When MSA comes Calling, again

I was getting cocky. I had gone one and a half years, ever since I had finally found a neuro who diagnosed me and got me on various medications, including Florinef, Midodrine, Neurontin, and others. Oh, sure, I had fallen back onto couch when trying to get up and had stumbled but always caught myself until. Until Last night when I was sitting at the kitchen table reading a large print book resting on the table. The next thing I knew, I was going down. In a merger of slow and fast motion, my head hit the cabinet, my right elbow hit the table leg, my left arm hit the leg of the cabinet, and both knees were skinned and sore.

My husband came running to ask what had happened and all I could say was that I fell. Up until this point, he had not really grasped what MSA was and how it could suddenly make you fall flat on your face while sitting or standing. We had a good talk about it, then, and now he does understand.

MSA is a sneaky little devil. You can go along and think all is hunky-dory and the next thing you know you are flat on your ass. When I go back to my neuro next month I expect a change in meds.

In addition to the MSA factor, I also recently suffered the third bout of stomach virus in one and a half years. Yes, I had the flu shot, both of them. But I went 30 hours unable to keep any fluids in me. Even a tbs of water took the express route and out, bypassing my kidney. This is bad, for I also suffer from kidney disease and have only one kidney.

Last week, when I was talking with my therapist, I told him I was tired and just ready to give up (I am not always thinking of being positive, I am only human). He said he could totally understand. I was dealing with a lot of hard stuff and it is bound to get me down from time to time. It made me feel so much better. It is a struggle to always be up and positive; sometimes I just want some sympathy for how badly I feel.

So, I am back on track, sorta, waiting to see my neuro. If I keel over again I will call and go in early. It is a very unpleasant feeling to suddenly just fall over or out of a chair. I would rather not do it again.