It's Not the MS ...

One of the main reasons I don't like associating with other people who have MS or reading about MS is because it always gets me unnecessarily paranoid. I understand that MS can cause a lot of different symptoms and I understand that personally, my consistent symptom is fatigue. MS is different for everybody and someone else's symptoms don't necessarily relate to mine.

This morning, the MS Society tweeted a blog post from a woman who said that MS makes her coughs last far longer than normal. She said that many people don't realize it but MS can affect respiratory functioning. I couldn't help but think back to about a month ago when I developed bronchitis and was coughing for about three weeks. The woman described vicious coughing attacks in which strangers had to ask her if she needed them to call for help.

Did I experience that? Heck no!

Most likely my cough was brought on the wacky weather in Virginia and it lasted so long because I stopped taking my prescribed antibiotics on day three when my cough seemed like it was subsiding. Just because I have MS doesn't mean every little thing that happens to me should be attributed to it.

My parents have been slightly salty with me because I've been so lazy since I've been home. My excuse? This semester was physically and emotionally draining. All I wanted was a few days to lay in the bed, watch Food Network, play The Sims and eat whatever I wanted. Instead, they became worried that my laziness and bad eating habits (I wanted Waffle House at 11 p.m. one night) was being caused by a deeper, subconscious depression that even I couldn't detect. A depression most likely caused by the fact that I have MS.

Look, people. I have MS. I take an injection every morning when I wake up. Is it annoying? Definitely. Am I suffering from it? Not at all. Am I depressed by it? Not at all. My cold lasted three weeks because I didn't take it seriously. I lay around for three days straight when I got home for break because I was drained and so happy to not have any urgent responsibilities at hand. I tried to eat in the middle of the night because I'm in college and that's what I'm used to doing.

Bottom line? It's not the MS; trust me - it's just me.