We haven't been all that social the last few months as I've been recovering. Too much mental stimulation or stress can just be well - too much for me. :)
Our church has an annual get together at a local farm though and the kids really look forward to it each year. I prayed we would be able to make it. Thankfully we did!!! I took it easy and made sure to sit in the shade as often as possible. After a bit, I could tell it was affecting me though, at which point we headed home. Once we got home, I headed back to my bed. As I sat there with my computer, I started to feel like a spasm was too close. I called my husband back to pray with me. Thankfully, the rest of the night I improved rather than getting worse.
It's so strange that I can do my recumbent bike, back in my room, by myself, for 30 minutes. I can work up a sweat and do some light weights, but walking around and mental stimulation, seem to affect me. It's incredible how amazing our brains are and what they do without us even thinking about it. Think of a small child learning to walk. Walking on pavement is clearly easier than hiking. It's not always a strength or endurance issue, as much as a coordination issue. When we go through life, we are always processing what is going on around us. Our brains are telling us what noises are important and what noises to block out. It's telling us to breathe, to walk, to look where we are going. It's coordinating all these various functions related to different organs and parts of the body. It's incredible really.
In MS, the myelin sheath in your central nervous system is attacked. It's like some of those wires in your brain have had a mouse go through and nibble on them. All the messages don't flow down smoothly like they are intended to. Some of the coating on the "wires" - which are transmitting these signals to tell your body what to do - aren't all protected and encased like they should be. This means that sometimes the signal is affected and can't go through smoothly, and then things don't work right. Other times, if the damage isn't too bad or permanent, the signal might hum along just fine, despite the faulty coating, and everything will work just fine.
Just like anything in the early stages of wiring issues, it might work one day and not the next. Right now, it seems like I'm driving in a car with faulty wires - sometimes the A/C works and sometimes it doesn't. Whenever you have intermittent problems with something in your car or a radio or TV and it seems like it's a wiring issue, what is your first method of treatment? Bang the blasted object and see if that fixes it, right? Makes perfect sense to me! Ha ha. I have yet to try banging on my head, though. Maybe that is a treatment option I should consider...Hm. ;)
At any rate, as I can see my brain struggle, it's a reminder of how amazing our brains really are. They do SO much for us!! So much that we don't even realize they are doing!! So next time you see me, if I'm a little slow or sluggish, maybe try banging on my head. ;)
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