World MS Day (March) - Multiple Sclerosis Update - 2026

Another year has gone so new labs and MRIs are done to assess what is going on with my Multiple Sclerosis.  From an MS perspective my labs are good so I am tolerating my MS medication well, My MRI scans are showing stable no new lesions on my brain. The brain marble didn't grow as much this year but they say the exterior is getting warbly and still recommend brain surgery in the next year or two so yay.

The last year of run and triathlon training has kept most of my symptoms in check. That said I am still learning my limits. A week of conferencing even getting to bed early, eating right, etc still knocks me back and forces a couple days of rest and lighter schedules a week or two afterwards.

If you are new to my blog and don't know much about MS here is a 10 things to know about people like me list. https://multiplesclerosis.net/living-with-ms/world-ms-day-10-things

My two biggest issues most days are fatigue and neuropathy/dysesthesia. I am very effected by stress which causes my left leg and arm to burn and tingle. I manage that as best I can with a topical cream but it only goes so far. The more stressed I am (or the less down time I allow myself) the more it spreads on my left side and to my right hand and foot and eventually my lips (weird right) and then my mobility is impacted so it becomes a clear indicator to rest more. I still get hit by fatigue that forces my gears into slowmo and also an indicator to rest more. Otherwise as long as I pace myself my MS seems to be mostly managed and hopefully will stay that way. My MS docs thankfully agree.  They are a great team who also actively participate in MS research so when I meet with them like I did today they often share some of the things being studied and success in treating different MS issues.  Hopeful for a cure or at a minimum more treatments to reverse some of the MS damage for me and my MS friends.

MS Awareness month is in March but I was slow getting an update out with everything else that is going on. https://multiplesclerosisnewstoday.com/ms-awareness-month/

Every year I do a fundraiser with my MS DIY active team (Run a Myelin My Shoes - RAAMS) to raise funds for the MS Society to help with research and support for people like me and my teammates with MS. If you are willing and able to donate even a small amount my team and I would greatly appreciate it. You can donate by going here: https://events.nationalmssociety.org/participants/857805/donate

Here is another great MS Blog https://www.activemsers.org/

Not winning today

This week has been a lot.  Honestly the last nine months have been a lot with tons of work travel and responsibilities.  More to do than I can possibly get done at home and at work.  Today, right now, I am supposed to be in Clear Lake do a triathlon.  I’ve struggled with what to do all week.  First with lordy it’s going to be dangerously cold on the swim with water temps around 62 and air temps around 50.  I knew there was no recipe for success just to get through the swim, which is always a challenge for me, not for the swimming part as that is usually my best leg, but for the cold part.  It always leaves me gasping and last year I ended up doing most of it back stroke.  Thursday the race team following USAT rules decided the swim was going to be unsafe and opted to change the tri into a du which meant two runs and a bike.  One level of stress down.

That would have been fine however Wednesday I went home part way through the day as I just felt really off emotionally and physically. Last week Abby had left for her summer job and I am missing her pretty hard this week. Monday, I onboarded some new interns which can be overwhelming especially when I haven’t had time to work up our summer task list yet. Tuesday, I had a dr appointment where I really didn’t feel heard related to all thing perimenopause. And by Wednesday midday I was spent.  I went home and spent the afternoon emotionally finishing a book.  By Wednesday evening an MS flare had caught up with me and my left arm and leg were on fire.

Most of the time when people look at me, they would have no idea that I’m struggling with an incurable but mostly manageable chronic illness.  I work hard to stay fit and take care of my family, but my MS can have a mind of its own and it forces me to take care of me.  This was one of those weeks.  I can usually tell I am overdoing it when Dysesthesia (an abnormal sensation, often described as a burning or prickling pain, that is triggered by nerve damage) kicks in.  It feels like I have a bad sunburn that won’t go away.  I also have neuropathy with pins and needles in my hands and feet.  Both come and go or are more intense anyway, when I have been overdoing it.  The Dysesthesia has been with me for a couple of weeks but intensifying to the point the last couple of days my topical nerve cream and Tylenol have been my saving grace.  Things touching my skin like my shirt and shoes hurts, swimming every time my arm goes in the water hurts.  Most of the time I just ignore it as it is kind of naggy but not very intense.

Clear Lake Tri last year

With the flare kicking in Wednesday, it also meant my mobility was challenged as flares make my left hand and leg does not want to do what the rest of me wants to do.  It is one of the few times people can tell I am struggling with my disability as my gait will be off, and my use of my hand may look not quite right.  Thursday I was feeling pretty low, but the universe must have known I needed some love.  One of my favorite racing friends reached out to see if I was racing this weekend, and two of my good friends reached out to see what my plans were for my birthday on Sunday and lifted my spirits. By Friday morning the flare was starting to subside, but I was still struggling with a fair bit of pain, but I went about gathering gear and making plans to still race.

Friday night sitting on the couch with my honey I decided to factor in the rest of my weekend into my decisions.  Getting up at 4:30 in the morning to drive up to Clear Lake and race.  Spending almost 3 hours racing and then driving back home were looking like a daunting task.  My training focus has been mostly gearing up for my first marathon in June, so this race was not high on my priority list, but I had been looking forward to challenging myself and seeing my race friends.  I know there will be more races, and this was at best a B or C race in my overall plan, so I opted to pull out.

My activities for the weekend also include babysitting Steve’s adorable grandson Bodie who is two on Sunday (I am BG - bonus grammy).  Sunday is also my 51^st birthday.  Since I plan to spend time with family and friends and have more than enough activities here to keep me busy like finishing planting our garden, getting the house painting restarted, and working on my huge pile of books.  Those activities this weekend feel like time better spent, and emotionally/physically what I need to be doing this weekend.

So, this blog isn’t about asking for sympathy, but about being honest with myself about the limitations MS puts on me sometimes.  There will always be more races, and for as long as I am able, I will be toeing the start lines with my friends, but I know it’s okay to step back.  This isn’t the first race I’ve DNS and probably won’t be my last and I am okay with that, but I will keep showing up when I am able.

Me at the finish line last year
With my honey Steve.

Have an awesome long weekend everyone.  Please consider donating today to the MS Society on my behalf, so we can someday find a cure, and reverse some of the damage done by this currently incurable disease.

https://events.nationalmssociety.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=donordrive.participant&participantID=604229

MS Update - 2024

It's been a while since I have checked in here.  I keep queueing up ideas on things I want to share but haven't taken the time to collect my thoughts. It’s been over ten years since my official Multiple Sclerosis diagnosis.  I've had a lot of ups and downs the last six years but it seems most of them are accident related (racoons, foot fracture, IT band issues, shoulder angst, migraines, ankle fracture, etc) and while my MS effects me every day it is minor in the grand scheme of things.

I came across the word disABILITY on one of the MS blogs I read and thought it was a good summary of my MS and me.  I am fighting to retain my ABILITY with my disability.  I learn new things about my illness each year.  This year I had a lot more good days then bad, but found I don't have the stamina I'd like especially when going to multi day events or activities.  If I don't build rest into my schedule then it makes it hard by day three to keep going.

The link below was very relatable for me.  I am working hard to stay present.  Focusing on my goals and not letting the worry of the future with MS ruin my now.

https://multiplesclerosisnewstoday.com/columns/2024/05/21/feel-like-ive-lost-time-living-multiple-sclerosis/

This year as I said has been mostly good. My neurologists say I am stable, my MRIs are holding same with no active disease progressions showing on the scans.  I am on a great med with very few side effects and only slows me down two days a year.  I am still doing physical therapy to continue to work through my deficiencies and am doubling down on doing my homework for that each week.

I am doing better at managing my energy, as the funny thing about taking on a part-time teaching gig while working full time, is I spend at least one day every weekend on the couch working on class stuff so it rather forces me to be in a resting state instead of a working on the house or running around doing chores.  The house stuff gets done eventually, and I have a wonderful partner that is a great cook so I contribute when I need or want to in the kitchen.

I've been diligent about putting my fitness activities on the calendar and following through.  I need to get back to monitoring my nutrition as the holidays have lead to a few more pounds to my bits and pieces.  I have big goals though so diet and exercise will be driving me in 2025 which in turn supports my MS journey.  So I have set my intentions to focus on the now, live life to the best of my ability, and adjust plans as I need to to live my best life.  As they say in my world, I have MS but it doesn't have me.

MS update - Buying Time and Holding on to Hope

Time for my usually annual MS update.  

To be fair I lost a lot of last year with trying to get Abby through her Eagle Project, and Eagle and Graduation ceremonies, choir and band concerts, gatherings, all the last things of a high school senior and I did a lot of this with a boot on my foot as the birthday curse hit again with a broken foot in late March that carried me through May.  So I guess this update is for the last two years.

One of the things with having a chronic illness is one becomes hyper vigilant of all the aches and pains and weird that pop up.  Here are a list of common MS symptoms and mine include: Fatigue, Brain Fog, Occasional Acute Pain, Spasticity, and Pins and Needles (this one is nearly constant in my hands and feet)  https://www.healthline.com/health/multiple-sclerosis/lingo-defined

I work really hard to try not to get overly stressed and as a result most of these things leave me alone most of the time.  It is hard to know what is caused by MS and what is a new an exciting annoying health adventure.  One thing I have learned is I have to keep doing my homework on research, advocating for what I need, and paying attention to the signs.

That said, I spent the end of April and beginning of May feeling pretty good in the mornings, and feeling like I am moving through molasses in the afternoon.  That false hope of a great day crushed by the demon of MS day after day for a couple of weeks.  It doesn't mean I am not terrified that the next micro flare won't be permanent, but I live my life with hope that tomorrow will be better.  It makes me grateful for days that are awesome all the way through where I am able to do all the things I want to get done and not have to pick and choose knowing I won't get past noon.  It also reminds me to ask for help, and give myself some grace when I struggle.

Yesterday I had one of my twice a year infusions of Ocrevus.  Right now it is likely the best MS disease modifying therapy (DMT) on the market for stopping the progression of MS and greatly reducing inflammation of the nervous system.  I used to go down to MercyOne in Des Moines for these treatments and it would burn a whole day in a big noisy infusion center, but with several friends going to our local infusion center for treatment, and getting moved to the faster treatment I went from almost two hours in the car and 5-6 hours in the center, to walking to my infusion, and in and out in four hours.  I even had my own room.  It was awesome.  The article below is a great recap of what the DMTs really do for us and I added a great quote from it below.

https://multiplesclerosisnewstoday.com/columns/chairborne-a-column-by-ben-hofmeister/2023/04/27/our-treatments-multiple-sclerosis-arent-cures-vital-time-buyers/

"Ocrevus is a disease modifier, but it isn’t a cure. MS is slowed or halted, but not eliminated. The damage is done, and short of a remyelinating therapy, I may not get any better. In the meantime, the hope is that I won’t get any worse. With that goal in mind, Ocrevus seems to be an excellent time-buyer."

With that my last two MRIs and health checks with my MS support team have shown that my illness is stable.  No new activity showing up, no growth of the weird tumor in my brain, no new symptoms so I will just keep on keeping on.  Advocating for what I need, managing my stress (really so terrible at this), doing my best with regular exercise and good food choices, and making plans to live my best life.

I am surrounded by people who care and support my mission and for that I am grateful.  Wishing you all the best in health.

Birthday Adventures - What NOT to Wish For

From this years birthday

After a run in with a feisty raccoon that left me getting a rabies shot on my birthday this year, I spent some time reflecting on birthdays past.  I worked up a list of things that happened on or around my birthday the past 10 years.  Here is a random list of things I don't wish for on my birthday:

• A black eye (got hit by a bicycle coming off the garage ceiling while trying to protect my toddler below) (2011)
• An MS diagnosis shortly before my 40th birthday (2013)
• A pandemic birthday (we all had that last year 2020)
• A divorce finalized a few weeks before (2019)
• T-boned and totaled car on my birthday (2016)
• Crazy raccoon mama mauling (2021)... nasty pictures at the bottom... you are warned.

Newt and I on the dock

As for the mauling for those of you who are curious, I was running on ISU campus on the SW side which is very urban. It was 7:30 in the morning.  My friend, puppy and I were just meeting up with other parts of our running group, and out of the corner of my eye I saw an angry mass chasing me down.  She ran past my friend and latched on to the back of my leg and wouldn't let go.  I tried to spin around to fight her off and she quickly latched on to the front of my leg as I fell down.  I had the dog leash in my left arm and had to punch her off my with my right.  My left leg needed 19 stitches and my right hand and arm was bitten and scratched as well.

Flowers make me happy

I spent five hours in the ER while they patched me up and waited on the rabies antibodies and vaccine as well as antibiotics and bandages.  It took a couple of days before I could sort of walk as my leg and hand were badly swollen.  Rabies shots aren't as bad as they used to be.  You take them in the arm like a regular vaccine and you get four over 21 days.  They did the three rabies antibody shots in my leg and other arm.  I received a follow up rabies shot on my birthday, one this past weekend and have one left next weekend.

My clean porch
finally after 2 years.

As for the mama raccoon, she had two football sized babies.  Animal control said it looked like she had been in a fight with something so she was probably on alert and it was bad luck that I came through with my dog while she was still out of her tree.  I don't blame her for protecting her littles. They set traps and cordoned off the area but after five days she didn't take the bait.  She was still tending her babies when they collected things so likely doesn't have rabies and thankfully didn't need to be put down.  Also glad as I had my MS infusion the Monday before this and am supposed to wait two months for vaccines afterwards so the rabies vaccines probably are not very effective.

Newt was so happy I 
was okay when I got home

I got my stitches out nine days later, and while my ankle is still swollen and my leg still looks not great, I am happy to be on the mend.  This time of year people especially with little ones or dogs need to be careful in the evenings and early mornings, because the wildlife mamas are protecting their babies.  There was a possum incident with a neighbor cat this weekend so had a chat with the animal control officer who also worked the raccoon case.  The city of ames requires animals (pets - dogs and cats) to be on a leash at all times in the city limits.  Cats are incredibly destructive to the wildlife so please keep them indoors.  We have to share our outdoor spaces with the furry natives.

Cy on the way to my 
rabies shot.  First visit in
a wheel chair, second via 
car, today I walked there.

While this past two weeks was hard (no running or swimming, very little gardening, tough times walking, no dog walks, and stairs oh my) I've been through worse.  I had this song by AJR "Way less sad" stuck in my head a couple days in the beginning.  "Don't you love it, don't you love it? No, I ain't happy yet, But I'm way less sad."  So while I am still healing I get a little better every day.  I ran walked with my running friends today, and swam (just pull) yesterday so staring to get back into the swing of things). Now if Mother Nature would just cool things down a bit so I could go back outside that would be super!

I will close with a few things I am grateful from birthdays past and present:

• Time spent with family and friends
• Pre-derecho birthday storm while social distancing with friends (2020) we got wet but enjoyed each others company
• Flowers, flowers, plants and more flowers (I love May)
• An occasional gift, chocolate cake, flowers... a new to me old truck (2016)
• Garden therapy, pulling weeds and planting more flowers



my neglected garden

• The day long hum of chainsaws as a tree is being cut down outside  no not that...
• Bike rides with friends and family
• Dock time with friends and family

Really any time with the people I care about thanks to the wonders of Facebook, my birthday and a raccoon mauling many of you reached out personally this year to check in which I really appreciated.  It lifted my spirits and made me feel pretty loved.  

I am grateful to have you in my life.

Fun in the ER

May next year be less eventful but still yield a good story or two.  Wish you all fresh air, time with family and friends, and beautiful flowers.  Until next time thank you for reading.

The back of my leg after a week or so,
still looks about the same today
minus all the stiches

My hand a couple of days later

A look to the future - Tough decisions ahead - May 2021

Well, I said there would be several updates in May.  This one is loaded with intrigue and science... or something.  The last 15 months have been challenging to say the least with a pandemic, kids and work from home, new normal after new normal after new normal (yes I have a blog post coming about that too).  

Being grumpy at people not wearing masks.  Being grumpy at people who refuse to get a vaccine.  Stalking vaccine sites to try to get a vaccine appointment.  Trekking all over the state to get Abby and I vaccines.  Trying to run the numbers for when the last possible day I could get a vaccine and still be in my 60 day window for getting my MS med will still having 4-8 weeks time after the vaccine before I needed to get my MS med, and now after all that not even knowing if the vaccine will even work for me (MS research with the rNA based vaccines like Pfizer and Moderna show a 22% efficacy rate for people who take Ocrevus).  I may be wearing a mask for a long time yet.  Head spinning yet?

Well mine is... let me just add to the excitement right now...  My MRI in March, while showing my MS to be stable (no new or active lesions on my brain or upper spine Yay!) also showed I have a golf ball sized brain tumor.  Right now that is an okay thing.  It is not cancer, and is not growing very fast (Although I plan to have my neurosurgeon look at my past MRIs to see if he will assess how fast it has been growing since they started doing regular MRIs in 2014... I'm a data girl living in a data driven world...)   https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/meningioma/symptoms-causes/syc-20355643

Apparently my old MS doctor knew I had this thing in my brain but never found it to be worth telling me about (I read it in my chart a couple of years ago and had to look up what it was... needless to say he is no longer providing me with care.) I was thinking this was just 4-5mm in size but when the neurosurgeon showed me the MRI it was WAY bigger then I thought.  They know it isn't cancerous because it has feet on it that follow the surface of my brain.

Anyhoo, this doesn't mean I am out of the woods.  The problem is the part of my brain this growing mass is in, is also the same part of my brain that can cause symptoms identical to my MS.  Yes that is right... so how does one know if the golf ball in there is causing a malfunction or if my MS is.  Ah, well the Doc said if the symptoms come on like an MS flare, but don't go away then it is probably the golf ball growing further into my brain.  He said I am young and that he is happy to pop in there and get it out for me before it causes more damage.  I was all, um we are talking about major brain surgery yeah, so I think I will just wait and see for bit okay thanks.

The obvious risk with the wait and see option is that if it grows into an important part of my brain and starts causing obvious problems, then it will be harder to remove.  So the place I am at right now is to see if my old doc will send my new doc my past MRIs so the surgeon can see how rapidly (or not) it has been growing the last seven years and have him assess at that rate when it might start causing problems.  I am a data gal and I need more information before I let my perfectly lovely neurosurgeon go poking around in my brain.

Which reminds me of this blog post from President Barak Obama on how to approach tough decisions.  I am asking the tough questions, getting more data, and weighing in with people I trust.  https://barackobama.medium.com/how-i-approach-the-toughest-decisions-dc1b165cdf2d  

And then I just keep marching because LIFE COULD BE SO MUCH WORSE, which brings me to this blog post from MS News about looking forward.  

https://multiplesclerosisnewstoday.com/news-posts/2021/04/12/pandemic-vaccine-looking-ahead Most of my family and friends are now vaccinated or mostly vaccinated so I am starting to look outside my bubble.  I have a birthday in a few days and I have invited some of my vaccinated friends to come spend a couple of hours at my place.  So I have this timeline driving me to clean my porch, parlor, table, counters and get rid of clutter.  It has been two years since I moved in... if stuff is still in boxes I don't really need it do I? Free stuff table in my future... after Mother Nature finishes watering all my plants for me.

I am looking forward to some mini vacations in nature, and time spent with family.  I am spending A LOT of time in my yard planting more things that will make me smile when they grow and bloom.  And I am doing what I can each day to live my best life when so many days this last 15 months feels like we are all just surviving not thriving.  We got this ya'll (I am working hard to change my mindset to the positive).  I look forward to the day when I can give everyone hugs again so here is hoping they are just around the corner.  Be safe out there! 😍🙋

MS Update - May 2021

March was national MS Awareness Month so I thought I would give you an MS update (got distracted so now it is May, and I will have 2-3 updates to share this month).  I started MS Month with an MRI to make sure that my new MS med Ocrevus is working.  If you are following along you know I started this new med almost a year ago.  It requires me to go to an infusion center for day long treatments.  I had 3 infusions in 2020 down in Des Moines all during covid and I don't much look forward to those days because they are long and pretty noisy.  I had my first infusion of 2021 this week and it was way better with noise canceling headphones. I took Aleve with me as the first three infusions caused a pounding headache afterwards but I didn't need it.  I think listening to Spotify on the headphones and reading a book about nutrition in the morning, and napping when the Benadryl they give me kicked in left me in a better mode and no headache this time.  I did have weird weakness in my legs after I finished but it didn't last too long.  

The MRI showed I appear to be responding to the new meds and am for the most part tolerating it fairly well.  I've been a little off the last couple of days since my meds but hard to say if it is the meds fault.

The last 15 months with working from home, kids schooling from home, trying to deal with the stress of a pandemic has been pretty hard on my MS.  Stress is a HUGE factor to how I feel and how often and long I have flares.  I've asked less of the kids because we are all just trying to get through the school year, but being the only adult in the house most of the time I carry most of the burden of tending animals, getting us all fed, cleaning house and trying to get us all where we need to be.  I'll be honest it's been a lot.  Right after that MRI I had a ten day flare with bad fatigue, brain fog, and pain.  Those usually only last a day or two and settle down when I rest but this one didn't and I'll be honest that stuff scares the crap out of me.  

I never know if the flare just won't go away so it is just a reminder that I have to take care of myself and manage the intensity of my day.  I have a regular counseling session to let go of some of the weight.  I've been trying to swim, walk and run regularly, and trying to keep my workload balanced but it still isn't easy.  We all need to listen to our bodies, feed them right, rest when we need rest, talk to someone when we feel heavy, and look for opportunities to appreciate all the good we have in our lives.

We all need to just keep doing the best we can and be kind to each other.  Until next time thanks for reading.

MS Update - Infusions and CoVID

So 2020 has been a raging dumpster fire across the US but I’m feeling fine.  Here is where I last left you in February.  https://blaesing-thompson.blogspot.com/2020/02/ms-update-and-bunch-of-other-health-st.html I was still navigating food sensitivities, mineral imbalances and starting a new MS med.  Add hiding out from COVID (my dining room table is my office now) middle school tutor (my youngest schools across the table from me every other week) the s$%&show that is the government, plus racist dialog/unrest and the last seven months have been a lot to take in.

Today I am hanging out in the infusion center down at Mercy Des Moines spending 8 hours pumping chemicals into my body to keep it from revolting on me.  I go every six months with this new med.  I had an MRI four weeks ago, and it showed the lesions that formed last fall are healing (YAY!) and that a lesion that formed before I started Ocrevus (late March) is no longer active and no new lesions.  So with MS the doctors can see lesions (little gaps in the protective cover - myelin ) on my nervous system and then they put in a contrast agent and if they have a halo they are considered active.

So nothing active is a good sign that my MS is not progressing with my new meds.  My MS symptoms like the dysthesia of last fall are far apart and a lot more mild.  Likely due to permanent damage to the myelin from when my last med wasn’t working.  I still have parathesia with the weird tingling in my feet and hands along with mild fatigue but the herbs and MS meds seems to be leveling me out.  These meds seem to have far milder side effects.  I get a roaring headache the 24 hours after the infusion, and may have thinning hair which I am countering by adding Biotin.

I still push myself harder then I should most of the time because there is so much life I want to live while I can live it the way I want to.  Our time here is short and I am so grateful that I only have to come for an infusion every six months especially if this med go to use to work for me.

There are many people here at the center coming in twice a week, month, etc for life saving infusions.  I can suffer through the beating, alarms, noisy TV neighbors and nurses coming in to measure vitals ever 30 minutes if it means I can continue to stay fit, spend time with my family and love, and continue the upkeep on this big old house (more on house renos later.  So with that. I will leave you with a post from one of my favorite MS bloggers that captures some of my feels on MS and life right now.

https://www.everydayhealth.com/columns/trevis-gleason-life-with-multiple-sclerosis/when-living-in-a-pandemic-or-with-ms-enough-is-plenty/  “Enough is plenty”

Know you are loved.  Wishing you all a great week.

The Weird of MS

I have had parathesia in my feet and hands most of the time since my MS diagnosis.  Parathesia is a mild tingling sensation kind of like touching a low voltage electric fence, or a tuning fork after its humming.  I also have had Dysesthesia in my left foot for several years which makes my foot feel like it’s tender and sunburned.  Most of the time I didn’t notice it except in the evenings or when I’d get over tired or stressed.  A month ago it reared up in my left hand.  I get the throbbing and burning and if it is bad more of an electric buzzing.  Washing my hand hurt as well as picking up some things. Thursday I woke up and the burning and pain had spread to 90% of my body and is more intense.

Putting on clothes and shoes, carrying things in my hand, even sitting on hard certain surfaces suddenly became intense enough to bring me to tears.  Thursdays I drive my son to band so he doesn’t have to tote his trombone to school.  So I loaded myself up which brought me to tears that I quickly managed so I could be happy mommy when I picked him up.  I got him dropped off at school and he realized he forgot his book which he set down to put on shoes, so I ran back to Joes and grabbed that which put me to tears again.  I dropped off his book and headed to my office.  I knew I wasn’t staying, but had left my laptop on my desk so it could update for a couple days.  I collected what I needed and shuffled out.

Once home I Sent a note to my primary doc and waited.  I’d had a similar pain on my lower half in 2012-13 timeframe before my official MS diagnosis which she thought was shingles. (Always suspected it was my MS looking back).  She passed the buck and sent me to my neurologist who quickly confirmed my fears.  Dysesthesia!  No real treatment just Gabapenten which is a nerve blocker of sorts.  I had some from when I had shingles last spring so started taking it Thursday hoping it helped.  So far it’s taking the edge off, but little things like a hug, or putting clothes on and off, sitting all make me cringe.  I’ll still willingly take on any hugs (don’t worry if I cringe) 



I did go swim on Friday as I needed a little fresh air, and ran 4.4 miles on Saturday.  I noticed however that not only is my skin sensitive and burning, but it’s making my muscle response in my left leg feel different when I exercise for more than 20 minutes or so. It’s Almost like that leg is fatiguing faster and I have less control of it.  I'm also noticing my recognition of being cold on that side is also limited since the skin feels like it’s burning warm. Neurologic signals in my body often lie and that lying is running rampant on my left side now.

So what does that mean for the future?  I’ll keep praying each day that the symptoms subside (MS is weird like that as symptoms can rear for weeks or months and then disappear again like a sleeping dragon).  I’m increasing my gabapenten dosage per my neurologists recommendation, and I’ll start a several month round of CBD oils once my supply arrives.  I’m also planning to cut out excess sugar and the last of the processed foods o still eat between thanksgiving and Christmas to see if that helps too. Hopefully with that, regular exercise and better sleep things will calm back down.

In the meantime I’ll leave you with a nice article about Dysesthesia.  I’ll be okay either way because there are so many great reasons to keep on moving. 

Hope you all have a wonderful thanksgiving!

https://www.healthline.com/health/dysesthesia

MS Update - A New Ride in 2019

Well it is that time of year again.  I am registered to participate in an MS Bike ride.  I am not able to do the Iowa ride this year which is fine as it is only so exciting after so many years of doing that one.  So I signed up for a two day ride in early June only to learn that is the week I am due to close on the houses.  So third time’s a charm, I’ve signed up for a one day ride in May in Minneapolis (I hope it isn’t still snowing up there).

I have a couple of friends interested in riding with me but would love to have a few more people on our team.  The team sign up is here: http://main.nationalmssociety.org/goto/dream_team

As you know the MS ride is important to my family as I was diagnosed in 2013/14 and these MS rides are a major fundraiser for supporting the great work of the National MS Society.  Their big push lately is supporting research for people with progressive MS like some of my friends. They are also supporting research in mylien repair which can be of direct benefit for people like myself.

I know on the surface I look like I’m doing well and getting around fine (well maybe not on weeks when I am having a flare up but thankfully those are not frequent.). I still struggle with neuropathy (tingling) in my hands a feet, brain fog and slowness as well as occasional bladder control issues.  I’ve figured out things to help me when those get overwhelming and most of the time I do pretty good (so long as I manage my stress that is).  I am actually struggling with intermittent flare ups the last five days so I've been

taking time to rest since I will be on the road seven working days starting next Monday.

Anyway the purpose of this blog is just to do a gentle ask, if you can afford to help (even the smallest donations can make a difference if many people give) to send a donation to the MS society on my behalf and support the great things they do for people like me.     http://main.nationalmssociety.org/goto/ShawnBlaesing2019

Thanks for the consideration.  Sending you all love.

Season End Run Race Reports - Ups and Downs

Run for the roses

In late August I started batting around the idea of doing another half marathon this
year, but I wanted to get a longer timed run in as well.  It’s been a long time since
I’ve done a 10k run (6.2 miles). Run for the roses (in mid Oct.), which is a
fundraising run, was coming up and we decided to do it as a family.

Abby (just finishing cross country season) and Joshua (in the middle of soccer
season) were both in good shape for a 5k.  Joe who had major back issues
earlier this year has been rehabbing and working with a trainer while easing
back into the run. This race runs a 5k and an hour later runs a 10k.  So I
watched the family start and then went inside to get warm as it was a cool wet day.

Then I watched them finish with Joshua coming in first (3rd in his age group),
Abby came in second (6th in her age group just short of her goal) and Joe
came in third (2nd in his age group).  

I gave them my rain gear and we headed out for the 10k start.  I was happy the rain
stopped shortly after our start and we were off.  This course begins on the middle
school track where we do two laps before heading off down the trails behind the
middle school, up state street hill and around to the front of the middle school,
then we reversed our trip and went through the hilly neighborhoods and back up
state street to the trails to finish.  The 10k race was mostly dry but threw plenty of
hills at us. I felt strong the first four miles or so but then the little hills started to get
to me. I managed to push through and finished in good spirits with a solid time
and 2nd place age group finish. The family had finished their omelettes by the
time I got in and were at the finish to cheer me in.  All in all it was a solid race
for me and I’ll have to do it again next year. Hopefully with less soggy weather.

Before the 5k start

Race stats 2/6 W40 Shawn Blaesing-Thompson, 44*, Kelley, IA 57:29

Hillbilly Hike Half Marathon

As I noted above this was a bit of a last minute decision.  In mid-September I was
trying to decide if I had enough time to train for the Des Moines half, which I have
done several times, or Hillbilly Hike half which was purported to be flat and a
fundraiser.  I opted for Hillbilly which gave me a couple more weeks to train.
About the same time I signed up I rolled my bad ankle on a training run and
am still nursing that back to a point where it doesn’t ache.

I spent the weeks leading up to this race training with a group of experienced
runners several of whom were also doing this race.  I felt like I put in the miles
I needed although I had no expectations of having a PR as I hadn’t been real
consistent with my training.  

Leading up to race day, my body had other ideas so while my MS is pretty much
in check although not without limitations, I started having some other issues.  
Starting a couple months ago I’d take my evening meds and feel like they would
get hung up in my esophagus and make me uncomfortable.
Then I had several nights where I’d wake from sleep with shooting pain in my
chest and back.  After the second time in a week I went to see my Dr who put me
on a reflux med and five days later another attack. I finally got a scope done but to
no avail. Either stress or med induced acid reflux I guess. Anyway, I’ve generally felt rather crummy the last three weeks so wasn’t sure how things
were going to shake out for the race.

So race day.  This is a point to point race so we had to be down to Carlisle early to
catch a bus to our run starts.  Joe decided to do the 10k so was on a different bus.
It was chilly and I had batted attire ideas around the night before with my coach
John Mongar and opted for more layers rather than less.  We stayed on the bus
until 15 minutes before the race started in Indianola, and then with my training
buddies we started the race. The pace was pretty assertive and on a normal day
for me it wouldn't have been a problem, but by the first water stop at about 2.2 miles
I started to get a stitch in my side.  I never get stitches and it started to work itself
around into my mid back like the attacks I’d been having only milder.

I just kept running and my teammates started to pull away by mile five.  Fortunately
it seemed when I’d start to get in a funk a new temporary running buddy would
appear, chat with me and keep me going.  This went on over and over throughout
the race and for that I was grateful. I still had stretches alone where I had to dig
deep on this cold and eventually drizzly race day but just kept putting one foot in
front of the other.  By the last four miles I was really struggling and started to walk
longer at each water stop and then shuffle some more. I walked half of the last
mile and finally was walking with another lady and we decided to hustled to the
finish.  By then I kept getting dizzy and was really feeling not well. Thanks
goodness Joe was at the finish line and offered to go get the car as I was shaking
from the cold, dizzy and really uncomfortable.

By some fluke I managed to finish the race in the range I gave my coach (2:10 - 2:20)
but without my body failing on me it probably could have been a PR day.  Either way
I was grateful to be able to run even if it didn’t turn out the way I expected.
Here is to improving health. I have big plans for 2019 so will post more about that
later.  For now, thank you for reading.

AG finish 13/21 Shawn Blaesing-Thompson - Final official time 2:19:28