What will you find in the My Odd Sock Mixed Bag?

Who knows!

Actually this mixed bag is a collection of various ideas I had about life with multiple sclerosis.  They are simply blinks of an idea—not enough meat to serve as a main entree–so I just lumped them together in a pot luck post.

So lets reach into the mixed bag and see what we can find…

Give me a B.  Give me an O.  Give me a T-O-X.

Last week was my quarterly appointment for Botox injections in my legs to fight spasticity.

The shots in my calves & inner thighs offer a three-month reprieve from muscle tightness, spasms and cramps.

Botox injections are the only shots I LOVE to receive!

Not only does the Botox help control my MS spasticity, it also makes my legs look younger.  Check out these before & after pictures…

Before

Before Botox

After

After Botox treatment.

Hot And Heavy

I don’t have to tell you about how the summer’s heat & humidity are kicking our butts.

It feels as though my feet are wading through oatmeal with each heavy step!

Hulk Hands

And my hands?  Cripes, it’s fumble fingers to the Nth degree!  Forget those fiddly buttons on a shirt.  Plus, my text messages have more misspelled words than a five-year-old’s Christmas list!  (Damn small buttons!)

Even holding silverware can be a challenge when you have “Hulk Hands” due to high temps and choking humidity!

Where The Hell Is It?

If you think keeping track of a wandering toddler is difficult, try keeping tabs on a mobility aid (cane, crutches, rollator)!

I’ll lean my cane somewhere and “wall walk” somewhere else.  Then somewhere else.  Finally, I’ll need my cane and not remember where the heck I left it last!

A "Cane Klapper?"

I need some sort of signaling device that would let me know the location of my cane.  A “clap” or push of a button would make the cane  beep alerting me of its whereabouts.

To remedy this frequent lapse of memory, I try to lean my cane in the same go-to parking places…outside the bathroom door…at the bottom of the stairs…behind my chair in the dining room.

“Parking” my cane in the kitchen gets me aggravated because no matter which kitchen cabinet I place my cane in front of—THAT’S the cabinet I need to open!  “Friggin stick,” I’ll say.

(Disclaimer–A “Cane Klapper” would not solve my kitchen dilemma.  I just wanted to get it off my chest!)

Well, I warned you it was a motley assortment of MS stuff!

Anything you would care to add to the bag?  Go ahead and leave a comment.  We have plenty of room in the My Odd Sock MS Mixed Bag.

The Swiss Army Knife.

First introduced in 1859, this baby was the cat’s meow of knives!

The Swiss Army Knife was decked out like a pimp’s Cadillac Coupe DeVille.  It’s the McGyver of cutlery!

Boasting not only a main blade and a smaller blade too…..plus, tweezers, a toothpick, corkscrew, can-opener, flat-head screwdriver, Phillips-head screwdriver, nail file, scissors, shoelace hook and a key ring.  (With all this stuff, it’s no wonder since the early 1800s,  the Swiss have remained neutral in world affairs.  If their knives are this devastating, imagine what their other weapons must be like!)

In other words, the Swiss Army Knife gives you a bunch of tool options to get the job done.

While digesting that thought (along with a ham sandwich), I began comparing it with your typical MS treatment plan.

With a diagnosis of multiple sclerosis, there are so many doggone symptoms & side effects, you almost need a Swiss Army Knife of treatment options to cover all your bases!

As an example, here is what’s included in My Odd Sock’s Swiss Army Knife of MS treatment:

Baclofen-  Helps control my spasticity, the arch-enemy of my MS.

Me getting Botox

Botox injections-  NOT for my face, but for my legs!  Every three months for spasticity. 

Apitherapy-  Bee stings.  Bee venom therapy.  I have been doing this once or twice a week since 2002.  Pro or con–I don’t know.  I do it for peace of mind.

Supplements-  I’ve taken as many as a dozen different things at one time or another.  Now, it’s just the basic vitamin C & D.

Grrr, stretch those legs!

Stretching-  I stretch more than a WalMart shopper’s tube top.  Like a ten-year-old housecat, I move & reach to reclaim any lost range of motion.

Diet & Exercise-  I try to eat a healthy diet, lower in fat.  Nothing fried.  Exercise helps me beat the MS beast better than anything!  I feel better, more relaxed, less stiffness & muscle spasms.  I try to exercise 30 – 45 minutes four to five times a week.

Depression med-  Yeah, I like many of you with MS, I have experienced the dark side.  My pink pill is why I am so damn perky!

Mobility aids-  Canes, walkers, wheelchair–I’ve got a whole mini-van full of crap!

My Odd Sock's Dynasplint System

AFO & Dynasplint-  Used to correct MS-related foot drop.  Wearing them makes me feel more like Peter Weller in “RoboCop!”

Some of the other MS tools I have tried over the years include Ampyra, the walking drug…massage (NOT the truck-stop kind!)…physical therapy….IV/oral steroids (Unlike Barry Bonds, I knew what I was taking!  And of course the usual disease-modifying injectibles.

We are all different, and what works for one, might not work for another.  But it is interesting to see how YOUR knife compares to others!

Good luck in your fight, soldiers!  Godspeed.

And you’re going to inject it into my muscles?  And it’s going to ease my spasticity?

That’s crazy!

Crazy, but it’s true.  It’s Botox Therapy, or BT.  And I am living, breathing (needs a TicTac) proof!

I just completed my third treatment (each treatment lasts about 3 months) and I can’t wait for my Botox to kick in.

The therapy’s benefits are not usually noticed for a few days..up to a couple of weeks after the treatment.  But it does help to ease muscle tightness.

Over the years, I’ve tried numerous muscle relaxers in pill form and I still take one on a daily basis.  My biggest complaint is the “dosey-dopey” state many of those pills put me in.

(What?…He’s not naturally that “dosey-dopey?”)

Excuse me, you don’t graduate from college with a stellar 2.3 gpa being “dosey-dopey!”

I was given several Botox injections in my inner thighs & calves (my problem areas).  And the whole procedure was done in about an hour.

As a matter off fact, a hidden camera  captured this picture during my actual session.

Multiple Sclerosis affects everyone differently.  So whether your spasticity is in your legs, arms, neck or wherever, Botox Therapy may offer you some relief.

And check out the difference…….

Before Botox

After Botox

Just remember, My Odd Sock is an expert on nothing, just an idiot on everything.

Anyone care to hear some ZZ Top?…..”She’s got le-eggs!”