Mr. Hyde VS Climate

As I've shared in my previous article, navigating life with Mr. Hyde is akin to traversing a minefield. The unpredictability of what might trigger a negative response, potentially leading to a relapse, is a constant shadow. It's no longer just about my diet, hydration, or exercise routine, but also about my geographical location, sun exposure, and more. Mr. Hyde is a fickle companion, never truly content.

       My vision, more than any other aspect of my health, bore the brunt of a relapse.

I remember going on vacation to Greece with my mom, and at that time, I didn't know I had MS. We took a beautiful walk on the beach, and as a young adult, I was always trying to have my way. I hated hats, so to make a long story short, we came back, and I decided to paint my nails. Next thing I know, my vision is blurry, and I start panicking. I was panicking so much that my mom contacted the airlines, asking if we could get an earlier flight home. As you can imagine, the price wasn't budget-friendly, so we went to a Greek doctor. Unfortunately, he couldn't figure out what was wrong with me. After resting, staying in the shade, and purchasing a hat :), the irony was on me; I felt a little better, but in the end, I will never forget this trip. That experience was only the beginning of my struggles. The worst part was that my symptoms were so bizarre, not really debilitating, that at the end of the day, everyone thought that all this was happening in my head.

        After I was diagnosed and came to terms with the reality of living with Mr. Hyde, I found a measure of relief in knowing there was a tangible reason behind my struggles. I am very fortunate with unwavering support from my family, a fact for which I can never fully express my gratitude. Their support was a beacon of light in the darkest of times. 

        My husband, Bart, especially. One day, we sat down with Bart, and after a lengthy discussion, we concluded that Mr. Hyde doesn't tolerate heat and drastic weather changes. Since we used to live in Chicago, the humidity, hot summers, and freezing winters were not ideal for me, to the point that I was sitting in a hot car for just a minute, and getting very anxious, like my entire body was on fire. After talking about my symptom history, we realized that most of my flare-ups occurred after exposure to heat. This conversation happened shortly after our first baby was born – Liam. Both of us realized that we needed to look for an area with a mild climate, one with no drastic weather changes—an almost perfect MS-friendly living environment.    

       Both of us started researching different States in hopes of finding our ideal place. During that time, I was also pregnant with our second baby. Finally, we both concluded that the Oregon coast sounds like a perfect MS-friendly climate – very mild climate, no heat, no freezing winters, and more importantly, no drastic weather changes. Moreover, right after our second baby girl, Charlotte, was born, we decided to take a risk and move from Illinois to the rural Oregon coast. I am not going to hide that this was a very stressful time in our lives. We have always lived in a big city, and now our way of life has undergone a complete change. After we took the first walk on the beach and took a big breath of ocean air, we knew this was our home. The only question remaining is whether Mr. Hyde approves it.

       The years went by, and now it has been almost four years since we have lived on the Oregon coast. In the meantime, our third baby, beautiful baby girl Emma, was born. Besides rain, the climate is very mild. No extremely hot summers or freezing, snowy winters. Knock on wood, since being pregnant and breastfeeding, I wasn't on medication, and luckily, I haven't had any significant symptoms—just occasional tingling in my feet. Since I felt so good, it is very possible that I was trying to go back to my old self and trying to pretend that MS wasn’t part of my life, but my nurse practitioner pulled me down to Earth from the clouds and referred me to a new neurologist.

       I convinced myself to make an appointment and again confront MS head-on. Although I didn't want to go, I must admit that the doctor was very comprehensive. I look at all my scans from right after I had Emma, about 3 years ago, and he explained that since I have MS-related changes in my brain and spine, it means that Mr. Hyde might be more aggressive, and he would recommend starting a more potent medication. But, before I begin the medication, he would like me to get another MRI. Considering that I didn't take any medicines consistently or at all. I am sure most of you have the same opinion about MRI - horrible. The noise and claustrophobic feeling when you get inside this super noisy, annoying tube is quite an awful experience. I wish there were a different way, but I agreed and had it done recently.

I'm a bit nervous.  The result will determine whether we made a good decision and whether we somehow managed to get Mr. Hyde under control. Stay tuned, I will let you know in my next article. Remember, everything is possible :).