Thursday, October 19, 2006
Pointless Shit Thursday Will Return Next Week......
I know that Thurdays are usually Pointless Shit Thursdays, but today I have something to write about that is anything but pointless. I also want to point out that this does not define who I am, I'm the same "Blind Orange" Julius, or Doug Jungemann if you will, who you've come to know. I'm the same guy. I'm the same guy I was before I walked into a Neurologist's office today. Now I just happen to know one more thing about myself.
When I think back on it, I probably noticed that something was going on when I was about 38. My daily bike rides along the beach in California seemed to take a bigger toll on me than they had before. I was unbelievably tired after a 5 mile bike ride. Well, I was getting older, and I wasn't in as good of shape as I should have been.
I've never led a particularly active life, but I noticed that when I tried to do anything strenuous that I'd wear out pretty quickly, I noticed it in some unexpected situations. I could get really graphic here, but I'll leave that alone. Even things that wouldn't be considered strenuous would take their toll.
I moved back to the RC at about that time. My daily bike rides ceased, but I would occasionally get out and take a ride. It was a 10 mile ride to and from Canyon Lake from my apartment, a ride that I really liked except for the end. My apartment was on a hill that required me to gain 200 feet of elevation in a pretty short distance. I could do it, but it would leave me pretty winded. As time went on, that part of the trip became more and more difficult. So difficult that my vision would get fuzzy and I'd be forced to lie down after a bike ride. Not for too long, but for a while until I got my wind back.
I started to notice little things about two years ago. One of the first was that I was losing strength in my right arm. I like to cook, I really like using cast iron cookware and I noticed that I had a hard time handling my cast iron skillet. It became too difficult to hold with my right arm.
I noticed that I didn't have the balance that I used to have. When I play and sing, I tend to do so with my eyes closed. I would notice that I'd start to fall over and would catch myself. If you look at photos of me from the open mic at Dunn Bros., you may notice me with my hand on the window sill. I was trying to keep myself upright.
When I was moving in December of last year I would get terribly worn out after taking a load of crap down to my car. I would find something to do before I tried to take stuff into the new place. This was all complicated by the fact that I moved to Cheyenne in January of this year. Two moves in two months. Yikes.
I have a little numbness in my right hand. I attribute that to arthritis and a little carpel tunnel (blogging takes it's toll, so do the stupid little graphics projects). I sometimes find it hard to hold a guitar pick. It still hasn't stopped me from playing, neither has a complete lack of talent. I started to get some numbness in my feet as well after moving to Cheyenne. I had some trouble getting around. Walks to the library before I got web access were manageable, but became more difficult over time. One time I couldn't make it back without sitting down every couple of blocks.
The capper was my fall on July 4th of this year. It was just an eight block walk up to Lion's Park for the fireworks, but I was so exhausted near the end that I just collapsed, falling face down into the pavement, most likely breaking my nose. It took a real injury, one I could see, to make me realize how serious this was. It wasn't just getting old, it wasn't just turning 40, it was a problem.
After seeing a doctor, I ended up being referred to a neurologist. I had an MRI which showed some trouble. There were irregularities:
In truth it didn't mean much to me. The neurologist explained it to me. It wasn't good. He was 90% sure of what it was, but scheduled a spinal tap to confirm it.
I've blogged about the spinal tap, and my biggest fear was that the tap wouldn't show anything and I'd have to do more testing. Maybe I'd have to go through another spinal tap.
Good news folks! I don't need another spinal tap. The test was conclusive. Today it confirmed what the neurologist thought.
I have Multiple Sclerosis. MS.
Onset of this disease is never good, but at this point in my life it's not all that bad. The disease is still active and I've felt myself get a little worse over the past month or so. Treatment starts soon. I'll be injecting myself with an Interferon drug every other day. Probably for the rest of my life. There's no cure for my affliction, but the Beta Seron can slow the advance of the disease, maybe even cause it to go dormant. Best case I won't get any worse. I won't get any better either, but I can get by in the shape I'm in right now.
Maybe that cryptic post I made back in August makes a little sense now. On that day I found out that I probably had MS. I didn't know I had it. Today I know. I have MS. My life isn't any different than it was before I found this out. I'm still the same guy. I still like beer and playing harmonica. I still like blogging. I still like making stupid graphs about minute details in my life. I still absolutely love Sue Foley.
A disease is not who I am. It's just one more thing about me. I had to learn to live as a single guy after my divorce. I'll have to learn to live with this.
So the number one question that America has is "What does this mean to the Globex Corporation Newsletter"? One thing is for certain, Sue Foley Photo Friday isn't going anywhere! I like to think that there won't be much change here, even though I know that's not entirely possible. As I'm the same person that I was yesterday before I found out about this, this blog will be the same blog as it was before. But now I know something else about myself. It'll show up in the blog. There will undoubtedly be a post about the first time I have to jab a needle into my thigh. I don't do well with needles, so I hope you all enjoy what I'm sure will be a very entertaining post.
This will not become a blog about a guy who has MS. It will continue to be a blog about a guy who also happens to have MS. I'll try to remember that. I'll fail miserably some days I'm sure. I'll try to continue to be quirky. I'll try to stay odd and pointless. Some days you'll hear just how scared I am about what's going on inside my brain. I'll have to do that and I hope you'll bear with me.
BOJ
When I think back on it, I probably noticed that something was going on when I was about 38. My daily bike rides along the beach in California seemed to take a bigger toll on me than they had before. I was unbelievably tired after a 5 mile bike ride. Well, I was getting older, and I wasn't in as good of shape as I should have been.
I've never led a particularly active life, but I noticed that when I tried to do anything strenuous that I'd wear out pretty quickly, I noticed it in some unexpected situations. I could get really graphic here, but I'll leave that alone. Even things that wouldn't be considered strenuous would take their toll.
I moved back to the RC at about that time. My daily bike rides ceased, but I would occasionally get out and take a ride. It was a 10 mile ride to and from Canyon Lake from my apartment, a ride that I really liked except for the end. My apartment was on a hill that required me to gain 200 feet of elevation in a pretty short distance. I could do it, but it would leave me pretty winded. As time went on, that part of the trip became more and more difficult. So difficult that my vision would get fuzzy and I'd be forced to lie down after a bike ride. Not for too long, but for a while until I got my wind back.
I started to notice little things about two years ago. One of the first was that I was losing strength in my right arm. I like to cook, I really like using cast iron cookware and I noticed that I had a hard time handling my cast iron skillet. It became too difficult to hold with my right arm.
I noticed that I didn't have the balance that I used to have. When I play and sing, I tend to do so with my eyes closed. I would notice that I'd start to fall over and would catch myself. If you look at photos of me from the open mic at Dunn Bros., you may notice me with my hand on the window sill. I was trying to keep myself upright.
When I was moving in December of last year I would get terribly worn out after taking a load of crap down to my car. I would find something to do before I tried to take stuff into the new place. This was all complicated by the fact that I moved to Cheyenne in January of this year. Two moves in two months. Yikes.
I have a little numbness in my right hand. I attribute that to arthritis and a little carpel tunnel (blogging takes it's toll, so do the stupid little graphics projects). I sometimes find it hard to hold a guitar pick. It still hasn't stopped me from playing, neither has a complete lack of talent. I started to get some numbness in my feet as well after moving to Cheyenne. I had some trouble getting around. Walks to the library before I got web access were manageable, but became more difficult over time. One time I couldn't make it back without sitting down every couple of blocks.
The capper was my fall on July 4th of this year. It was just an eight block walk up to Lion's Park for the fireworks, but I was so exhausted near the end that I just collapsed, falling face down into the pavement, most likely breaking my nose. It took a real injury, one I could see, to make me realize how serious this was. It wasn't just getting old, it wasn't just turning 40, it was a problem.
After seeing a doctor, I ended up being referred to a neurologist. I had an MRI which showed some trouble. There were irregularities:
On the FLAIR sequence, there are numerous foci of hyperintense signal in te sucorical cerebral white matte of both hemisperes. Prominent lesion in the left occipital subcortical white matter of the right frontal lobe measure close to 10 mm in size. A second prominent lesion in the left occipital....
In truth it didn't mean much to me. The neurologist explained it to me. It wasn't good. He was 90% sure of what it was, but scheduled a spinal tap to confirm it.
I've blogged about the spinal tap, and my biggest fear was that the tap wouldn't show anything and I'd have to do more testing. Maybe I'd have to go through another spinal tap.
Good news folks! I don't need another spinal tap. The test was conclusive. Today it confirmed what the neurologist thought.
I have Multiple Sclerosis. MS.
Onset of this disease is never good, but at this point in my life it's not all that bad. The disease is still active and I've felt myself get a little worse over the past month or so. Treatment starts soon. I'll be injecting myself with an Interferon drug every other day. Probably for the rest of my life. There's no cure for my affliction, but the Beta Seron can slow the advance of the disease, maybe even cause it to go dormant. Best case I won't get any worse. I won't get any better either, but I can get by in the shape I'm in right now.
Maybe that cryptic post I made back in August makes a little sense now. On that day I found out that I probably had MS. I didn't know I had it. Today I know. I have MS. My life isn't any different than it was before I found this out. I'm still the same guy. I still like beer and playing harmonica. I still like blogging. I still like making stupid graphs about minute details in my life. I still absolutely love Sue Foley.
A disease is not who I am. It's just one more thing about me. I had to learn to live as a single guy after my divorce. I'll have to learn to live with this.
So the number one question that America has is "What does this mean to the Globex Corporation Newsletter"? One thing is for certain, Sue Foley Photo Friday isn't going anywhere! I like to think that there won't be much change here, even though I know that's not entirely possible. As I'm the same person that I was yesterday before I found out about this, this blog will be the same blog as it was before. But now I know something else about myself. It'll show up in the blog. There will undoubtedly be a post about the first time I have to jab a needle into my thigh. I don't do well with needles, so I hope you all enjoy what I'm sure will be a very entertaining post.
This will not become a blog about a guy who has MS. It will continue to be a blog about a guy who also happens to have MS. I'll try to remember that. I'll fail miserably some days I'm sure. I'll try to continue to be quirky. I'll try to stay odd and pointless. Some days you'll hear just how scared I am about what's going on inside my brain. I'll have to do that and I hope you'll bear with me.
BOJ
# posted by Blind Orange Julius @ 12:54 AM 
Comments:
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Don't worry, I'll still be your fake girlfriend.
Take heart, BOJ, research is ongoing and MS can go into remission for extended periods of time. I don't envy you poking yourself with a needle!
You can still drink beer and WwtK, right?
And where's Ed?
Take heart, BOJ, research is ongoing and MS can go into remission for extended periods of time. I don't envy you poking yourself with a needle!
You can still drink beer and WwtK, right?
And where's Ed?
# posted by 
: 8:15 PM
: 8:15 PM
Jason Bott (who's fake gambling picks appear here weekly) told me today that I should point out that everything still works downstairs. I'm not sure how he knows, but he is right. I can stil do that thing that would cost me a shot of Jaeg if I were to use the term that we've all become so familiar with. Ah, what the hell, I can still WALTZ WITH THE KAISER!!!!!!!
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