One of the best resources we have in the UK are MS therapy centres and I have been lucky enough, both when I lived in Reading and now in Westbury, to only be 10 minutes away from my local centre. There are always lots of different therapies on offer ranging from Massage to Reiki to oxygen therapy and many more in between. I’ve tried lots of different therapies at the centres, my go to always being oxygen therapy, an hour long session in a hyperbaric chamber breathing pure oxygen whilst under pressure. Being under pressure means that more oxygen can be delivered to the tissues of the body helping it to heal better from the inflammation and damage caused by MS. In order to breathe said oxygen you must wear a mask giving you the attractive appearance of Darth Vader! I always used to call oxygen therapy “getting juiced up for the weekend” as I always used to have it on a Friday and it used to give me loads of energy for the weekend coming. Added benefit is that whilst you’re in the chamber you can’t talk to anybody so it’s just a lovely quiet hour where everyone can leave you the fuck alone!

I also had a couple of sessions of Reiki, which surprised me as I actually found it very beneficial. I’m not usually a believer in that kind of spiritual malarkey however I was proven wrong on this occasion and always felt very rejuvenated afterwards. I think I had three sessions at the MS Centre in Reading and I would’ve had more however on the third session I think I was so relaxed that I fell asleep and I actually woke myself up snoring really loudly!! Oh the shame! So I obviously couldn’t show my fucking face there ever again! I did continue to go to the centre, I just didn’t see the Reiki lady ever again through sheer embarrassment.

I used to have regular massage at the centre and my massage lady was lovely but she moved back to Scotland unfortunately and then I moved away anyway but I really need to get into the massage rota down here in Wiltshire as I desperately need it. Even if it was always a huge ordeal trying to get my fucking clothes off and then on again and lay down and turn over and then sit up – suppose it was a little bit of a workout really!

What I want to try is acupuncture. I’ve heard it’s very good for spasticity and although I did try it a few years ago, it was privately and the woman that did it was extremely annoying and I just couldn’t stand to lay there listening to her irritating voice so I think I didn’t give it a fair shot. But again there’s the whole ordeal of taking my clothes off and putting my clothes on again and getting on the bed and getting off the bed urgh, it’s all very undignified but the good thing is if I have it done at the centre the people that work there, or donate their time, are completely aware of what their clients may be like physically and that it may take an inordinate amount of time just to get undressed and laid down ready!

(There is the additional issue of cost to consider. While all MS therapy centres are charities and as such provide the services at a vastly reduced rate, we still have to pay. This limits the number of therapies I can have on a monthly basis because I can only afford a certain amount.)

There are a bunch of other therapies available also, some of which I’d like to try, however I think I’ll give singing therapy a miss seeing as I sound like a cat being strangled and also gong therapy doesn’t really sound like my cup of tea! Luckily, I haven’t managed to embarrass myself at the new centre down here… yet. There’s always time !!