found out on election day (via phone call from my opthamalogist) that my mri showed ms...confirmed with my neurologist yesterday...only one (looked gigantinormous to me!) major lesion showing now--so might be the lowest form of MS--trying to hold it together for my two kids and husband but i am going back and forth emotionally. have to figure out what med to go on (or not???) good thing: --found this forum, neuro seems really good (next is a spinal tap to confirm)...how in the world do you choose a med? it is hard enough to deal w/dx and then to have to read and compare is mind boggling!

Hello, volada andto NeuroTalk.

Med choices, emotions and trying to keep life "normal" for everyone else. Hard isn't it

Hope to see you over in the MS forum --
http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/forum17.html

Hi and welcome,
Sorry you have to be here but glad you found us. The first few months were the worst for me so try to hang in there. Here is a link at the NMSS that helped me decide which med to try.

http://www.nationalmssociety.org/sit...ures_comparing

If you can, do some research because in many cases if you have MS symptoms and lesions on the MRI that is enough to diagnos without doing the spinal tap.
Take care, Jules

P.S. If you scroll down a bit there is a whole section on MS and an offtopic section where we goof around a bit.

research, and more research is the best way.

and it depends on how aggressive you and your doctor want to treat the MS.

and what other things you have going on.

for example, they might not want someone to take the interferons, if they have a medical history of serious depression.

don't let anyone buffalo you into any particular med...

read up on the side effects, and how often (daily, every other day, weekly, etc.), and how administered (sub-cutaneous, intra-muscular, etc.)

and think about what help you have (to do the shots), and what you can handle, and what places you can reach (because you REALLY have to rotate the sites.)

back when I got diagnosed, there were no treatments for MS, later, we got Betaseron.

tried that for a few years, but the site reactions, flu-like stuff, bruises, depression, and hair falling out (alopecia) proved too much for me to handle.

so, I was GLAD when Copaxone came along!

good luck to you, and don't hesitate to ask LOTS of questions, 'cause we've got some REAL smart cookies here on this board, happy to share their experiences (pro and con) with all the different meds.

I "celebrated" twenty years of having MS on Valentine's Day (two days ago) and am currently using no DMDs (disease-modifying drugs)

you just have to find what works for you (trial and error) and don't forget the research!

Hmmm, I typed three quarters of a fairly long reply...and it just disappeared while I was typing

Anyway....

hang in there...there. The time right after a diagnosis is difficult.

I thought I was handling it quite well...

Until the clerk at the grocery store asked me if I wanted "paper or plastic"?

I fell apart! I realized right then that I WASN'T handling things as well as I thought. And that maybe it was time to concentrate on "me", instead of MS. No, I didn't ignore the MS part of things, but I made a concious effort to put it in the background, and put ME in the foreground for awhile.

It was hard, but I think that's what got me through the next couple of months.

Good luck.

Welcome to the group.

We have a great MS forum here, also a great depression forum. Depression seems to follow a lot of our illnesses.

I am glad you found us and hope you stick around.

Ada

Hello Volada and Welcome to NeuroTalk. Sorry about your DX, but you have come to a great place full of information, understanding and a lot of wonderful members.

As others have pointed out, there is a great MS forum, along w/many others. Check us out and give us a holler if you need anything.

Just try to take one day at a time right now....

Welcome to Neurotalk, I am so sorry that you have MS. If you need anything just ask, I will try and help you if I can.
Thanks and welcome onboard
Alison

i appreciate all the insight and the ability to personally "connect" with this monumental issue! i am trying to take this slowly and get support from family and friends--and maybe a house cleaning service! it feels good to know that you are all out there and battling ms with me! it truly sucks but it is not the worst...take care, Mary (aka volada)

Mary,

I'm glad you found this place!

I certainly remember my first more than likely you have MS....

bind boggling, overwhelmed, scared,

and I didn't have this place to go to!

Read all you can. And TAKE care of YOU!

Peace.