I am sorry I am tired and frustrated by all this. I went to bed one night, and the next day my entire life was gone. I have been through hell, and all I wanted was a little support, for someone to say they had been through something like this and had gotten better. I need time to experience life before this disease takes everything... I need to believe that this relapse is going to go into remission and that I will have a chance to live life a little longer. Instead I keep getting slapped in the face. I thought that by reaching out for support I would have gotten something that could of been construed as supportive. I know my experience is rare, and I am thankful others haven't had to go through this.... but this diagnosis was just sinking in when this attack happened, so excuse me for being shocked and angry this may be my life now... I was told by my former neuro that this could be as manageable as diabetes... I knew that was wrong, but I thought I would have longer than 2 1/2 months before i was facing permanent disability.

I went out to mow the lawn one morning, could not finish because I went numb from the waist down, fatigued, L'Hermittes and lost the majority of my mobility...I was 24 years old.

That was the start of a very scary, frustrating and tearful year. I added on other symptoms before I was diagnosed (3 months). The relapse it's self lasted about 4 months but it took me almost a year to regain what I had lost during the relapse. Then as my life was starting to feel "normal" again I was hit with my 2nd relapse which was like the first, but worse.

That was 27 years ago. To date, I have had 5 exacerbations (relapse, attack, flare-up). I have 2 children that were born after my diagnosis, they are 23 & 21 years old. I am still very active, use an Elliptical and a 4 station weight machine.

I have never used any of the treatments for MS.

Hi scrapnini and welcome to NeuroTalk.

It is not uncommon on message boards for threads to have more views than actual responses. You have not been diagnosed that long and sometimes, for some people with this disease it can take a year or two for it to calm down. It really is too soon for you to know if there will be improvement or not.

One thing this disease can teach you is patience

Nobody here is slapping you in the face, but if you relate to us in a combative way, you are not going to get hugs and kisses in response.

I'm 54 years old and I have had some very hard and scary times with MS. I'm in a near total remission now, even at my age. MS can be very bad and be in total remission a couple of months later.

When I first had symptoms I thought I was going to be exactly like my niece. I thought I was on my death bed because I imagined the worst.

One thing that I've learned is that if you try to get healthy, like with quitting smoking, eating healthy and exercising, it WILL impact the severity of MS, 99.999% of the time. So put a smile on your face if you can, and focus on getting healthy and getting past this relapse and getting on treatment. We are nice folks here but we also tell it like it is. And we want you to get well.

Scrap,

I don't have MS, but I really like the folks on here, and I have friends with MS, so I read here. I have MG, and that can be a total bummer as well...

I remember when I was first diagnosed, and the only experience I'd had with MG were really sad stories. I was terrified, as I had a 1 year old at the time and wondered if I'd even get to raise her. She's 15 now, and we are both doing OK. I would suggest, based on my experience and the experiences of many others, to just let those feelings of terror go through you, and just right on out the other side. One thing I've learned is when I'm feeling really scared and panicky, kind of "step away" in your mind and simply observe your feelings. I will think, "Oh, my heart is really pounding," or "my breath is really short because I am scared." Simply acknowledging to myself that I feel bad really helps me. Give it a try!

I am also sorry for the loss of your father. Try and take care of yourself and take any support you can get. You need it right now.