After a very successful – albeit exhausting – weekend in Manchester, UK, for MS Life 2014 (what a GREAT event!) where, among other activities, I gave two cooking demonstrations for people living with MS, I headed home to lick my travel wounds. I was very surprised at the toll that the trip was taking. By Thursday I thought that I was in the midst of a full-blown new MS “thing.” My thoughts were scattered (beyond normal), I was completely knackered, my speech pattern was confusing, and those close enough to care were asking: “Are you sure you’re okay?” I wasn’t… but I didn’t think the travel was that taxing. Then came Friday and it all began to make sense. I’d been experiencing a run-up to the viral explosion that some of us know as shingles. My shingles rashes are almost always on my left side – the side most affected by my MS. I didn’t note the pain until after the rash began and then my MS week started to make sense. With the immune system all amped up to deal with the chicken pox virus which causes shingles, I was having one hell of a pseudo exacerbation. Once my immune cells threw in the towel, it was as if the MS switch was turned back down to “normal” (well, “new normal”). Yes, as my friend says, MS , and I stepped in it good this week. Thus the reason I was missing from our pages for these past several days. It’s not my first bout with shingles, so I’ve got that part of it under control – as much as practicable. Thanks for the good wishes and I hope I’m back on the right side of the line once again. Wishing you and your family the best of health. Cheers Trevis Don’t forget to follow me on the Life With MS Facebook page and on Twitter, and subscribe to Life With Multiple Sclerosis.
