Making the Decision to Start a DMD
In February 2015, out of nowhere, I began to fall. Not a delicate, Oscar-worthy crumpling to the floor, but an embarrassing, on-all-hands-and-knees, make-a-hole-in-your-trousers, kind of fall. By the third public fall, I had adapted so much that I laughed it off to the bewilderment of strangers around me, dusted myself off and carried on with my day. I had my annual MRI scan in June and everyone around me told me the falls were just due to an infection. I knew, however, that my balance had been 'off' for some time so it was possibly related and, after further investigation, a tiny part of my MRI showed that my cerebellum was affected, disturbing my balance. It took a few weeks to get this confirmation, but the outcome was a recommendation to start on a Disease Modifying Drug, or DMD for short. I was diagnosed in 2008, but had had my first relapse in 2005. However, I can track my MS back to my early twenties. If we go from 2005, say, this meant that by this period of falls I...