Telephone Consultation with Nurse Titi

Today is a good day. My level of fatigue was a five on a scale of one to ten. I slept for only one hour. I got rid of some junk in the loft too.

I went to the gym for one hour and did some new shoulder exercises detailed in  Body Change by Montel Williams and Wini Linguvic. I also did 30 minutes of cardio on the stepper and on the treadmill. It was exciting to do some new exercises. I love doing shoulder exercises. :D
I did three sets of crunches too. Jimmy went with me to the gym at my request. He was my spotter for some lateral shoulder lifts. I am trying to increase my lateral shoulder lifts to 60 pounds and I can't do it alone. He also threw me a medicine ball when I came up from crunch on the reverse incline bench. The funniest part of that was that he almost fell over when I threw him back the ball. It was funny because right now he is long and lanky but one day I know he will have much more strength than I have.

A very nice nurse called me today to teach me about the shots I am starting. Her name is Titi and she is certified in MS.  Nurses are available via telephone 24 hours a day. Titi is going to train me on the administration of the medication. She ordered a training kit for me today.

This is a bullet list of everything I learned during our phone call:

• I should contact the MS Society at 800-344-4867 and the MS Association of America at 800-532-7667 to learn as much as I can about MS. The MS Association of America has some cooling equipment to help me to stay cool when I exercise.
• The medication Betaseron doesn't have to be refrigerated but shouldn't be left in a hot car. It should be placed in carry on luggage. It's okay to place it in the trunk but shouldn't be left there for too many hours.
• I should call Dr. Lufti to ask him if he wants me to take Tylenol or Motrin before my injection. Tylenol or Motrin can minimize or eradicate any flu like symptoms of Betaseron.
• It's best to take the medication at bedtime. On the nights I work I should take the medication the following morning before I go to bed.
• I should continue my same exercise routine and there are people who play sports, run, and continue to travel and work on this medication.
• Once I receive the training kit, I should call Titi to be trained.
• Only 57% of people in studies experienced flu like symptoms. 37 % of people in a placebo group also experienced flu like symptoms. Ha.
• I need to hydrate a lot taking this medication. I'm not sure how I could drink more water than I already do but we will see. ;) I'm already drinking about 72 oz of water a day.

Titi was kind and patient and helped allay my concerns.

I was told that I could receive an emergency 30 day kit to start the medication sooner. I declined that as I don't see this as an emergency. I think I should save that privilege for an emergency.

Beta Plus, the company that provides Betaseron is awaiting approval from my insurance company to start the medication. The approval should take a couple more day, they tell me.