This Is MS Multiple Sclerosis Community: Knowledge & Support

Spring used to be my favorite season. Now, all it does is cause depression. We had a very cold and snowy winter...and it made me sooo happy. Now it's melted and I can see all the "Spring related" chores that need done outside...chores I haven't been able to do in a decade.

I was always an outdoor kind of gal...love to rake, plant, mow, prune.... hated cleaning house though, but I'd take Spring cleaning it over this kind of life. Today, I can barely stand it....is it better to be pis_ed or depressed? Neither is good for the soul.

Venting....hopefully it will keep my brain from exploding from all of the emotions I've been feeling.

Hannakat it does get hard. Is there anyone who would help out with the yard chores?
*hugs*

I know the feeling, but in a different way.

I was never an outdoor type of girl but I loved to be online...chat, surf the web, work on an online marketing business I was trying to create, play games, etc.

My hands are so numb it makes it almost impossible to type. Heck it has taken me at least 5 or more minutes to type this.

When I used to work, I was able to type around 80-90 wpm. Now, I am lucky if I can get 5-10.

littlered13 –If you are having difficulties typing, look into the speech-recognition program Dragon NaturallySpeaking; one of our members here, marcstck, recommends it highly. Another member, twistedhelix, uses the voice-recognition program available on his operating system Vista. There may be others using such programs. You may find such a program very useful since your typing ability is such a problem.

With the exception of this week, this winter has been wonderful for me. I dread the return of spring because I had such a horrible spring/summer last year (my first), that I fear the warmer temps will bring back more symptoms, including seasonal allergies thrown in just for fun!

Jenn – I realize that you did not ask for my opinion. I may be rather unconventional in my ideas about MS; here is one more that is not generally accepted: I think mucus triggers additional insulin secretion. I think the mucus from seasonal allergies may be a greater factor than temperature in promoting MS symptoms. I am the member here who thinks that excess insulin production (and anything that encourages that) is fundamental to MS.

Please forgive my jumping in.

Thanks Cece....problem is, I want to do it. waaaa! I miss getting dirty, smelling like the outdoors, muscles worn out from a full day of physical work that I could look back at and admire.

Depression (for me) seems to run in cycles and the warm spell we just had pointed it all out to me again.

littlered13 ~ sorry to hear about your hands. I kinda know how you feel. In 2002, it became too hard for me to work outside the home so I quit a very nice job to go back to school to learn something new that I could do from home. I was a medical transcriptionist for several years but had to give it up last year .... between my mind not remembering even my most used short cuts and program functions to loss of finger control...it became too hard.

Gotta keep moving as well as we can.

Hannakat - I was an at home medical transcriber for 22+ years, perfect job for a single mom, as much work as I wanted hooked in with hospitals. Nothing like MS to make you realize how many different skills it requires to do medical transcription. I quit my job in October 2007 afraid an error might hurt somebody. I can do nothing fast any more and am information overloaded and overwhelmed easily and can't multitask any more. Speed and accuracy are required for the job.

I love to be outside working in the yard too. Winters aren't as bad in So Cal but tasks get built up and seem overwhelming. I can still push the lawnmower but can't hold up the edger any more. Even if it is something small I try to get something done each day outside, weather permitting. It doesn't matter what my neighbors think - I edge the lawn with strong scissors, which takes a few days but gets the job done and gets me out in the fresh air and sun.