought that all the exercises would be done sitting down and so I wasn’t suprised when the class started and everyone stayed seated!
I did however think that the exercises were a little basic to start. That was until I found myself needing a drink! I suffer with dry mouth so for me to need a lot of liquid isn’t unusual!
I then found myself taking off my t-shirt revealing my exercise top underneath! Then before I knew it I needed the gym towel out of my bag!
I asked every one in the exercise class if they are proud of themselves, they looked at me blank!
Then I pointed out to them how amazing they are for making the commitment to attend that class twice a month! It was a lot harder than I anticipated with the exercises challanging the brain as well as the body! Perfect for anyone with MS!
The instructor is wonderful! I found out that, to start off with she only taught the class whilst covering for someone else. Then ended up taking it up as her own class as it was enjoyed be everyone so much!
I shall definitely be going back to the next one in June!
Next time I shall make sure I have enough time to stop after for coffee & chats! Will be nice to get to know everyone & hear all their stories
Thank you Laura for inviting me to your class & thank you Kate for finding the times & dates out for me!
Constraints of my MS
Constraints of my MS
At the moment I feel I am doing very well with the acceptance of my MS.
Unfortunately this is such an unpredictable disease which I think makes it impossible to say that I have accepted every part of it.
Not many people know a lot about MS, I know I didn’t before I was told I have it.
I’ll explain a little about my MS. I say ‘my’ MS because not one person who has it is the same as another. We are all completely unique with our MS although the symptoms that we all have can be similar.
Now I am going to talk about one certain topic here but for you to understand I will have to go into detail about other symptoms which I will explain briefly with the aid of:
PAIN
Pain is only one of my symptoms!
This is probably one of the biggest things I have had to and still am learning to cope with!
Why do I have pain?
Pain
More than half of all people with multiple sclerosis will experience pain symptoms at some stage.
Pain can be defined as unpleasant sensory experiences. In MS this may encompass both ‘painful’ feelings and also altered sensations such as pins and needles, numbness, or crawling, burning feelings (known as dysaesthesia).
No two people will experience pain in the same way; it is very subjective and is best described by the person experiencing it.
Types of pain
There are two broadly recognised types of pain in MS:
Neuropathic pain
Also known as nerve pain, this is thought that this arises as a direct result of the damaged to the covering of nerves interfering with the normal transmission of information to the brain. However, the origin of most nerve pain is not fully understood. Examples of neuropathic pain include trigeminal neuralgia, an intense painful sensations in the face, and Lhermittes sign, sensations like electric shocks in the neck and spine.
Musculoskeletal pain
Also known as nociceptive pain. Nociceptors are pain receptors found throughout the body that respond to injury and inflammation. They send messages to the brain that are perceived as pain, usually in the joints or muscles. This type of pain is not directly related to MS, but may be worsened by it; for example, musculoskeletal pain can arise as the result of spasms or abnormal pressure on the muscles and joints due to changes in posture, typically in the back or hips.
Yes I take medication for it!
I’ve tried many different types of tablets, I’ve even tried holistic medicine like acupuncture which I find brilliant for relaxation but unfortunately the effect has never lasted long enough for me to use it as a regular way to self-control the pain.
So instead I have opted to continue with my cocktail of medication such as Pregabalin, Nortriptyline & Duloxetine
If you have clicked on the link for Duloxetine you will notice it is taken for depression, that’s a whole different topic which I’m sure I’ll speak about at some point!
So with my lovely cocktail of super strong neuropathic pain meds can you guess what my next biggest problem is with my MS?…..
Living life the MegaSpecial way! 