Multiple Sclerosis: MS fatigue is an MSer's best friend

MS fatigue is an MSer's best friend.

Connecting to fatigue is one of the hardest MSer challenges. Often without warning, MS fatigue invades activities. Even with life skill management and avoidance techniques, the fatigue monster can find a way to hack into any activity.  This interloper action provides many reasons to consider the fatigue invader an enemy. In systems design, anything that causes a breach in system security is an interloper. As good as any system can possibly be, an interloper demonstrates an opportunity for improving security. An interloper that penetrates enough to cause damage means recovery actions.  While the interloper attack is cursed, the attack triggers opportunities to make a better system by improving security and recovery plans.

MS fatigue is an interloper attack on our body’s systems. We curse its existence as an enemy to our health. But if we step back and look a the attack as defining a breached area in the bran due to the MS lesions. The fatigue points to a place where adaptive techniques can aid damage recovery. As an MSer we can acknowledge MS fatigue as a foe, but also, we accept fatigue as a friend because it is showing us where we can adapt.

MS fatigue is an MSer's best friend.

MS-induced fatigue is the only true impact maker for lesions.  MRI shows where a lesion occurred. Neurologist tests are clinical fatigue tests. 

MS lesions result in 3 types of axon damage, nerve fiber fatigue, axon loss and ephaptic conduction* or simply high impedance opens and shorts.  Each of these exhibit as MS fatigue. *ephaptic conduction, as in cable theory,  means crosstalk due to loss of myelin via electrical fields.

The single measurement instrument of MS fatigue is the MSer themselves.   The body's built-in instrumentation is the main reason MS fatigue is the MSer's friend.  The life skill is to recognize friends and foe. I know first hand how easy it is to make MS fatigue the foe. Whereas in reality, your friend is telling you where the danger exists. 

The "walk out the door" example uses perceived exertion as the instrument to find the lesion trauma area. 

Imagine yourself sitting in a chair, looking at the morning sky out the door.  You decide to go outside to experience the day. To walk out the door 3 conditions must exist. First, you must have the physical prowess to stand up, next you need the neurological coordination to walk, and third, you must have the cognitive resources to plan the walk. ( Some people may lack the mobility to actually get up and walk, but still, imagine you can.) The example is a way the identity the source of fatigue. 

Physical prowess examples are body system works for strength, flexibility, and endurance. Physical fatigue exhibits as things like sweating, thirst, breathing, stiffness, strain, relaxing, nourishment, and sleep.

Neurological coordination is messaging  between the CNS and the PNS  nervous system

Cognition is the analytical mind that plans and executes activity.