OK Day and Acthar update.

Today... meh. It was okay. Honestly, I don't feel very well. I'm super tired right now. But I did get through work must better than, say, a month ago. So I know I'm doing better. Just not as well as late last week. The ups and downs of MS.

Sensory:

-Pins and needles: 1, they're rocking my left thigh right now.

-Tingles: 3, sometimes in my arms, like traveling toward my hands. Elbow to wrist. Narrow lines, not the whole thing. Um, just realized also in my right leg.

-Paresthesias (burning): 1, yeah!

-Paresthesias (other): 0, didn't notice any

-Numbness: 1, same old, same old

-Vision: 2, had floaters in right eye this morning, then noticed them in left while driving. Probably because brighter light. I can tell which eye by closing one. I had some blurriness today, but not bad.

-Nerve pain: 3 down my left leg

Motor:

-Gait: 2

-Sore muscles: 1

-Fine motor: 2

-Weak muscles: 3

-Twitches: none

-Spasticity: 2, back of right leg. Right! Come on, not new problems. It's near my knee, in the tendons.

Cognitive:

-Language processing: 1

-Memory: 4

-Attention: 1, people laughed at me during a meeting today when I did a "wait, what?" about what was just said

-Confusion: 3

-Impulsivity: 0

General:

-Fatigue: 4, more like 6 now

-Balance: 4, when I get up in the dark, it's HILARIOUS. Like a drunk person. Not that I know drunk people.

-Sleep: 3, got 8 hours

-Bladder: 3, OMG (G=gosh) I keep forgetting to comment that I had dark red flakes in my urine. This was about a week ago. It looked like the crap that passed before my kidney stone. Wait, maybe I did blog this already. Whatever.

-Anxiety: 0 all day until I opened the Acthar info kit and watched the DVD on injecting yourself. Then I would say it was a 3. Partly because of injecting myself. Partly because Dr. Rob made me wonder if I should take Acthar. My insurance company denied it yesterday. 

I spoke with an Acthar rep today, who shared that my insurance company denies every claim for it, that they always have to appeal. I looked up information online. It looks like Acthar is about the same as or slightly better than IV Solu-Medrol for treating MS flares. A few people had reactions to it and had bad experiences, but you can also find that with Solu-Medrol. Me, for example. Some people were neutral--it was about the same as IVSM but costs so much more. Most people raved about how much they loved Acthar, that they would take it over IVSM any day.

The question is whether I'm in a flare or if I'm experiencing the effects of not treating a flare and having permanent damage from it. If so, Acthar might not help. But I suppose it will not hurt. And I am still having new symptoms.. and my cognition is getting worse... so why not try it, I guess.