I had my annual appointment with my neurologist recently. It went better than last time. Actually, let me rephrase that, I prepared myself better this time. This is my second time meeting this neurologist. After my first neurologist and I parted ways (see that story HERE), I was given the other MS neurologist. So this was our second meeting. We are scheduled for a 15 minute appointment. Last time it was 9 minutes and this time it was 6 minutes so in total, I’ve spent 15 minutes of my life with my neurologist.
So that’s what I kept in mind. This man does not know you. This man does not know what you go through on a daily basis. This man does not have MS and cannot relate to your symptoms. However, this man has studied the human brain and knows medically more about MS than I do, this man has the ability to read my MRIs and prescribe my DMT. Sidenote, in the past, I have called my infusion my “medicine”. Some people think that the infusion helps me get “better“. That’s not what it does, I will now use the proper name, DMT or disease modifying therapy. It is not a medicine to cure my disease. They are just hoping to modify the progression. Back to what I was saying 😉, therefore, he does not need to listen to me. That’s what I have a therapist for! He does not need to care about me, that is what my family is for. He does not need to empathize with my symptoms, that’s what I have my chronic illness community for. I don’t need him to figure out what I can do to help cope with my symptoms new and old, that’s what I have my family doctor for. I have built a strong team of support around me.
That’s how I prepared myself this time. I armed myself with those facts and then I touched my nose, stood on 1 foot and quickly laid out the 5 things that I had on my list of concerns from the past year and when my 6 minutes was up, I walked out of there, not crying, for the first time ever. SBean and I went shopping and we had a great day because I did not let it bother me. I almost even slept the night before lol almost. However, two days later when I received the neurologist report on my health portal, it took everything I had to refrain from grabbing a red pen and correcting his mistakes. Like the first sentence, Kristin was diagnosed with MS in 2021 in Winnipeg. The only factual information in that sentence is my name and that I was diagnosed with MS. But that’s semantics. It was the rest of the report that made me burst into tears.
It was one page long with short paragraphs. If you would call a block of a sentence or two a paragraph. And each paragraph refuted my claims. Like, patient says she experiences fatigue. I do not believe this is from the MS. It is probably her thyroid condition (even though I had explained to him that my doctor does bloodwork twice a year and my thyroid is excellent, and I never miss my medication). Or patient complains of feeling wet when she is not, unable to find her hand under a blanket, and like her arm is wooden but I don’t see anything that exhibits neurological damage. Patient complains of heart palpitations and fainting when she gets up. This is not a symptom from the MS and she should look elsewhere for answers to those issues. Patient is doing good. We’ll see her in a year. He forgot to mention when I told him about all the vomiting that happened when I flew to Toronto he told me, “so don’t fly” and then chuckled like he made a funny.
And that’s why I cried. I know I shouldn’t. I know I shouldn’t let that hold any weight. He is not on my team. I know this and I will keep repeating it and next time I will be better prepared.
This past week, my family doctor called me. He read the report. The first thing he asked me was, “are you OK?“ and the next thing he said was, “he’s not going to help you. So tell me what’s going on and let’s see what we can do.“ The next day I was in his office and within an hour I was at the hospital getting my full blood work done and an ECG!
You see, I have a really great team! I feel supported. My Husband and Kids are fabulous and I know that I always have back up from my Dad, Sis, Bro, and my in-laws and I have great friends that send me memes daily, check in to see how I’m doing just because and keep pushing me to get out of the house no matter how many times I cancel or have to reschedule.
Next year I will be better prepared.
When I first became an adult, around the age… 29 😜, I quickly realized that the biggest stress in my life was going to be figuring out what to eat for dinner every day. Before that, I ate what was put in front of me, I went out to eat, picked up fast food, or brought home food from whatever restaurant me, my Sis, WpgBesty, or Ninja worked at. The first thing I started making for dinner was, pasta. I mean, nobody makes a box of KD like me or my WpgBesty lol they don’t call it KD (Kristin/Dana) for nothing! Lol. For real though, that isn’t that far off from where I actually started. Pasta was easy enough I just had to boil some noodles and heat up a jar of sauce, white or red, the less decisions the better am I right? Lol Yeaaaaah so that got boring real fast. However, I really like pasta and so does my entire family so now I just have to look harder to find new recipes that will keep our pasta nights fresh and new. These three pasta dishes are perfect for fall, are comforting, and are the perfect twists on a few of our longtime favourites.
Nothing says fall like this Rigatoni with Sausage, Tomatoes, and Zucchini Pasta dish. This dish was light, bright, and absolutely delicious. We used vegetables straight from the garden and the farmer’s market and it tasted like the last warm evening of the summer. Like you know, summer is over but you’re trying to hold onto the last few drops. That’s this dish. Yum!
My Kids love steak. Especially us being who takes after her daddy and their love of beef. I’m not a big fan of a slab of meat half bleeding sitting on my plate lol but I do enjoy a nice steak every once in a while especially with noodles. This Steak Pasta was everything I was craving and more. It was rich and creamy and filling. It was steak and mushrooms, but with a fabulous twist!
When we were younger and making the 50-50 decision, jar of red sauce or jar of white sauce, I always picked white. I love a creamy white sauce, but I don’t like how heavy some sauces can be. This Chicken with Buttered Noodles is not a thick creamy Alfredo sauce, but a light creamy butter sauce that was absolutely freaking delightful. The leftovers were fought over and I believe HBear had some for lunch, SBean stole all the chicken and I got whatever noodles were left in the Tupperware container lol.
Rigatoni with Sausage, Tomatoes, and Zucchini
4
servings15
minutes25
minutesIngredients
1 package rigatoni pasta
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 lb Italian sausage
5 cloves garlic, minced
3 tablespoons tomato paste
2 cups grape tomatoes
1 cup white wine
1 zucchini, diced
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 cup basil, chopped
Parmesan cheese, grated
Directions
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over medium-high heat.
Add oil to a large pot and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Add in the onion and crushed red pepper and cook until the onion is very soft, about 10 minutes. Add in the sausage and break it into small pieces. Cook until sausage is brown.
Add in the garlic and cook for 1 minute, or until fragrant. Stir in the tomato paste.
Add in the tomatoes and wine and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the tomatoes begin to burst and give off their juices, about 10 minutes. Gently press the tomatoes if they're not bursting on their own. Stir in the zucchini and cook for 5 minutes.
In the meantime, add the rigatoni into the boiling water and cook for 9 to 10 minutes, or until al dente.
Drain the pasta, reserving a 1/2 cup of the pasta water. Toss the pasta immediately into the pot with the sauce and stir well to combine. Add in some of the reserved cooking water, if needed. Finally, stir in the basil. Garnish with Parmesan cheese.
Steak Pasta
4
servings5
minutes30
minutesIngredients
2 boneless ribeye or sirloin steaks
12 oz pasta
2 tablespoons olive oil
salt and pepper, to taste
2 tablespoons butter
4 cloves garlic, minced
½ cup heavy cream
½ cup Parmesan cheese, grated (plus extra for topping)
½ cup beef broth
½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
¼ cup basil or parsley, chopped for garnish
8 oz mushrooms, sliced
Directions
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook according to the package until al dente. Drain the pasta, reserving ½ cup of the pasta water, and set aside.
While pasta cooks, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.
Pat steaks dry, season generously with salt and pepper. Sear steaks for 4–5 minutes per side (medium-rare), or longer to your preferred doneness. Transfer to a plate and let rest for 5 minutes. Slice thinly against the grain.
In the same skillet, reduce heat to medium and add the remaining olive oil and butter. Toss in the sliced mushrooms and brown for a few minutes. Stir in minced garlic and sauté for 1–2 minutes until fragrant.
Pour in beef broth, and let it simmer for 2–3 minutes. Add the heavy cream and bring to a gentle simmer. Whisk in Parmesan cheese until the sauce thickens (about 3–4 minutes). Season with red pepper flakes, salt, and black pepper to taste.
Add the cooked pasta to the skillet and toss with the creamy sauce. Use reserved pasta water as needed to loosen the sauce. Stir in sliced steak just before serving to warm through. Garnish with fresh basil or parsley and a sprinkle of extra Parmesan.
Chicken with Buttered Noodles
4
servings10
minutes20
minutesIngredients
3-4 chicken breasts, pounded to even thickness
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
8 oz mushrooms, sliced
1 cup chicken broth
1 cup heavy cream
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
- Noodles
1 package linguine noodles
2 tablespoons butter
Garnish: parsley, chopped and Parmesan cheese, grated
Directions
Season chicken breasts with salt and pepper.
Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken and cook until golden brown on both sides and cooked through, about 4-5 minutes per side. Remove chicken from skillet and set aside.
Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain and fold in 2 tablespoons of butter.
While pasta is boiling, in the same skillet you cooked the chicken, melt butter over medium heat. Add mushrooms and cook until they begin to brown and release their juices, about 5 minutes. Add garlic, thyme, and oregano, and cook for an additional 1-2 minutes, until fragrant.
Pour in chicken broth to deglaze the pan, scraping up any browned bits. Bring to a simmer and reduce the liquid by half, about 5 minutes. Stir in heavy cream and bring to a simmer again. Cook until the sauce thickens slightly, about 3-4 minutes.
Return the chicken to the skillet and warm through in the sauce. Serve the chicken over buttered noodles, garnished with fresh parsley and grated Parmesan cheese.
Check out How Was Your Week, Honey? Episode #439 Out of Touch
This week, the Maier’s get together to discuss: skating, Homecoming explained, plums, bushes, keeping up, Dr’s, waiting rooms, SOW, Fall music, and music trends.
This week was all about getting back into a routine. The Kids are back to school, activities, and even early morning jazz band. Grade 8 jazz band was cancelled at SBean’s school, but she has been invited into the grade 10 jazz band! She is very excited. I worked this week, read my 100th book of the year, and had multiple doctor appointments. HBear enjoyed the grade 12 pancake breakfast, picture day, art class, and her boyfriend‘s cousin‘s birthday. Ninja went truck shopping with my Dad for the business, I received my full bouquet from Folie Farms and SBean learned a new gymnastics skill and opened up her second last Ipsy bag.
9 thoughts on “MS Update & Fall Pastas”
What is it with neurologists and their horrible bedside manner? Ugh! I am glad to hear that your family doctor is listening and picking up the slack. Your pep talk is spot on but it’s one thing to feel like a specialist isn’t on your team and a whole other thing to feel like he actively dismisses you, your fears, and basically calls you a liar. That is so NOT cool.
All of your pasta dishes look amazing. I love pasta and could happily eat it every day… I don’t but I could. It’s gotten a bit harder though to come up with meals and variations that don’t include dairy. I try to really limit the amount of dairy (especially cheese) that I cook with since 2-3 of us seem to struggle with after effects. According to doctors none of us have an allergy but there is definitely some sort of sensitivity going on there.
I really appreciate this comment, thank you for validating my concern. I honestly don’t know why neurologist think their gods lol. I hope you find out what’s going on soon, I feel like as we get older our bodies make changes, as dairy has become a bit of a problem for me as I’ve aged too 😬. Thank you again for your thoughtful comment.
Glad your family doctor stepped in and helping you
WOW, love that steak pasta.
Thank you for linking to SSPS 378 See you again Monday
Thank you so much. I am very grateful for a caring and thoughtful family doctor. We had the steak pasta again recently, I used leftover steak from the night before… Just as good!
That story with the doctor had me in tears. I felt for you and also wish I couldn’t relate. I have something autoimmune and they don’t know what. My main doctor wants me to go to a rheumatologist but I’m so burned out from years and years of going to doctors who tell me they don’t know what my symptoms are caused by. I do have a thyroid issue so they blame some of it on that. I just try to get through each day and manage as best as I can.
Those dishes look absolutely amazing. I am saving them to try with my family at some point.
I am so sorry that you have to deal with that. I am very lucky that they diagnosed me quickly. I really shouldn’t complain because I have a diagnosis, a treatment plan, and a great support system… it’s just very discouraging when you have specialists they just don’t care. I hope you find answers soon 💛.
Kristen I’m so happy to hear your family doctor is so caring and action oriented to you. I’ve been with my neurologist for about 7 years and she’s awesome, she takes all the time I need and listens intently, I would say an average appointment for me is like 25-30 minutes. My family doctor is great too. There were times when I saw past doctors where I cried too, I was discounted and marginalized and didn’t see them again. My current 7 year neurologist is so caring and compassionate but it too me a lot of time to find her. Those pasta recipe’s sound sooooo good and I anticipate trying these.
Thank you so much for sharing with Sweet Tea & Friend’s this month dear friend.
{{Gentle Hugs}}
Thank you for your thoughtful words, Paula. I see so many people with similar stories about their specialists. I am so happy that you found a good one! I am hoping that at some point, I will too.
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