Doin' Drugs - 2

Anyone who has dealt with MS knows it is basically a game of gradually increasing piles of drugs.
Disease-modifying Drugs (DMDs) - which we think do something.
Anti-spasm drugs- which may not help spasms until you are passed out
Drugs to keep your sphincters closed
Anti-depressant drugs: which make you dizzy and confused
Anti-pain drugs: which knock you out
Drugs to counter the effects from the above drugs, which include vertigo, incontinence, weakness, sadness, poverty, etc, etc.

Well, maybe not those last two...

It is always tempting to just toss the drugs away and try to manage the illness without them. A few muscle spasms will teach you to rethink that; the inability to walk will make you grab your DMD needle like a heroin addict and gratefully shoot up in the hope that you can still stagger a little while longer.

And then there's the illegal drug, that always makes me feel like I'm making a pumpkin spice latte or something. The one requiring grinding and special machinery and inhaling. The one that, surprisingly, works, eliminating muscle spasms quickly, without the cheery side effect of me peeing my pants, a freebie with the other antispasmodics.

But I need special permission to have that drug. So I'm starting the effort, with the support of my doc, to get some legal stuff. It's a bit frightening, given that our current government finds it more evil than outright murder. I have to send them passport-type photos, and become officially registered, which I wouldn't have to do if I had a long gun. Odd, no?

Just sayin'

TEVA

Teva CEO

I hate having to take Copaxone. It's not so much the shots that get to me, or the fact that it doesn't seem to be doing anything to slow this disease - it's because TEVA pharmaceuticals is one of those bad bad drug companies who overcharge for their meds and do so obscenely and even after being reprimanded and charged a fine - and now they are dancing in the streets because a rival company is raising the price on another MS drug and so they can probably increase their charge for Copaxone.
It's this sort of practice that makes me see red. Why do companies have to become obscenely rich on the illness of others?
Of course, I should check my mutual fund portfolio. Perhaps I have some stock in Teva. In which case, I've been supporting their greed and gluttony.
"Curses," as Snidely Whiplash would say, "Foiled again!"

The MS Nurse, and the care team

There are two quiet angels working with me on this MS life. One is a very serious sounding lass from the MS Clinic who, I'm sure, must go home and strangle hamsters or stomp ants or cry endlessly because her life is filled with people like me calling and telling her how awful life is today and why won't it get better and when can I get some help and why aren't you taking this seriously when my life is OVER, OVER, completely OVER. She has an astonishingly calm voice that makes me wonder about quaalude use. But she's a lifeline, a source of the arcane knowledge needed for managing this disease. And she returns my calls and for that reason I am developing a fondness out of all proportion for her. I am worried about her day to day life, about how she destresses...I am starting to think of how I can cheer her up when I go for my next appointment...
My other angel is the nurse from the drug company that owns my "Disease Modifying Drug". At first, I was worried her job was to force me to continue with the medication, and as the weeks passed and all I had to show for it were welts and itchy places and maybe a slight cognitive clearing, I grew to fear her call, too. She's a cheery lass, not too cheery as that just wouldn't be appropriate (for some reason everyone involved with MS talks to us in tones of care - either they are terribly sorry for us or they fear we'll go ahead and burst into tears. They have voices similar to funeral managers...which is NOT encouraging...). She calls every month to see how I'm doing. Usually I whine at her too, although she has a sense of humour so I at least try to whine in a funny way. She laughs at my jokes and that makes me feel better.
This month, though, I couldn't wait to tell her about my walking - how I can do it for quite a long time now without pain or cane. I was so excited to say something positive for once! She was cautiously optimistic, but when I went on to say, "But when I feel good, I think I should go back to work", she demurred. "Many people," she said. "find that the liberation of not following their former path leads them to much healthier lives overall. Being able to avoid the stress of working fulltime allows them to remain well, and they often get a chance to do those things they always wished they had." I snorted. "You mean - like eating macaroni five days a week?"
She laughed, but stayed firm on the doing what you love thing.
It's a sign. So heigh ho, heigh ho, onwards I go. Can't ignore advice from an angel...