That Time Again

It is that time again. Shot day... yes. But that is not the event to which I refer. Relapse time.

I have had relapses every two months: May, July, September, November, and January. The odd-numbered months. March is an odd-numbered month.

I guess it is just a matter of time. <sigh>

I decided not to do my Avonex/placebo shot yesterday, because I wanted to do it on a different day than my daclizumab/placebo shot. I am still not 100% sure which one is the active drug and which is the placebo. I wanted more information.

I became sick the evening of the my first shots. I had had both shots on the same day, and I did not take seriously their potential to make me sick, particularly the Avonex shot. I took ibuprofen and was planning to take it again six hours later, but I did not pay attention. About six hours after the shots was when I became sick with chills, fever, and severe pain. "Aches." Ha. These are classic Avonex symptoms, so I assumed that Avonex was the active drug and that it had made me sick.

Since that first shot, I have not become sick again. Is it because my medication regimen has worked? Or is it because it was not what made me sick in the first place? I wondered if the other shot was to blame, or if I might have just been sick that day.

Yesterday I had my daclizumab shot, and I took no pain medication. None is required. I did not feel sick yesterday. I did feel sick this morning. And again around noon. I held on for a couple of hours and then took a nap. I felt better after that but definitely not back to normal.

I do not know what to think. Well... Avonex is probably the active drug.

Sensory:

-Pins and needles: 2
-Tingles: 2, left hand, right thigh after shot
-Dysesthetic pain: 5
-Paresthesias: 5, a few stabs, also electricity buzzing on my legs--felt like on the skin, not deep

-Numbness: 3
-Vision: 0 I guess
-Nerve pain: 5
-Hearing: 1

Motor:
-Walking: 2? I mostly sat on the couch
-Sore muscles: 5, some almost-spasms in my right lower leg, pain in right thigh for several hours after the shot. It has been more than four hours, and it still hurts--unusual

-Spasticity: 5, left leg especially
-Weak muscles: 3

-Endurance: 5 I guess

-Fine motor: 2

Cognitive:
-Processing: 1
-Memory: 0
-Attention: 0
-Confusion: 0

General:
-Fatigue: 7
-Balance: 0

-Vertigo: 0

-Sleep: 1

-Bladder: 2, trickly all day lately--still confident that this is from despiramine, as is dry mouth
-Proprioception: 1
-Swallowing: 1
-A: 0
-B: 0

Emotions: Confused about the medication stuff! A little frustrated that my shot today hurt so much. Mostly calm, bored.