How important pets can be!

People can be quite divided on the benefits of having a pet. But in my opinion having a pet gives you something else to focus on and the love, and entertainment in Rosie's case, is priceless! 

When we bought our house, back in 2001, one of the first things we wanted to do was get a cat. I had grown up surrounded by dogs, as my parents bred Newfoundlands and my Mum, with the dogs, were registered as PAT (Pets As Therapy) dogs. So when Martin said he wanted a cat, I was a little nervous as I had no experience with cats, at all, but that was when we got our first one, Pudney. 

 

We adopted her from a local rescue centre but sadly she passed away, unexpectedly, after we'd only had her for three and a half years. 

Soon after we bought home Barnaby, he was approximately 6 years old, again from a rescue centre.

 

After we'd had him for a while, I had the bright idea of getting a second one so we bought home a 6 month old called Kit Kat!

All I could see was both of them cuddled in with each other.........unfortunately that never ever happened!

We moved to our wheelchair accessible flat in 2015 and were able to bring both cats with us. 

We lost Barnaby in 2016 and Kit Kat in 2021 and decided we needed a break. Kit Kat had really bonded with Martin......actually they all do but we think that is because he feeds them, and even though we were both heartbroken when we lost her, it was sudden and she was only 14, Martin struggled with her loss so we didn't contemplate getting another one. 

 

I am on Facebook and on this particular day it was international pet day and there were photos of pets and people celebrating the day. I decided to put a post up wishing everyone a happy day, saying that we would get another cat one day! I was then contacted by a relative of Martin's, in Bournemouth, who explained she had a friend who runs a rescue centre in Poole and there was a cat that they wanted to get out of the area. She then sent a photo of the cat and she was a Persian! 

Now a little back story! A few years ago Martin had seen a Persian cat and fallen in love with the breed, this was before grumpy cat! We had accepted that we would never get one though as we only ever adopt ours from rescue centres and a Persian cat would never end up in a rescue centre, would they?! 

Apparently Rosie had been owned by an older couple, who didn't know how to deal with her, and subsequently she ended up at a wonderful rescue centre in Poole. 

After a serious discussion we decided that it was too good an opportunity and we have a lot of love to give a pet who just needs a bit of attention........Little did we know then what we were taking on or just how much attention she'd want/need! 😹

Having only ever rescued moggies, we approached this with the same attitude, the cat would guide us with what they wanted........she certainly does that! We knew that Persian cats were known to sleep a lot but we didn't know how fussy she'd be with her food or that she would come with SO much fur! We've only had domestic short haired cats before, never a long haired one and yes, she looks beautiful but that coat takes a lot of maintenance! So does the floor, Martin has never done so much hoovering! 😹

It is something that, although we joke about her maintenance, we genuinely had no idea what would be involved. I groom her every morning but that wasn't enough to stop her getting huge knots and matted fur all over when her new coat grew. We ended up needing to get a professional groomer to deal with it all as she was in quite a mess 😿 

She had previously been allergic to the spot on flea treatment that we'd got from our vet. She had horrible patches over her and her coat didn't look good so her flea treatment was changed to a tablet, don't get me started about the production it takes to give her that......she is so intelligent, on one occasion she kept the tablet in her mouth until we put her on the floor and then spat it out! 

We are lucky because we are at home all day so we are able to give her the attention she needs but we really had no idea what it would involve. She definitely tells us when she wants attention and if she's not getting what she wants she will sit on the table and stare at us until one or other of us gives in! 😹 

So our advice is to do your research! 

Another thing that has really surprised us is just how entertaining she is and she really can be an absolute nutter. She uses the area going from the hallway into our lounge, through the kitchen, as a speedway track and it is hilarious to watch! 😹 

Even now, two and a half years down the road, she still entertains us on a daily basis and I know this helps me be able to concentrate on something other than my pain. She also finds new positions to sit or lie in and my phone is full of photos of her in a huge variety of different positions. She doesn't use the same space for too long either, she definitely appreciates different views! 

Last year we bought her a tower because she was sleeping on one of our tall speakers. The trouble was she goes into such a deep sleep and the speaker surface wasn't very big so she would fall off! 

They really are a huge commitment but, in my opinion, absolutely worth it. It is not only the love and entertainment that a pet gives you, it is the knowledge that you are giving an animal a second chance and in our case, as we have no children, our cats are our babies. 

We have a lot of love to give and how can you not love this face?! 😹

XxXxX 💕

Support and how important it is!

Everyone talks about needing support and they are right! 

Over the years of having problems with my health, I have come to really appreciate having support and feeling cared about. It sounds like such an obvious statement to say but it's true!

I was always such an independent person. I knew what I wanted and I went for it. But being diagnosed with a chronic illness meant I had to change my way of thinking and it is something that I am still working on......it has never come easy. I never expected to need so much help by the time I'm fifty but I'm incredibly lucky to have my husband, Martin, by my side and helping me with everything. I honestly have no idea what I would do without him. He is my full time carer and he does so much for me/us/Rosie but he will always be my husband first and carer second. 

Support comes in many different forms, there is the support you get from the medical side. Mine started with my GP and then my MS consultant, who has been such a valuable person for me to go to when my symptoms change or I just have questions about the condition. I am so lucky with him as he is one of the best and has been involved with a lot of research over the years. It gives me the confidence to go to him when I do have questions. 

Then there is support from family and friends. 

I am blessed to have some wonderful friends who are really there for me.  

There is also the support you get from friends you make along your MS journey and these can be so important as they really do understand what you are going through. You can lean on each other when you're going through difficult times. 

Of course social media has made it a lot easier to connect with people, whether they are from your past or when you are finding new support along the way. 

On the negative side I have also had people who have stopped contacting me because they haven't known how to deal with my situation but I've tried not to take that to heart. It is a difficult situation because if you don't have experience with illness or disability then it's difficult to know how to react to someone. I have found that honesty is the best policy and I am open and honest about my symptoms.....all of them. 

It is quite obvious that I am disabled, especially when I'm using my wheelchair but just because I struggle physically my brain still works and I would much prefer that people talk to me and ask me questions directly. 

When you are given a life changing diagnosis it can be very easy to dig a hole and stay there, but try and remember that there are people around who are possibly experiencing similar things and who are happy to help you through. I know it's not true for everyone but reach out and there will be someone who will guide you. 🥰 

Sending love and Rosie cuddles

XxXxX 💕

Rosie giving her Daddy a massage!

Peekaboo! 😹

When you have MS.....

When you have MS.....

When you have MS......and then you get something like a cold, flu, sickness or diahorrea it can effect you a lot worse than someone who doesn't have MS. I never really appreciated that until recently when I suffered with a poorly stomach and horrible diahorrea. 

I have, since early on in my diagnosis, struggled with constipation. It wasn't easy to deal with or to talk about to start with, but then I realised it was nothing to be embarrassed about. We all have to deal with our bladder and bowel and we really should talk about it more. If we were all more open about it then it wouldn't be embarrassing to talk about! 

Anyway, last week, for about four or five days I had something that I'm really not used to.......I had diahorrea! It started off as constipation that was difficult to get rid of but after trying a few techniques that I've learnt over the years, I was able to break the dam. This all happened in the early hours of Tuesday morning.

What followed was diahorrea but I expected that because that happens when you have been constipated for a while so I wasn't too worried at that point. The trouble was it carried on for about four or five days and for me to have that problem for that long was most unusual! 

We are fairly sure it was just a bug and for anyone without MS this can be exhausting but I found myself very weak and totally shattered. I even spent one night sleeping in my wheelchair because I was disturbing Martin so much by constantly getting up.

It is the struggle I have just getting out of bed and it's driving me crazy. As my left leg gets weaker, just moving it in and out of bed takes so much effort and when you're weak from being poorly it makes things even harder. Plus you have the anxiety of desperately needing to get to the toilet so using my wheelchair was the easiest thing to do. It was another example to me that the wheelchair is a positive thing and not the negative that I have always seen it. To me, using the chair means that I'm giving in or that I'm just being lazy but I've finally realised that it's not any of those things at all. By using the chair I am helping myself, I am saving energy and am not in so much pain by the effort it takes to use the crutches, especially when you're tired anyway. 

I can't believe it has taken me twenty years to stop being stubborn and to accept this!

It was a difficult week but as always I couldn't have got through it without Martin, and of course, cuddles & entertainment from Rosie!

 

It really brought home to me how vulnerable I am to everyday illnesses and why getting all the vaccinations I can is quite important. Unfortunately I haven't been able to get my flu or covid jabs yet because of having my six monthly infusion of Ocrevus. When you have Ocrevus you can't have vaccinations until a certain amount of time has passed, because your immune system is stripped back. I will be able to have mine in the middle of January so until then I will need to keep away from any coughs and colds! 

 

Please keep yourselves snuggled up, safe and warm this winter.

 

With love and Rosie cuddles

XxXxX 💕

COMING OFF PAIN MEDICATION

Coming off pain medication.

A while ago, when I was in a good place & really positive about being proactive, I decided I wanted to look at all the pain medication I was taking and to see if I could come off any of them. I was looking at how many tablets I take every day & decided things needed to change......if they could. Unfortunately since I had this thought I have had to start taking medication for my bladder so I'm taking two more tablets, but they do make a difference so I guess that's worth it! 

 

Some of the things I take, like Levothyroxin for my under active thyroid, I know I can't ever stop taking but if there are things I could then I at least needed to try! 

 

I spoke to my GP, as I would never try anything like this without their input. She contacted my pain consultant & a plan was drawn up. We started off with Pre Gabalin also known as Lyrica & I was taking 300mgs twice a day.

At one stage I did manage to get down to 75mgs twice a day and I was tolerating that quite well but then I had a fall & ended up with sciatica in my arm.....who knew that was a thing?! I get a fizzing pain that goes from under my arm, down to my hand but only in my left arm!

So now I am back up to 150mgs twice a day but at least that is still half of what I used to be on! One of my reasons for trying to come off these drugs was to see if they were doing anything for me & it turns out some of them were! 👍

The next one I wanted to try was called Tapentadol or Palexia. I was on 300mgs twice a day. Again, I started the withdrawal slowly & with the guidance of my consultant/GP. 

I am absolutely delighted to say that I have completely come off that medication and I can't tell you how much it has changed my life and I mean completely! It has really woken me up, literally, but also to the impact that medication has on us & not always in a positive way. I thought that a lot of my issues were symptoms of my MS but instead, it turns out that some things were actually side effects of the medication. 

I really struggled with fatigue, which is a symptom of MS, but what I hadn't realised was the impact the Tapentadol was having.  I generally wouldn't be able to get up before about 9am, on a good day, and I would be in bed by about 5 or 6pm. I came off the medication and now I am up anywhere between 5.30 & 6.30am, EVERY morning, and I stay awake until about 9 or 10pm and this is a daily occurrence! 

It has blown my mind & I feel like a different person! 

It's a bizarre turnaround but one that I have really welcomed. It's as though I have literally been woken up, I feel more alert and it's given me the realisation that I can't just blame everything on the MS. It's so easy to do that because it is a condition that has such a big range of symptoms and affects everyone SO differently. I've always said that you could have a room full of people that all have MS and we would all be different. Different symptoms, affecting us in different ways with totally different experiences. It's what makes diagnosing MS so difficult, it has to be given time to see what happens which can be incredibly frustrating for both patients and doctors alike.  

In a way I was lucky with my diagnosis. I was referred to a consultant, who turned out to be one of the best, and I was officially diagnosed about 6 months after my symptoms started. I know that some people can go many years before they get a diagnosis and I can't imagine how frustrating that must be. I remember wondering if I was going mad and it was all in my head? My issue was that a lot of my initial problems were altered sensations on my skin and that wasn't something you could show people.....it still isn't! It's why, from the beginning, I have always found ways of trying to describe what the pain feels like so that I can try and give people some sort of reference.

 

With medication, it is a really important point though, you only want to be on things that are actually doing something for you. I have been on so many different medications over the years, many of them were trying to target my neuropathic pain and I always just assumed that they would be doing what they were prescribed for. That was when I hadn't had any experience with taking meds and didn't realise that not all medications work for everyone. 

With a condition like MS, things change over time and that is something that I didn't factor in with my medications. I would have come off or reduced my pain meds over the years if I had realised. Things that were prescribed for me ten or fifteen years ago haven't been or aren't working in the same way now because my symptoms/body has changed, so it is always worth reviewing them every now and then. It has taken me twenty years to work that one out! 😂

Sending much love & Rosie  cuddles to you all

Amelia

XxXxX 💕