Status

Negative

1. My ambulation has gotten gradually more perilous and impaired since I started the ceftriaxone infusions. I consider this part of the progression that transpired previously, not a result of the treatment. I have had a couple of dramatic falls. One thing that has been going on for a few months is that the left foot tends to try to roll inward. I think that's because the muscles on the inner side of the lower leg are bigger than on the outer side, and with constant clench signals being sent by the nerves, the inside wins over the outside, curling the ankle inward.


2. Speech may be slightly worse as well, though I'm not sure.

Positive

1. Grip strength improved after starting the minocycline, and has remained elevated despite waffling a bit.


2. My wedding ring fits! After several years of wearing a shim that compensated for the ring being too big, I have been able to discard the shim and wear the ring without it sliding up and down the finger, threatening to go over the knuckle. I haven't gained a lot of weight, so I'm not sure why this is. Water retention? The fingers don't look any fatter.


3. I used to have a terrible problem with involuntary laughing. It's been over a month now since I stopped taking the Namenda that is intended to reduce the problem, and while my laughing has increased it is nowhere near as bad as it used to be.


4. One of the changes in the last six years is a major reduction in my sense of smell, concurrent with a year-long sinus block I had from 2000 to 2001. When I was a kid, they used to make me drink mineral oil, which I hated for its awful flavor. When I started taking mineral oil after my diagnosis, I thought it was flavorless. In the past couple of weeks I have once again noticed an unpleasant flavor. Perhaps my sense of smell is improving. I have no idea if that would be related to ALS or Lyme.


5. Still sexy.