“When we meet real tragedy in life, we can react in two ways – either by losing hope and falling into self-destructive habits, or by using the challenge to find our inner strength.” – Dalai Lama

With my MS, I not only battle the sickness of the disease but also it’s side effects. My latest side effect is sore legs.

Why is that, you might ask? Well, its because I have clonus.

Clonus is a series of involuntary, rhythmic muscular contractions and relaxations. Unlike small, spontaneous twitches, clonus causes large motions that are usually initiated by a reflex. It is a sign of certain neurological conditions, particularly associated with upper motor neuron lesions involving descending motor pathways, and in many cases, accompanied by spasticity.

So when you look up clonus in the dictionary you see a picture of me.

It’s weird because, despite not walking, the clonus causes my legs to continuously move. When my foot is placed in a certain position, my leg jumps around like a jackhammer. I hate the vibrations. They jerk me all over the place until I find the right position that will not set it off.

When it’s happening, it’s like there is something in my body that’s alive and moving around. My legs uncontrollably bounce up and down and by the end of the day they are usually sore and tender.

Having it isn’t the end of the world; it just bothers the heck out of me.

Do you suffer from clonus or have at least heard of it?

If so, how do you deal with it?