This past week has been very low key. I have been fighting off a very bad cold. And, of course, now that I am starting to feel better, my family has it. Don't you just hate that snowball effect. Needless to say I am staying as far away from them as possible. I love them and everything, but I have had this cold more than once already. I really have no desire to get it again!

A couple weeks ago I mentioned that I was having problems walking. Well, my PCP sent me to a back specialist. Yesterday I had my first treatment. An Epidural. Can I just say....OUCH! The procedure itself was not too bad. He numbed my back and did a great job. Nothing like the pain and discomfort of a spinal tap. Anyway, it was the after effects, when the numbing meds wore off. I thought I was in pain before....man this sucks. I was told that I will be in pain for up to 72 hours and then I should feel better. Well, last night not only was my back in severe pain, it radiated into my hip and down my leg. I had both icyhot around my knee and 2 Lidoderm patches on just to take the edge off. My doc tells me they typically give these in batches of 3 and then do PT. Hopefully the next one won't be quite as bad.

Today I am better. Still having some pain, but better. I am looking forward to feeling better though, so whatever works I am all for. I hope each one of you are doing well. Take care of yourselves!

Just wanted to drop a quick note. I have not forgotten about any of you or my blog. I have been fighting off a horrible cold. I have seen the doc and been given a RX and so hopefully it will do it's job. In the meantime I am doing my best to get a lot of sleep, stay hydrated, and continue to use my breathing machine. I hope you are all doing well and that you don't get this horrible cold that is going around. Take care!

As many of you already know, I have been on Novantrone for a year and a half now. Almost immediately I felt better. It pretty much gave me my life back. Then in July I started to go downhill again. My hope at that time was that it was a fluke that my MS was showing its ugly head. The reality is that it was a hot summer which probably contributed to my symptoms. Add the fact that I was having an adverse reaction to my asthma medication and things were not good. In fact I have not felt really good since that time. I was starting to wonder if maybe I am not responding to the Novantrone anymore. I guess I am curious if there comes a point where our bodies get used to the smurf blood and therefore does not respond as well.

My last treatment was on January 4th. Usually by now I am feeling much better, back to my old self really. This is not the case. I have had severe fatigue to the point that I feel like I can't do much of anything. It has gotten to the point that if I seem to actually have energy and go out to do something (even basic things like grocery shopping) then I am paying for it the next day and sometimes for the next 2-3 days. I have been having other symptoms as well. So, if you have been on Novantrone (Mitoxantrone) please let me know if you had a similar reaction to the medication. Did it eventually fade and not work as well or did your doctor take you off before that happened? I am curious to hear how others have responded.

I spoke with my neuro office and since my last MRI was just before I started the Novantrone they scheduled me for a MRI of my brain and lower back. You see last week I woke up only to not be able to walk very well. I could hardly move. My mid to lower back was in so much pain and it affected my left leg as well. I had a lot of weakness and numbness. I had an x-ray that showed normal, so off to the MRI I went. What a MRI it was too. It took about 2 hours which is longer than I want to spend in a MRI machine, but this one was not too bad. It was a brand new MRI machine for the hospital. It was an open MRI and they provided earphones with any type of music you can think of to listen to. I know these machines are not new, but this is the first time I have been in one. It was kind of cool…much better than being squeezed into a tube only to listen to the loud clicks and other noises from the test. Interestingly enough though it still gave me a headache.

Thursday I got the results back and I am happy to report that although I may not be responding as well as I was previously to the Novantrone it certainly did its job! I still have multiple white matter lesions but for the most part they have decreased in size. There is only one lesion that has some enhancement. This is great news! For the first time since my starting on meds for MS have I responded to something. I did not respond well to any of the ABCR's and from what my Oncologist tells me, Novantrone is not the only chemo drug used to treat MS patients. Granted it is not the standard of care, but it is an option. Also there was a study done in Europe a while back that showed patients who did not previously respond to Copaxone had better success with it after taking Novantrone. I have also been told that because you can have no more than 12 doses of Novantrone, the doctors like to save some for a later date in case you really need it. My hope is that since I have responded to this, maybe it has given my body the jump start needed to better respond to other medications. One can only hope, right?

My back MRI was a different story. It turns out I need to see a back specialist. I have a couple bulging discs, some disc height loss, facet join disorder/arthritis, and a degernerative disorder of the spine which causes the spinal canal to shrink. My PCP has referred me to a back doctor here locally that he says is the best at what he does. I have been assured that he can do a lot to help without needing surgery. That would be good! The last thing I want to do is have surgery. My appointment is on Wednesday. I'll let you know how it goes.

I hope this finds all of you doing well. Take care!