The hangover with MS

I thought this would be a good day to write a blog about hangovers since most of us might be feeling a bit rough today. 

We all get a hangover after a heavy night, whether we’re sick or our head is banging or we have a funny tummy - our bodies naturally don’t cope well with a lot of alcohol. 

Since I started drinking, I’ve always had bad hangovers but over the last year they have got a lot worse since I’ve been on a new treatment. I usually get a really sore head, tingling sensations through my body  and get extremely tired. However I can’t completely blame this on my MS as it’s just one of those things when you have a lot to drink and are dehydrated. 

Recently I have started to get water infections the day after as my body is still dehydrated from the night before. Those who have had water infections will know how annoying and uncomfortable they are. The niggling pain starts to burn and then it’s the constant running to the toilet although you don’t need it. 

ANNOYING

Still working on why this happens every time I have a drink, whether it’s related to my treatment or I am just prone to water infections but hopefully i can get something that can help with the pain. Either that or I’ll just have to stop drinking... 

I mean if anyone knows me well they know I won’t stop drinking haha!  

My top tips are eat something so there’s something on your stomach. Drink plenty of water and have a nice hot bath and put some never pjs on and get someone to give you sympathy- that always helps! 

I think the best thing to do when you’re hungover is know that you’re allowed to rest and have a lazy day.

I’d love to hear from anyone else with MS and how they cope with hangovers and drinking 😊

Telling people you have MS

I hate telling people I have MS. Not because I’m embarrassed, or I want to hide it, it’s just hard to explain to somebody who doesn’t know much about it. People have perceptions of MS and the reaction you normally get from someone when you tell them is:

• But you’re not in a wheelchair…
• I would have never have guessed, you look fine (looks you up and down)
• I thought only old people got MS

If anything, it’s more of an awkward conversation and no matter how much you explain it, only other people with MS will really know how you’re truly feeling - just like any illness, I can be as sympathetic as possible towards someone who has broken their leg but I’ve never experienced myself so I don’t really know what they’re going through.

When I was first diagnosed my nurse told me ‘you don’t have to tell anyone you have it if you don’t want to’ so stuck to that for a while in exception to my close friends and family. But last year I started seeing a boy who I was starting to really like. It was at the same time as I was running the GNR for The MS Society so I felt it was a good time to tell him. It was at a good stage in our relationship where I would understand if he wanted to walk away at that point, but at the same time I would have been gutted if he had.

Of course, he didn’t and we’re celebrating our first-year anniversary this weekend and I couldn’t have asked for a more supportive boyfriend – cheesy!

I’m lucky enough to have a group of supportive friends and family who are always there if I need to talk. However, I tend to not bring my MS up with them that often as I don’t want sympathy from anyone -but I do think it’s important to tell people how you feel.  

I suffered a relapse earlier this year which meant I couldn’t drive, type or answer the phone properly at work. Someone then told me about a scheme called access to work who assess your working environment. This meant that I was able to get the support I needed. A few years back I wouldn’t have admitted I needed help but as I’ve grew older I’ve realised people are there to help you, like you’re there to help them if they need it.

My point is, as it becomes more and more common with younger people, we must take advantage of the people around us as those are the people who will help you stay sane!

Keeping myself fit with MS

Happy Great North Run Day everyone!

I thought today was a good day to talk about how I incorporate fitness into my lifestyle since it's GNR day. This time last year I had just finished my first Great North Run, something I thought I’d never be able to do since I’m not the strongest runner. It was the best feeling in the world though knowing I’d ran all that way for a charity that means the world to me – The MS Society.

I raised over £1,100 for the charity which was a lot more than I expected when I signed up. It was an amazing experience and I entered again this year but sadly had to pull out due to a relapse earlier in the year…

Fitness has always been a big part of my life. In primary school I was on all the sports teams, secondary I was a swimmer but then when I went to college I stopped exercising when I was diagnosed with MS, put on a lot of weight and become lazy. Then I went to university and decided to join a gym and get fit again. Now I go to the gym 3-4 times a week #fit

I don’t just go to the gym to keep the weight off although that helps as I eat a lot of food!! I go to the gym to relieve stress, to challenge myself and most of all because I enjoy it.

People forget how important it is to do something that relieves stress. Without the gym I know I would become anxious, angry and stressed so I try to go when I can without pushing myself too much.

I usually do 2 x weight training sessions, 1 x spinning and 1 x run a week which I feel is a nice enough balance to work different parts of the body. I usually can tell whether my body is tired from exercise or when my body is tired due to my MS (I normally get tingly legs) so I try to slow down when I can.

It’s important to get a balance and to listen to your body especially when you have MS. Everyone gets tired but when you have MS tiredness and fatigue is much more common and you feel like it’s your biggest weakness. But what I’ve learnt is it’s okay to go to bed a bit earlier, it’s okay to not want to go out until the early hours of the morning and it’s okay to stay in you pjs all day.

Sometimes we need to rest and recover – we’re only human!