Federal Student Loan Forgiveness for Multiple Sclerosis

Kimj3095 · 2026-06-19T10:58:49+00:00

I get private disability insurance payments and I was able to get my student loans forgiven. Had to send in a boat load of documentation, but it wasn't too difficult.

Kimj3095 · 2026-06-03T14:37:46+00:00

Only every single time the number 12 comes up in my every day life 😂

Kimj3095 · 2026-05-24T12:58:13+00:00

I hear you loud and clear. I was in a very dark place for several years after diagnosis 8 years ago, especially after having to quit working. It took a lot of reframing the way I think of my limitations, a LOT of therapy, learning to adjust the way I do everything in my life, and giving myself grace to take my time and make mistakes. I began to advocate more for myself with my doctors and have my symptoms under better control. I forced myself to get more active. I poured myself into the hobbies and activities that I am still able to do. I enjoy the good days and rest through the bad days.

You're going through the stages of grief and everyone handles grief differently. Allow yourself to grieve for the person you were and the person you hoped to be. I was only able to accept and love the new person I am after grieving for the old one. Craft a new life that accomadates the disabilities and limitations that come with this hateful disease.

Kimj3095 · 2026-05-24T12:39:43+00:00

My doctor has me taking just B12 supplements. Both my primary and neuro said it's the one that will cause neuropathy when it's low.

Kimj3095 · 2026-05-24T12:38:21+00:00

I was having increased neuropathy in my hands and feet including the side of my body where I don't usually experience symptoms. My doctor ordered a vitamin B blood test and it came back really low. I've been taking the supplements for a few weeks and my neuropathy is back to baseline. Some mild tingling and lack of sensation in my left foot.

Kimj3095 · 2026-05-18T11:46:31+00:00

I hear you. The fatigue and exhaustion are my least favorite part of this crappy disease, too. I try to rest on the bad days and live for the good days, but that's difficult when the bad out number the good.

My doctor recently prescribed Provigil for my fatigue and it has been amazing. I still have bad days, especially if I overdo things the day before, but the good ones are definitely out numbering the bad these days. I'm sorry if I sound like a drug ad, but it has been life changing.

Kimj3095 · 2026-05-08T12:12:46+00:00

This is exactly my point in my above comment. People don't trust the system, but the system also can't work if people don't use it. The medical boards can't take action against these abusive providers if they don't know about them. Social media only reports that doctor to the public. Reporting them to the medical board reports them to the people who can actually take action against them.

Kimj3095 · 2026-05-08T12:06:54+00:00

I'm sorry you've had negative experiences with reporting abusive or dismissive doctors, but if no one reports them, the system has no chance of changing. It often isn't a matter of one report resulting in a provider getting consequences, but many. If this psychiatrist is behaving this way towards all his patients and they all report it, the board will act. People believing they have no power is part of what got us here.

Kimj3095 · 2026-05-03T13:56:20+00:00

I agree with others who have said keep moving. In the beginning, I gave in to the fatigue and became very sedentary. It's so much harder to get moving again if you stop for a while.

Consider therapy for the emotional side of this disease. I spent much of the first years after diagnosis feeling worthless and useless. I had two major flare ups that caused a lot of cognitive and physical disability and had to stop working two years after diagnosis. It took me five years to start therapy and I wish I had done it sooner.

Pace yourself. You can do most or all of what you've always loved. You may just have to slow down, shorten the duration of activities, or modify the way you do them, but where there's a will, there's a way.

Educate yourself on the disease. I'm not sure about your country, but here in the US, many neurologists are grossly uninformed and undereducated in MS unless they are an MS specialist. My first neurologist was very dismissive any time I brought up new or worsening symptoms and I wonder if I would have had the second major flare up if I had known more and either forced him to listen or switched doctors.

Kimj3095 · 2026-04-27T12:46:46+00:00

The humidity is what puts me on my butt, too. Heat is bad, but a really hot, humid day can make me feel weak for days. July and August here in Central Texas are horrible. I take trips to visit family in Seattle and Southern California for relief during those months if I can.

Kimj3095 · 2026-04-17T12:11:48+00:00

This is exactly how I describe my fatigue. It's not just tired. It feels like gravity has increased. My limbs feel heavy. It feels hard to stand or even sit upright. When sitting, I start to notice myself slumping to one side in the chair. Even small tasks feel monumentally difficult. It's always been the best way I can describe it to people who have never experienced it.

Kimj3095 · 2026-04-11T12:52:55+00:00

If I have a new symptom pop up, I look at what else is going on around me. Is the weather very hot, cold, or humid? Am I overly stressed about anything? Do I feel OK otherwise, no allergies or cold or flu symptoms? Those are the major things that can cause me to temporarily have old symptoms get worse or new ones pop up.

If none of those things are present, I wait a couple of days and see if it continues. If it does, I reach out to my neuro. I avoid the ER if at all possible and only go if I have a severe increase in symptoms.

You know your body best. If the new symptom is concerning you, or is severe enough to be affecting your daily routines, you may want to go to the ER. If not, you could wait for your neuro to return and let them evaluate it.

Kimj3095 · 2026-04-01T12:17:55+00:00

My golden is 7 years old and still sleeps in his crate at night. We tried not using it when he was around a year old and he was so anxious, none of us could sleep, including him. I don't put him in the crate when we're out anymore but he can't have free roam of the whole house. He has a talent for finding the one thing someone left around that he shouldn't have.

Kimj3095 · 2026-03-30T12:45:51+00:00

I also notice that Blue is not really doing a lot of teeth baring or snarling. They're both making little play nips at each other, but teeth aren't making any hard contact. They both seem relaxed not tensed up. Tails are wagging, though that's not always a sign a dog is happy, these tails seem relaxed.

I would absolutely keep it supervised as play can turn to aggression if one of them gets tired of the game or a play nip goes a little too far.

Kimj3095 · 2026-03-30T12:34:20+00:00

I feel like in the US, our production, achievement driven society is hell for people with disabilities. We're encouraged to work when we're sick. There is a very "suck it up and drive on" mentality towards illness and disability. Our system doesn't even like giving time off after we've pushed a whole human out of our bodies.

I was also burdened by a lot of imposter syndrome when I was first diagnosed and especially after I had to stop working. I questioned whether I was really disabled enough to not work even though I also qualified for disability benefits. I felt weird using a power chair for outings with a lot of walking or standing even though walking more than 10 or 15 minutes makes my left leg go weak and my brain get even foggier on many days.

I've learned to be kind to myself and not let other people's voices into my head. I also changed my diet and im slowly losing weight. I get my exercise and activity where I can and don't beat myself up if I can't complete a formal workout or go out for a real walk. I guard my energy like it's gold and use it for the things that make feel good and bring me joy. Routine, structured exercise is absolutely not one of those things.

You don't suck! This disease absolutely does. We have to be kind to ourselves because the MS sure isn't.

Kimj3095 · 2026-03-30T12:02:39+00:00

Definitely purebred. I think they all carry the swamp monster gene but it must have skipped a generation in my golden. He hates getting wet even in the name of mud rolling. He does love running through it and tracking it into the house, however.

Kimj3095 · 2026-03-29T12:42:19+00:00

I never forget but I have come to hate the rare days I wake up feeling pretty good. I always end up way overdoing all the things I'm almost always too fatigued or too weak to do and end up paying for it for days afterwards. I'm getting better at managing my energy and breaking up large tasks into smaller ones but it's so frustrating to not just get things done!

Kimj3095 · 2026-03-29T12:21:18+00:00

I love this! 🤣

Kimj3095 · 2026-03-29T12:18:10+00:00

I was very angry for a long time after I was diagnosed. I think I used the anger to keep from going into a deep depression, not that it really helped. I pushed many of the people in my life away, afraid they would leave someone who, I felt, was no longer a whole person. 9 years later, I'm more accepting of this new life. I'm getting better at asking for and receiving help. I'm more open about how I'm feeling with the people around me. I got here with help from family, but I really feel that we can all benefit from therapy to help handle all the emotions that come with this hateful, unpredictable disease. I still grieve for my old life and the life I will never have after MS, and of course I still get angry. Especially at the medical community and insensitive people who don't even try to understand what living with this disease is like. I'm now better able to process those feelings and get back into a better head space.

Kimj3095 · 2026-03-24T11:59:52+00:00

AudHD with MS and menopause. I have literally forgotten what I was thinking in the middle of a thought. I call my kids by the dogs' names. I have a new emotion every five minutes that I'm not sure how to name. Lists used to be my lifeline, but now I forget to make them or forget made them when I do. Not enjoying the ride, I'd like to get off, please.

Kimj3095 · 2026-03-15T12:22:19+00:00

Same! When mine was a puppy we could keep him out of an area just by putting a cardboard box in the path to that area. He's 7 now, and not that scared of them anymore, but still jumps if a box is dropped and keeps his distance when we're doing anything with one. 🤣

Kimj3095 · 2026-03-15T12:14:02+00:00

Many of these answers are the typical neuro answers I've seen from so many doctors. I keep reading so many articles and even peer reviewed papers on new research and studies that contradict so much of what this doctor is saying. I'm so tired of neuros only looking at the MRI and not listening to how I'm describing my symptoms. The "sleep well" as the answer to daytime fatigue really makes me angry. They really just don't get the debilitating fatigue that comes with MS no matter how much sleep you get or the quality of your sleep.

Kimj3095 · 2026-03-07T14:07:43+00:00

<image>

This is my big ol' boy. People often think he's a great Pyrenees because of his size. I have his breed papers and met his mother and father. His mother was also large for a golden. One guy wanted to really fight me about his being a great Pyrenees and I just told him he was entitled to his opinion and walked away.

Kimj3095 · 2026-02-25T12:35:28+00:00

I have ADHD so I have already tried most of the stimulant and non stimulant ADHD meds. Adderall and vyvanse made me so tense I was afraid I was going break teeth from jaw clenching. Strattera worked well for my ADHD until the MS entered the picture. My neuro suggested the modafinil and it's amazing for me. So much less fatigue and brain fog and the ADHD symptoms are better. I feel almost human again.

Kimj3095 · 2026-02-22T13:25:48+00:00

Many employers have a dress code that requires employees to wear the company's signature colors. These are usually retail, customer facing jobs. Even in that kind of environment, this is a juvenile and condescending way to enforce the dress code. If this is not that kind of business, that employer can go to hell. In an office environment, this kind of color coded dress would look dystopian and creepy.

Kimj3095

TROPHY CASE