Diagnosed 8/11, need some support and motivation!

triciah2005

Hey Everyone,

My name is Tricia. I'm a 29 year old living in Roswell, Ga. I have two kids, a 4 year old boy and 1 year old girl. I've been struggling to lose weight for as long as I can remember! Adding M/S to the mix is not helping the matter, as many of you know! Anyone else live in the Atlanta area? Just wanted to say hi, and hopefully can find some friends to share support and motivation with.

Cheers!

Tricia M.

AshleyRKnutson

I'm not in the Atlanta area, I'm in Tx, but Hello!!

A little about me, I'm 24 and just got the confirmed diagnosis in March of this year, so it's all still very new to me. I Have 1 daughter, who is 3 (Profile pic). I also have tried to lose weight all the time and have luckily found that wil counting calories and just all around watching it, I am slowly losing. I think my meds might have something to do with it too, and that's great for me! If you'd like to be friends, just send me a request!

Ashley

lorib75

:flowerforyou: Hey girl! So glad to have you on MFP! I too have MS and was diagnosed in 2006. I have an almost 7 yr old daughter, and an almost 5 yr old son. I was dianosed 2 weeks into my pregnancy with my son so I didn't start on any meds.
My dad lives in Cumming GA. So I do have ties to ATL but I live about an hour north of Kansas City MO.
I'd like to join you on your quest for wellness. I'll send you a request and good luck on this new adventure!!

triciah2005

Thanks Ladies! Hope you don't mind if I bug you when I'm feeling like being bad! What are your eating habits like? I NEED to start exercising, and I hope that will help it come off. I started taking Zoloft around the time I was diagnosed and I feel likes thats keeping some of the weight on. Before I was on it, I lost weight easier...:/ I'm planning on joining the YMCA, doing water aerobics and yoga classes. I need to do this once and for all!

On a side note, are you ladies on medication? If so, what one? Have you had any or many relapses? What are some day to day symptoms that you face because of MS? One of my struggles is differentiating between a normal pain or symptom, or something being related to MS...

Looking forward to keeping in touch

psmd

Hi there--I'm not the best about MFP right now day-to-day but I'm trying to get back into it. But I was diagnosed with MS in 3/11, and honestly I hate to say it's been one of the best things to happen to me. It took me a few months, but once I accepted what happened, it really motivated me to finally lose weight. I've lost about 30 pounds since September, and recently plateaued (and reset my ticker to lose the last 20-some pounds, which is why it says I haven't lost anything!).

I am also a psychiatrist and have also had depression in the past, better now than before. Not giving medical advice but usually sertraline/zoloft isn't associated with weight gain or weight loss too much. It may just be a coincidence although everyone's different.

To answer some of your questions, you're right, there's a difference between "day to day" symptoms versus "new flares." That takes a while to figure out for yourself. For me fatigue is a huge daily struggle, no matter how much sleep I get or how much coffe I drink, but napping does help. Another thing is part of my initial flare was numbness from my feet to my waist, and it's been over a year and I still have very mild tingling in my lower legs. It is more noticable with exercise and drinking alcohol but it doesn't bother me too much and is usually just temporary. I think things like yoga are very helpful for MS and you should definitely try even a video if you don't join a gym, it's fairly easy to do on your own.

I have also noticed tension headaches but it's really just muscle tension and massages have made a huge difference!

I am currently on fingolimod/Gilenya, which is a new non-interferon, oral pill, it was FDA approved in 2011 so fairly new. Since I started taking it I haven't had any "new" symptoms, and haven't really noticed any side effects. There was some stuff about cardiac risk recently in the news but from what I could see it was mostly people who had previous heart disease. I'm not that worried about it (for me). I'm really grateful to be on it, but I will say it's very expensive and not covered by all insurances.

Anyway I have a blog with some MS and psychiatry related stuff if you're interested (getaheadwithdrg.wordpress.com), and you can always add me as a friend, although I have to preface that with my lack of activity sometimes! But not planning on quitting MFP at all, it's been tremendously helpful in the past almost-year for weight loss! Keep it up and you'll see results!

Take care,
Christina

Sinisi2012

I was dx July 2002, 10yr anniversary just around the corner. Been on MFP for 6 weeks, got 58 more lbs to lose so will be around for awhile, feel free to add me

moor9559

I was diagnosed in March of this year and so it is all fairly new to me. I am taking Avonex and at my 3 month MRI they found two new lesions so I just finished a 5 day infusion of Solumedrol. I'm just now getting back into MFP after gaining back too much of what I had already lost. I have a little boy that just turned 5. I'm in Idaho - so no where near Atlanta but feel free to add me if you'd like.

Benji49

Hi, I was diagnosed in Mar/08 and was on Rebif for about 1.5 years and am now on Copaxone. You'll get the hang of what is "normal" for you. The tingling and some numbness is normal for me - fatigue is a fact of MS life - be careful with the workouts and make sure you have water available and aren't going out alone because it can suddenly just hit you like a ton of bricks.

Don't second guess yourself, keep notes on how you are feeling and if it doesn't feel right call the MS Clinic and talk with one of the people there - that's what they are there for. You can also check with the local MS Society as they will have some group stuff going on - coffee get togethers, yoga, walking, counselling, support groups........it doesn't hurt to ask and just see if there is something close to you. It is easier to talk with people who have the disease because they understand where you are coming from.