“Do you think you’re walking better?”
The question came from my wife, Laura. It’s now about 4 1/2 months since my first round of Lemtrada infusions and I’ve had ups and downs physically. The day she asked, I was feeling pretty good. I also think I’ve been sharper mentally than in the past. Yet I wasn’t sure I’d noticed any improvement in my mobility.
“I don’t know,” I told her. “Maybe. It’s hard to tell.”
But she could tell. “Well, I think you’re walking better.”
Laura is a retired physical therapist, so she looks at my walking with a professional’s eye. My left foot drops and that leg drags. She thought the drop and drag were looking a bit better, and she told me to see if I could put my left heel down first when I walked.
I couldn’t do that but, in trying, I could see that my toes flexed upward, just a bit, rather than dragging. I could also lift my whole foot a fraction of an inch off the floor as I moved my left leg forward. So, yes, I seemed to be walking a bit better. Laura also noticed that I was standing straighter. Again, once she pointed it out, I could see she was right.
The next day I improved a bit more. Now, after getting rid of my usual morning stiffness, I find that, if I concentrate, I can lift my left foot high enough so that I can pretty much put my heel down first. And I’ve been able to do that for a couple of days now.
The last time I wrote about my Lemtrada journey was three months ago, and my roller coaster was spending more time in the dips than in the peaks. My fatigue was up and down. On several days it was tough to get out of bed. Other days I felt good when I woke up, but took a dive in mid-afternoon, and had to nap for a couple of hours. Many nights involved getting up for multiple “pee trips,” which didn’t help my energy level.
Then I developed a fever and dry cough, which was diagnosed as a strep infection. It took an antibiotic, and about two weeks of rest, to regain my energy. Since then I’ve been on a plateau, not feeling bad, but not experiencing the walking improvement that some Lemmies report. Not until Laura’s six words the other day: “Do you think you’re walking better?” And, I do.
Of course, not everything has been perfect. I’ve written about a pain that I developed several weeks ago in my hips and thighs, and it’s still with me. I’m getting some physical therapy to see if that will help. And I’m stiffer than I’ve ever been in the morning.
My first post-infusion MRI and an appointment with my neurologist are scheduled for mid-June. I can’t wait to see what the scan and her 25-foot walking test show. Stay tuned.
(This is an updated version of my column that first appeared on www.multiplesclerosisnewstoday.com)
If it works for you, that’s brilliant. It seems to be pretty mixed, so if you’ve nabbed the good hold on to it! (Personally I dropped off LDN because it just made me worse). It will be interesting to see what the MRI shows.