Who knew?…Bamboo!

One of our luxury purchases when we were on vacation a few weeks back was a set of bamboo sheets. I know, it sounds crazy to me too, but these sheets are the softest things my skin has felt in a long time. Imagine my surprise when I read an article in Everyday Health extolling their virtues for folks with MS.

In fact, there is a line of bamboo apparel perfect for fitness trainers too, i.e. workout tops, yoga pants, socks. The article’s author, David Lyons, discovered three benefits for bamboo: 1) it draws away moisture from the skin, a natural moisture wicker; 2) it’s an insulator, keeping you warm in winter and cool in summer; 3) it’s UV resistant, meaning bamboo could provide you protection from the sun’s damaging rays.

As a side note, I did have an after effect from the cruise that I didn’t expect. While vacationing, my feet and legs swelled up. My thoughts were that it was probably caused by ingesting a possibly higher-salt food diet, unused-to Caribbean heat, or reduced mobility (I was either in the chair or scooter when out and about), or a combination of all three. When I returned, I asked my doctor about it and she said it was “edema,” extra fluid in my legs. She prescribed a cream to soothe the itching.

In the meantime, we put the bamboo sheets on the bed. So soft. Next thing I knew, I had developed a rash on my arms, back, torso, as well as my legs. Absolutely blaming this newest crisis on the sheets, we yanked them off. However, the itching got worse. I went to a dermatologist who promptly saw that my original leg edema had overwhelmed my system thus developing the rash. Foolishly I had not immediately started wearing support socks when I originally developed the swelling. When I finally did, the swelling went down, my legs are back to normal, and the rash has pretty much disappeared.

The bamboo sheets had been relegated to the guest bedroom bed where my daughter, who sleeps over once a week for business reasons, marveled the next day about how wonderful they were. Sheepishly, I’m now in the process of switching out the sheets with the bamboo ones coming back on our bed. I found myself apologizing to the inanimate things about the wicked names I called them. My skin and I are happy again. My daughter? Not so much. She’ll be back to sleeping on run-of-the-mill, non-wicking, non-insulating, not-as-soft sheets. Oh well, the zero room price-per-night is the trade-off on that deal!

 

Messin’ in the Kitchen

Some folks will do anything to get out of kitchen duty: i.e. planning meals, cooking, cleaning up. But when you are sidelined because of MS, the whole process becomes a dearly remembered, fun time.

Husband has taken over the bulk of the kitchen duty, but I am still partially in control. The weekly menu planning and shopping list are still my province. However, my selected meals have been down-graded to simpler fare. Anything that takes more than, say, six ingredients is for now sidelined.

A typical meal production at our house consists of me sitting nearby to direct the operation and Bill following orders. As his skill increases, my input is becoming more and more superfluous. He’s gotten the hang of Rule #1: timing is crucial to most meals. Things that take longer to cook are started first, etc. What Bill has re-learned, however, did not come out of a cookbook: he actually remembered that he likes to cook!

During the many years of our lives together, yours truly assumed the role of “person who controls the kitchen.” Bill was the main bread-winner and was happy enough to have his dinner put down in front of him every day. Since MS has made standing too long at the counter mostly impossible, I’ve had to relinquish my dominance over the spatula.  Bill, working part-time now, has wielded not only the spatula but small electrical appliances as well. And all with a growing confidence! Also, the smoker I bought him for his birthday has yielded delicacies like smoked kielbasa, ribs, chicken, brisket and salmon.

Yes, MS has robbed me of being queen of our kitchen, but we’ve adapted to the new normal. Bill has stepped up and been amazed at his uncovered talent for messin’ with food. The sides of my wheelchair are growing ominously close to my hips because of all these new gastromic treats. Along with praying for a cure for MS, I’m also sending appeals heaven-ward that I won’t lose him to Rachael Ray! Or worse, Bobby Flay!!

“The Summer of Love” Revisited

So. Just when I thought I had a handle on the whole MS-Life Adjustment thing, I found out there was another “sink hole” that I need to acknowledge, understand, and climb out of.

I was in my doctor’s office getting a routine physical. (I heed the advice of my neurologist to not neglect the other parts of my body.) All she wanted was for me to “hop” on the exam chair for ease in her exam of me. I tried to argue that I was fine in my own chair, thank you very much, but she insisted. She and her nurse would assist me, she said, easy peasy. They wouldn’t let me fall. The next few minutes saw yours truly freaking out. Of course, they didn’t let me fall, but the damage was done.

There was no use in telling her I was otherwise doing fine; my red nose and smudged mascara from crying told a different story. My fear of falling and resultant meltdown showed her I was a fragile mess. Even I was not aware of how anxious I had become.

My daughter sent me a internet health link today regarding MS and occupational therapy. But the article that also caught my eye dealt with successfully handling the emotional effects of MS. What a timely find! It talked about anxiety, depression, guilt and stress and ways to manage them. Friends, family, outreach groups, community service, exercise, and sometimes medication can all help.

I’m leery of the medication route, however. Even though MS does effect the emotional cortex of the brain, I’m fearful of becoming a caricature of the “I’m OK, you’re OK” mindset. I still remember the hippies of years past, high on drugs, sticking flowers into gun barrels.

I may be overreacting a bit (ya think?) so I’ll wait for my doctor to do some research on the medications available to ease my rollercoaster emotions. If my next post greets you with “Peace, Love, Right on, man, Power to the People, Make love, not war” etc., etc., you’ll know what happened.

The Weeble-Wobble Effect

Is there actual documentation someplace that verifies people are usually depressed after coming back from vacation? If there isn’t, there should be. I’m in a funk today. I’m not willing to expend the effort to get in the car and just go someplace like my husband suggests. Any place.  Even simply going to the post office or recycling station errands. No, says I. Too much effort.

So why is that? The joy of vacationing shouldn’t be followed by the zombie-like state I’m in now. You can try, but there is only so much you can blame on MS.  My first explanation for my poor mood is always to put it in on  MS’s doorstep. Although it can be blamed physiologically, I think it more probable that it’s a by-product. You know, the way a hangover is the by-product of too much drinking when alcoholism is the root cause.

Anyway, I don’t want to expend any energy today. I’m tired of always mentally bucking myself up. I think I’d like to wallow in my depressive thoughts of my physically-changed life status for a bit. Let it just wash over me, this memory of vacationing that drained me to the point of being exhausted. The wallowing is a good thing, I think. Let it then flow away from me so I can get back to being my normal, upbeat self. My struggling during my vacation may have brought me low today because I am remembering all the things I had to overcome on the trip, things I did effortlessly before and took for granted. But once I acknowledge these downer thoughts, I am free to let them float away.

After all, it’s the “weeble wobble” effect that keeps us all going. You can knock us down once in a while but, like those toys, we always right ourselves again. In fact, I think I’m starting to look like one of those little guys! Egads! You know, I’m starting to feel better already!