What the Neurologist Said...

Or, rather, what he DIDN'T say. See, he wasn't even at the appointment! I had the first one of the day (8:40 am), which meant my poor mom and I got up at the crack of dawn to be sure we made it to D.C. in time.

After two large cups of coffee (which I was regretting about halfway to my appointment, IF you know what I mean), we hit the road and got there in plenty of time. Oh, the vagaries of D.C.-area traffic. Had we slept longer and left later, no doubt we'd have been late. But I digress.

The nurse practitioner (NP) led us to Dr. M's office, where she informed us that he wasn't in yet and that she'd get started. Well, I'll spoil the ending for you right now: he never arrived. How nice to have a job where you can decide whether to show up... At any rate, the NP was very competent and thorough. She led me through the same drills that Dr. M usually does: had me walk in a straight line, tested my reflexes, jabbed me in various appendages to see if I could feel things. She asked a ton of questions and, all in all, it wasn't that much different from seeing Dr. M. Then it was time to look at the MRI. This was the part I had dreaded and why my stomach had been roiling.

The computer monitor was facing away from me as she loaded the disc. She was quiet. All I heard was whirring. She said, "Hmmm, that's weird..." I prepared to (a) faint or (b) bolt from the room. Then she said, "Something's wrong with this computer; the images aren't loading."

Now, a normal person would think, "Oh, what a crappy computer." I thought, "Oh, the images probably are so riddled with white blobs [both MS and not MS] that they're slowing down the computer."

Sigh. It's truly exhausting. After what felt like an eternity, during which she kept murmuring and the computer kept whirring, and I kept feeling like I was going to vomit, the images loaded. She scrolled through them and noted...one or two tiny spots, and none of them enhancing, which means none of them are active (for a more scientific explanation, please consult someone smarter than I am).

"Nothing to worry about!" she announced cheerfully.

I wasn't about to press her. She did point out that I have some bulging discs in my neck (here I thought the pain in my neck was my husband - hahahahahaha! Folks, I'm here all week!).

For the persistent and sometimes debilitating  fatigue, she prescribed Provigil, which my insurance promptly refused to pay for. Out of pocket, it would be $600 for 30 tabs. Ironically, I was too damn tired to get on the phone and start arguing with them. That's a battle for another day.

And what about Swank? She, as I had expected, was skeptical about the benefits as they relate to MS, but said as long as I'm getting enough protein and vitamins, there was no harm in trying it.

So, off I go for my morning's Swanky breakfast. For those keeping track: 42 shredded wheat biscuits and 3/4 C almond milk, and a tall glass of OJ.