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Saturday, September 15, 2018

Altered States

I've been playing a video game lately, you know where you run around shooting people and throwing grenades and such-like, but I've found that this comes with a couple of odd aftereffects--odd because I had never experienced these in past gaming days.  Firstly, there seems to be a lingering effect on equilibrium, and not just briefly but for a considerable period of time. I feel off balance--or more so than usual, given the baseline loss of equilibrium from MS. My mind goes one way while my feet go the other. Secondly, the sense of motion and activity in the virtual world appears to be inspiring particularly hectic, chaotic dreams, waking me multiple times throughout the night and leaving me feeling exhausted in the morning. 

I can't help but wonder whether this is a new manifestation of MS. Is the pace of the virtual world too demanding on the nervous system affected by the disease, overworking functions that are already overworked? Is it failing to respond appropriately or expediently to alterations in focus and reference?

Well, of course the best way to avoid this is to just stop playing the game, especially considering the fact that the movement required of my arm and shoulder in using the mouse seems to be exacerbating the baseline pain that I have anyway. Seems kind of unfair, really, that we must deny ourselves these simple entertainments, but there you have it. 

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