Lost my glasses atop my head again!

  

Stop me, if you’ve heard this one. Heck, you may have done it too!

 Blame it on MS fog, if you want. Because vision issues are common among those with multiple sclerosis, we tend to wear eyeglasses regularly.

 How many times have I searched for my eyeglasses, only to find that I am wearing them on top of my head?  (True confessions: I’ve done this with sunglasses too. My kids tease me repeatedly about the time they caught me with a pair of sunglasses and a pair of eyeglasses riding on top of my hair.)

 

Is it really such a terrible idea to wear glasses on top of your head? Maybe.

 Hair products, natural oils and sweat can muck up your glasses. And it’s hard to move those eyeglasses around without leaving fingerprints on the lenses.

1. Eyeglasses can bend stretch and lose their proper fit by sitting atop your head. No one likes wearing wiggly spectacles!
2. After repeated wearings, eyeglass hinges loosen and break. (And how can you see what you’re doing with those tiny eyeglass repair kits, if your glasses are broken? That’s right. You need another pair of glasses to do it!)
3. Too-tight eyeglass frames can give you a headache, and MSers already have plenty of those.
4. Oops? Glasses tend to scratch and break when they fall off your head too many times.
5. Hats don’t fit, if they are put on over those glasses on your head.
6. Eyeglasses aren’t actually helpful, unless they are on your eyes.

 OK, we get it. But we do it anyway. We give our eyes a break and stick those glasses up on our heads, regardless of the consequences. Plus, a pair of eyeglasses can make a handy headband.

 Complicating matters further, many of us stash our glasses on our necklaces (or neckties), on the front opening of a shirt of sweater, or simply loose in a pocket. Those special specs can get crushed, smashed, or dropped. (Don’t even ask me what happens when the glasses are stashed in a back jeans pocket. It wasn’t pretty.)

 I’ve worn my glasses riding on top of my head, tucked in the neckline of a shirt, or dangling from a necklace more times than I can count. That’s why I sometimes look like I am dancing the Macarena while looking for them.

 Eyeglasses belong in their protective cases, whenever we aren’t wearing them to see. But what if we can’t remember where we put those cases?

 

It’s a quandary for sure.

 Good thing I stock up on those cheat cheater-readers. I’d sure hate to lose or damage pricey prescription eyeglasses!

 Now, if I could only find my car keys …

 

Related items:

• Bright lights, big pity
• MS and vision: How many types of glasses do I need?
• MS can do a triple whammy on vision
• MS style: Sporting shades in the shade ... or fog or rain
• Optic Neuritis: A Look at Sudden Blindness
• Side-to-side eye movement may help memory, but it makes me wanna hurl.

 

 

Image/s:  Adapted from public domain photo

 

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Too much! Too loud! Overstimulation awakens MS

  

It’s easy to become overstimulated in these busy times. We are bombarded with images, messages, noises, smells, and other stimuli – even in our own home. And when we go out, even if we aren’t agoraphobic or claustrophobic, we often face crowds, traffic, and commotion. 

Overstimulating situations can take many forms: 

• a rush-hour traffic jam, with honking horns and lane-hopping drivers, while the radio is playing
• a family dinner, with everyone talking at once
• a loud restaurant with booming music, clanging dishes, and boisterous diners
• a grocery checkout line, with PA announcements, impatient customers, your own kids in tow, and a hurried cashier
• a too-loud TV or sound system, especially if you’re trying to focus on a project
• multitasking on deadline

 I bet you can come up with even more triggers of overstimulation. Essentially, volume and chaos are key contributors. Even sitting at a computer with too many tabs or windows open at one time or trying to work at a cluttered desk or counter may set things off. Of course, everything goes up a few notches with illness, injury, insomnia, or a crisis in the mix. 

And ladies: Toss in PMS, pregnancy, or menopause, and all bets are off.

 

Sensory overload is a neurological circus, and it is common with MS.

 We may experience this in several ways, such as: 

• agitation
• anxiety
• aversion to touch
• concentration problems
• confusion
• disorientation
• distraction
• dizziness
• feeling faint
• frustration
• muscle spasms
• numbness or tingling
• overheating
• oversensitivity to light (especially flashing lights)
• physical pain
• speech difficulty
• sudden-onset fatigue
• sweating
• tremors
• and more.

 You know, it’s basically the whole kit and caboodle of MS symptoms. But they seem to subside, soon after the overstimulation diminishes.

 

What can MSers do about this?

 Turning down the noise is key. But it’s not always possible.

 Noise-canceling headphones can help. (I frequently wear the big old-fashioned headphones while working at my own desk at home. And I don’t even plug them in. They help to cut the overstimulation clutter in my own home, where loud phone conversations and high-volume TVs can become uncomfortable and overstimulating.) Playing calming music through those headphones is a plus for others.

 Wearing sunglasses and selecting glare-reducing eyeglasses (if you wear glasses) may minimize some visual overstimulation. Night-driving anti-glare glasses are available. Also, polarized glare-reducing sunglasses can be found to fit over regular eyeglasses.

 Softer-glow light bulbs (or dimmers) ease some of the harsh stimulation of the brighter ones.

 Stepping away from chaotic situations may be an option sometimes. I’ve left often left crowded rooms during noisy gatherings (even for a few moments) or stepped outdoors for brief walks and fresh air.

 Simplifying our schedules can help as well.

 Stress management techniques do wonders for those who must deal with overstimulation. A lot of these involve finding moments of privacy and quiet. Some folks practice prayer, quiet time, meditation, gentle exercise, yoga, slower and deeper breathing, singing, reading, and other means of reprioritizing their attention and reducing sensory clutter for a while.

 The hardest step is often to recognize when we are growing overstimulated before it throws us into MS turmoil. There are times when it simply happens without warning. But even identifying the problem can make it a bit more manageable.

 Turning down the noise is a sound decision, when we can. 

 

Related items:

• A-Z promising quotes: Noise
• MS is like a carnival thrill ride without the thrill.
• Multiple Sclerosis: 3 most troubling MS cognitive symptoms
• Tuning in sometimes clears the clutter for an MSer

 

 

Image/s:  Public domain photo/s, Pixabay

 

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MS and vision: How many types of glasses do I need?

 

Vision is an issue for almost everyone battling multiple sclerosis, or so it seems. Most of us have experienced optic neuritis in one or both eyes, when MS attacks the optic nerve, wreaking havoc on eyesight. We face tunnel vision, color blindness, eye pain, loss of depth perception, and general blurriness until it subsides. If we’re lucky, most of the damage is temporary – at least, until the next episode.

 Vertigo is another common complaint among those with MS. Reeling, unsteadiness, and dizziness can crop up anytime. And they do.

 

That makes vision care considerably more complex for MSers.

 Personally, I’ve been through the wringer, when it comes to finding useful and appropriate eyewear.

 Initially, all I needed was a pair of basic magnifying readers. I’d pick these up for reading, computer work, crafting, and other close-up activities. It was enough to keep a few pairs in strategic spots around the house, office, car, and other locations for quick grabbing.

 Eventually, I grew tired of the constant off-and-ons. And, like many, I began needing some vision help with distance sight as well. So I tried bifocals.

 Ugh!

 I would imagine it’s tricky enough to nod one’s head constantly up and down, finding the sweet spots on bifocals for far and close sights. But with MS attacking spots up and down one’s spine, all that neck movement can be a real headache. (See what I did there?)

 And the shifting back and forth from near and far tends to be jarring. It sure was for me. So I tossed the bifocals.

 Then my eye doctor suggested progressive lenses.

 Oh, boy.

 Progressive lenses somehow blend the distance prescription down to the close-up prescription without visible dividing lines. They’re particularly pricey, but plenty of people crow about how wonderful they are. (Actually, I have never heard an MSer praise them, now that I think about it.)

 Ah, hindsight!

 OK, so the vision center expert minimized the possible struggles I might encounter, simply defining a “short-term learning process” with progressive lenses.

 That didn’t even come close to describing the blurriness, double vision, and vertigo I experienced when I began wearing a very pricey pair of progressive lens eyeglasses. Yes, I even barfed.

 Then I did a little reading on the issue. Apparently, progressive lenses can bring blurry vision, headaches, nausea, balance problems, and an impression of still objects bouncing around. Some people even trip or fall when wearing them. Sounds a little dizzying and disorienting, right? Just the ticket for someone with MS?

 I reverted to my trusty pairs of cheap readers. At the time, I still didn’t need much help for distance viewing. I figured I could live with a little squinting, rather than reeling from the weird lenses.

 

Ah, but things change in time, don’t they?

 My latest eye exam revealed I need more distance vision help. When I protested about bifocals and progressives, my eye doc recommended I try using one pair of glasses for distance and another for close-up.  And because most of my need for distance viewing is while driving, I also picked out a pair of prescription sunglasses.

 Gee, this will be fun, trying to keep track of all that eyewear.

 Life with MS. No one ever said it would be simple.

 

Related items:

·        Eye Pain - Facing MS symptoms from A to Z

• MS style: Sporting shades in the shade ... or fog or rain
• MS symptoms fire when we’re sick
• Optic Nerve Issues - Facing MS symptoms from A to Z
• Optic Neuritis: A Look at Sudden Blindness
• Side-to-side eye movement may help memory, but it makes me wanna hurl

  Image/s: public domain photp

 

 

Feel free to follow on Twitter. Please visit my Amazon author page as well.

You are invited to join the Kicking MS to the Curb page on Facebook and the Making the Most of MS board on Pinterest.

MS has made me more body-conscious.

I was never really in-tune with my body – at least, not before multiple sclerosis knocked my off my feet. For decades, I hardly paid attention to my overall health, energy levels, and apparent absence of pain.

OK, if I was sick for a while, like with a flu episode, I was aware of the symptoms I endured during that time. If I was injured, like when I broke a leg skiing as a kid, I was fully conscious of how much it hurt – until it didn’t anymore.

When hurts or hiccups, numbness or nausea, tinges or tingles went away, I simply went on with my life. I sort of forgot they had happened.

Then I was diagnosed with MS.

Let me just get this off my chest.

Until I was 50 and found out I had MS, I basically just played life by ear. But once I was diagnosed, I was all-ears, when it came to the subject of MS. At least, after I had cried my heart out over the whole deal. I knew I was in over my head.

I had to pay attention to my own body more than I ever had done.

No, I didn’t want to become a hypochondriac, boring myself and others with incessant organ recitals and physical complaints. On the other hand, I needed to become more cognizant of constant and intermittent symptoms, MS patterns (if you can even call them that), and potential triggers.

Here’s an example. Heat is a well-known trigger of MS symptoms. When the weather is hot, when I am stuck in a crowded spot, or when I am working out, I have had to be more clued-in to my own core temperature. I don’t walk around with a thermometer, but I have learned to estimate when it is approaching a dangerous level. If I can find a way to cool myself off in time, I can sometimes beat the curve and minimize some of the ill effects. But not always.

Migraines are another example. These horrendous headaches are a hallmark of life with MS for many people. And certain foods can predispose us to blaring migraines. When I can avoid these, it can make an enormous difference. I’ve even learned to recognize the early symptoms of migraine, as they set in. Often, I can tell while I am still eating something that contains a trigger (such as MSG, aspartame, or even chocolate). If I stop promptly and take migraine meds, I may thwart part of the attack.

Maybe that sounds like a no-brainer, but it wasn’t for me.

Pre-MS, I had grown pretty accustomed to operating on autopilot, from a health standpoint. Essentially, I lived by a simple standard: “If it ain’t broke, don’t fret it.”

Post-MS, that changed. In fact, I began to recall weird health episodes and troubling symptoms that had come and gone over the years and to connect the dots between those dark days and MS.

It baffles me to consider how many years I lived without paying any attention to strange sensations (or lacks of sensation) that I experienced in the past. Maybe I would have found out I had MS a lot sooner.

Frankly, I’m not sure if that would have changed the picture much. But it might have helped me to understand and live better amid such strange and unpleasant episodes.

And I wonder how many others simply stroll through life without cluing in to their own symptoms. How many times does a person sit funny (or sleep in a strange position) and find that a foot or a hand has gone numb and begins feeling all prickly (like pins and needles)? When normal sensations return, does that person ignore or forget what happened?

With MS, that’s pretty much a daily thing, no matter how we sleep or sit. So we learn to pay attention. We take note of it. Then we get up and fight anyway.

Image/s:

Face Reflected in a Mirror by Julian Alden Weir 1896

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Product review: Yurbuds Inspire Sport Earphones

Do Yurbuds really refuse to fall out, and are they comfortable?

Earphones are ideal for exercising. They’re also excellent tools for anyone living with multiple sclerosis. I frequently wear earphones, both for exercising and for working. Basically, I do this for two primary reasons:

1. I like to run several miles nearly daily – at least, I do on those days with the MS MonSter isn’t raging. I’m not a fast runner. In fact, sometimes I walk up hills and jog the flat stretches. But having energetic music piping into my ears somehow helps to keep my feet tapping along, even when I start to tire. So earphones help.

2. Noise can be more than annoying to anyone living with multiple sclerosis. Loud, unruly, chaotic, and sporadic sounds tend to be distracting, disorienting, and even painful. Sometimes auditory overload seems to send MSers into symptomatic overload. I’ve been known to put on earphones and not even plug them in, simply using them to mute the sounds around me. (Someone in my home recently retired. Need I say more?)

Enter Yurbuds Inspire Sport Earphones.

I picked these up a couple of months ago. I was intrigued by the product claims. Apparently, these handy headphones were supposed to be comfortable, durable, and designed especially for exercise. Having grown frustrated with earbuds that constantly fell from my ears during runs, I jumped at the chance to try Yurbuds.

I picked the Yurbuds Inspire 100 for Women Sport Earphones, which retail for approximately $20. My set happened to be aqua, but they also come in green, yellow, purple, and coral.

Do Yurbuds work?

Designed jointly by a triathlete and a marathoner, Yurbuds look a lot like everyday earphones (such as those that come with smart phones), except that they have nifty little cone-like enhancers (Read: earbud caps), fashioned from silicone, that tuck into the user’s ears. This particular pair was designed in a smaller size to fit daintier ears. (Hey, don’t judge.)

Supposedly water- and sweat-resistant, these buds use a patented TwistLock technology, essentially meaning the earbud caps can swivel into place to fit each wearer’s ears.

I liked the way Yurbuds fit and felt. The sound quality was adequate, even allowing ambient noise. That’s a big safety plus for anyone running or walking on trails, tracks, or roadsides.

This product reviewer purchased the product described and evaluated here, and the reviewer has no prior or existing relationship (either familial or professional) with the creator, manufacturer or marketer of the product.

But here’s the catch, which I happened to discover immediately before my tag-in at a recent trail relay race. Sometimes the little Yurbuds enhancer caps pop off. The first time this happened (at said race), I was able to find the errant cap in the grass.

Unfortunately, it happened again the next day. I was running on a woodsy trail. I thought I heard a rustling nearby, so I lifted the Yurbud out of one ear. That’s when I noticed that one of the enhancer caps had gone missing.

Oops! Look what's missing!

Grr.

Now my Yurbuds have been reduced to regular earphones. Apparently, replacement enhancer caps are available for $10 to $15.

Also, the cord on Yurbuds Inspire Sport Earphones tends to tangle. And this particular product does not include a microphone or volume adjuster, although each set sports a standard jack that is compatible with most smartphones and tablets. They also work with computers, radios, and TVs that have standard mic inputs. (Apparently, higher priced Yurbuds earphones do offer microphones and control buttons.)

Overall, I liked using Yurbuds Inspire Sport Earphones, while the enhancer caps lasted. But now I am sort of stuck with earbuds that fall out.

Image/s:

 Product promotion/packaging photo – fair use

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Nerve-wracking: Describing multiple sclerosis from A to Z

Ding-ding-ding!

Knock-knock-knock!

Scratch-scratch-scratch!

Squeak-squeak-squeak!

Tap-tap-tap!

Are you annoyed yet? (Some people can be so nerve-wracking, right?)

What’s your pet peeve?

What totally gets under your skin? Is it:

• Bad grammar?
• Close talkers?
• Constant complaining?
• Fingernails scratching on a chalkboard?
• Gum smackers?
• Missing socks?
• Name dropping?
• Nosy neighbors?
• Soda slurping?
• Terrible drivers?
• Or some other nerve-wracking thing?

Something that’s nerve-wracking is aggravating, annoying, irritating, testing, trying, and an overall pain in the neck. 

That’s multiple sclerosis. Actually, MS can be all in our heads, necks, and spines – the whole central nervous system. But that pretty much carries over into the whole body. An MS flare-up is kind of like having the entire control tower go out of whack at a busy airport.

Ain’t no one gonna fly right, if that happens. Whether a person has acrophobia or not, I’m guessing that’d be nerve-wracking.

That’s a picture of MS. It gets on our nerves.

Related item/s:

50 mistreated words and desecrated phrases: Wreck havoc

Back to Square None? An M.S. Morning Revealed

Beware of reposting photos, poems and stories without permission

Sometimes no growth is a good thing

The Tumor Is a Rumor

What if a spouse urges an MSer to file for disability?

Image/s:

April A to Z Challenge 2016 logo – fair use

 Adapted from public domain artwork

Feel free to follow on Google Plus and Twitter.  You are invited to join the Kicking MS to the Curb page on Facebook and the Making the Most of MS board on Pinterest as well.