Less is Good, Maybe

In my sophomore year of high school, I started having a lot of trouble with muscle spasms (or stretching as I said). After talking with my doctor, I started taking medication to help reduce the stiffness and be able to function. It very quickly increased from one dose a day to four until I was on the maximum allowed amount.

About a decade later, I was having trouble with pressure sores and very strong spasms even with the pharmaceutical assistance. I was started on an additional medication that also eventually increased to four times a day and the maximum allowed dose. It has now been over ten years with the schedule of two meds, four times a day, to control my muscles. Even with this, I still had a lot of trouble with stiffness and being able to function.

Prepared for cold temps

Since November, I have had a lot less trouble with my limbs stretching and everything getting stiff. Therefore, I reduced one of my anti-spasm medications by once a day to see what happens. It has now been a couple weeks since the change and I'm not having any trouble. I'm hoping to stop another daily dose in February if everything goes well. The real question is though, why have they improved?

In 2019, my three pressure sores have been greatly improving. They didn't get any worse at camp and have continued to look good (as good as holes in your skin look). My primary day assistant says she has noticed the decrease in spasms since around June and thinks it may be due to decreased pain from skin issues.

Footwear still causes an increase in problems, but I have primarily been able to stay barefoot this fall and early winter due to mild conditions. Along with that, I have also been able to get on my exercise bike more often which also helps reduce stiffness. However, little to no muscle spasms can also indicate something is wrong in my body and has coincided with hospital stays.

Living the quad life can be a guessing game sometimes. Even if it's just one pill a day, I'm thankful to be able to decrease my medications and also side effects. I'm praying my caregiver is correct with the cause of the improvement, but time will tell. No matter what, I am thankful for at least the current change and pray it continues moving forward. I will see what another week with much colder temperatures brings.