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#1 | ||
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Junior Member
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I am new to this forum and new to the thought of MS being a part of my life. I am 32yr mother of 5 and a very successful in my career. For the past 3 yrs I have been experiencing these strange "spells" the first time I lost felling and function of my left arm and the left side of my face I had an MRI in thoughts that I had a light stroke. The results were negative and with in a few weeks all symptoms were gone. I was chalked up to being new symptoms of my migraines. So when I would wake up in the middle of the night with tingling hands or cramping legs I never thought much about it. In March 2011 I had an other bad "spell". Between the muscle spasms in my back and numbness in my left side I decided to try chiropractic care, since the migraine meds didn't seem to be doing much. It took awhile but the pain went away so I thought maybe this is working. Then it hit again, harder, in Dec 2011 and the doctor gave me muscle relaxers and arthritis meds. So my "spell" is back and my doctor sent me to a neurologist this time for nerve testing. He shocked my arms and poked them with needles all the while Im telling him what has been going on the past 3 years (with more detail than above) He says we should look into MS and sent me for an MRI.
Thats where I am...now I am left scared and waiting. I understand MS is hard to diagnose. I have a lot of question running through my head for people that have been down this road...how long does it take to confirm diagnoses? How often do most of you have these "spells"? Do they start getting closer together? I just dont know what to prepare myself for. |
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#2 | |||
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Member
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Quote:
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Dx RRMS April 1992 Yearly flares from 92 to 11 MS induced seizures 2002 Flare Oct 2011 Flare Dec 2011 Left disabled after 2 previous flares Betaseron '02, Copaxone '12, Tecfidera '13 (allergic reaction to all) No longer taking any MS therapy meds |
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#3 | |||
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Member
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![]() Your questions and concerns brought back many memories for me. I remember all too well the confusion and fear of "what if". M.S. has a very specific criteria that must be met before a definite diagnosis can be made. Personally for me, the doc's were looking for M.S. for over 10 years before I got a diagnosis. BUT: My symptoms would show up and then pretty much go away. However; I did have this prevailing sensation of off balance that stayed with me most days. I continued to have a clean M.R.I. Then one day out of the blue my M.R.I. came back with lesions consistent with M.S. My advice to you is to let the docs go through all there tests to rule out anything that mimics M.S. This can be a long process. When nothing shows up, then you are in the waiting game for things like a positive M.R.I. There is no good time frame for diagnosis. Its different for everyone. I will say that the day will come that a diagnosis of any kind will feel like a relief. It gets that "monkey feeling" off your back and puts you in a forward motion for treatment options. I sympathize for where you are in this process right now. Its frustrating and scarey.....but hang in there and don't be afraid. Big Hugs to you and keep in touch to let us know how things are going
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. If you obsess about things that may happen and they don't come true...then you've wasted your time. If it does come true....then you've lived it twice. . |
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#4 | ||
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Junior Member
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Thank you ladies. I have a lot to learn about MS. I had never thought that to be an option. It has only been a few days since my MRI and I have not been able to stop thinking about anything else. I worry how quickly it will progress and how I will care for my kids, will the kids be more prone to have the disease, how long will i be able to work, i dont want to burden my husband ect. Im gonna guess these are all normal feeling. I already think any diagnoses would be a relief. Im tired of thinking I just clumsy when i drop things, getting so upset with myself over forgetting things, and feeling sick due to the "water in my head" feeling. Most of all finding something that can help with the pain when that comes. I dont know anyone that has dealt with this, so im ignorant to all of it.
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#5 | |||
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In Remembrance
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Hi Hismom. I hear you and it is all too familiar. We are with you all the way.
I was DXed at 35 and have had symptoms since age 23/24. I'm now 72 and holding. ![]() Let us know how the MRI results turn out. The MRI alone may not be your DX tool. Often, early in the disease, your MRI may be normal, but other tests down the line will show the MS. I hope the MRI is your answer, though. Hang in there.. ![]()
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~Love, Sally . "The best way out is always through". Robert Frost ~If The World Didn't Suck, We Would All Fall Off~ |
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"Thanks for this!" says: | Mariel (09-13-2012) |
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#6 | ||
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Member
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I had symptoms for over 30 years before I got positive tests. Of course, I had never had anything like Visual Evoked Response, Visual Fields, or MRI before that dx time. I don't know if this was because they didn't have those tests before that? I don't remember when they invented MRI or VER. My parents suspected me of having MS when I got my first symptoms as a teen, but the doctor they sent me to found nothing. I think testing was primitive in those days. At least testing is not as primitive now. But we still don't have much in the way of cure. I am on the Swank diet, my best helper, ever since dx.
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"Thanks for this!" says: | carbreezy (09-14-2012) |
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#7 | |||
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Elder
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I welcome you to our little corner of the world also. Just like every grain of sand and every snow flake is different, every case of MS is different. It all has to do with where the MS lesions are. Some of us with MS have worked a good while, some have gotten pregnant, raised their kids, some have gotten PHDs while with MS, some have ended in wheel chairs but are very happy. Some have had mates leave them. My husband says I married you in sickness and in health. You will find everything here. Also go over to the Stumble Inn for fun.
Some of the responders here have said it has taken them years for diagnosis. My neuro gave me a diagnosis of clinically probable MS because although every other test and physical symptom showed MS, I only had one lesion. MS is multiple. She gives me the same kind of treatment she would her other patients.
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