Before having MS I had had 3 part-time jobs.  I was manager of 36 houses for a property management firm, I had a Day Care in my home, and I was also the co-ordinator for an Enrichment Program for the senior citizens in the area.  I was a volunteer member of numerous organizations.  Soon I didn’t have a life after work.  I came home, made supper, ate, and I was in bed by 8 PM or before.  Work became my life.  I gave up many volunteer work commitments.

The winter before my diagnosis I had to give up the Day Care in my home, in the spring before my diagnosis I had to resign as manager for the property management firm.  I had to withdraw from the rest of my volunteer duties.  The only job I had was the one-day-a-week, working with my much loved senior citizens. 

My worst and most consuming symptom, the one that seemed to rule my life was fatigue.  The fatigue sapped the quality of my life, it overwhelmed, it consumed, it encompassed my whole life.  Fatigue dictated what I did or did not do.  Fatigue limited my energy and my endurance.  Simply shopping for groceries was an exhausting task.  Resting did not restore my energy level.  Fatigue never left me.

Heat really affected my MS symptoms.  Heat intensified all of my symptoms.  Summers became unbearable.  Previously I had loved the heat of summers, sunbathing, and long hot baths.  MS made me hide in my basement during the heat of summer days.  I could only go outside when the weather had cooled at night time.  Heat created an overwhelming feeling of exhaustion within me.

I soon learned to prioritize my activities.  I had to realize that people were more important than a clean house.  I have had to hire some one to do my house cleaning on occasion.  I have naps when I need them, not at a later time. 

Since starting my MS Treatment, of an injectable drug, fatigue and heat no longer rule my life.  My life is approaching normalcy now.  All of the four Drug Therapies are equally good for varying reasons.  The drugs are Avonex, Betaseron, Copaxone, and Rebif.