My name is Cindy and I am 54 years old. I recently moved to Cape Coral, Florida and I am a native of Denver, Colorado. I was born on May 24th.
After 8 months of issues with numbness/tingling in my lower legs, being told I had peripheral neuropathy but all tests were normal (NCS, reflexes, bloodwork), finally saw an orthopedic spine doctor. I do have a disc bulging at L5,S1 putting pressure on the nerve on the left side which doesn't explain bilateral numbness and my right leg being worse than my left leg. Walking became so difficult, my right foot was literally flopping everywhere. Good days where I could walk, bad days...really bad. The Dr. and I were going to do steroid injections in my spine, neither my primary care, neurologist or physical therapist thought it could MS. My symptoms started two weeks after a fall down the house at my sister's.
I fell headfirst, on my back mostly on the right side which is where I still have the most pain in my ribs (MS Hug?), and thinking I injured my back somehow which caused the numbness in my lower extremities. The numbness first started at my waist and all the way down to my feet suggesting sciatica, a couple of visits to a chiropractor fixed the numbness from the waist down to the knees. But my feet are still the same although the numbness and tingling seem to move around. The biggest thing that throws them off is I have no pain or very little pain. My ortho Dr. had me do PT for a couple of weeks and sent me for an MRI brain scan to make the insurance company happy about covering the steroid injections. It took me a while to do the brain scan as I was waiting for my COBRA insurance to kick in. I saw her for a follow up on Thursday and she told me she was shocked to find that I had numerous lesions on my brain. She told me there was nothing she could do for me but have me follow up with my neurologist. I have an appointment tomorrow with one who specializes in MS.
I also have a 2nd cousin a year older than I who also has a May birthday, also a native of Colorado who was diagnosed with MS 10 - 15 years ago. He is the son of my mom's cousin. One of her first cousins also had MS, although it was so new back in the 60's and 70's that they kept misdiagnosing her and by the time they did she was in a nursing home. She passed away there a few years ago. I talked to my cousin on Thursday after my diagnosis, he seems to think I have remitting relapsing although I don't really understand any of it. I just know looking back that this has been going on much longer than 9 months, I attributed early symptoms to other thing for a long, long time. #1 thing was constantly tripping on sidewalks with my right foot. I'm stressed out about the appointment tomorrow. Can anyone tell me what to expect? Kelly said I would have to have a lumbar puncture to verify the MS and they would probably do intravenous steroids to alleviate my symptoms. He was once in a wheelchair and using a cane quite often but now he's doing fine and down to one pill a day. He does take daily naps and he is on social security disability. My memory is also affected, can't remember half the time if I've taken my neurontin or not. I've been very depressed mostly because of not walking right. I'm currently looking for a job and will never get one if I can't walk right. Thanks for listening.
After 8 months of issues with numbness/tingling in my lower legs, being told I had peripheral neuropathy but all tests were normal (NCS, reflexes, bloodwork), finally saw an orthopedic spine doctor. I do have a disc bulging at L5,S1 putting pressure on the nerve on the left side which doesn't explain bilateral numbness and my right leg being worse than my left leg. Walking became so difficult, my right foot was literally flopping everywhere. Good days where I could walk, bad days...really bad. The Dr. and I were going to do steroid injections in my spine, neither my primary care, neurologist or physical therapist thought it could MS. My symptoms started two weeks after a fall down the house at my sister's.
I fell headfirst, on my back mostly on the right side which is where I still have the most pain in my ribs (MS Hug?), and thinking I injured my back somehow which caused the numbness in my lower extremities. The numbness first started at my waist and all the way down to my feet suggesting sciatica, a couple of visits to a chiropractor fixed the numbness from the waist down to the knees. But my feet are still the same although the numbness and tingling seem to move around. The biggest thing that throws them off is I have no pain or very little pain. My ortho Dr. had me do PT for a couple of weeks and sent me for an MRI brain scan to make the insurance company happy about covering the steroid injections. It took me a while to do the brain scan as I was waiting for my COBRA insurance to kick in. I saw her for a follow up on Thursday and she told me she was shocked to find that I had numerous lesions on my brain. She told me there was nothing she could do for me but have me follow up with my neurologist. I have an appointment tomorrow with one who specializes in MS.
I also have a 2nd cousin a year older than I who also has a May birthday, also a native of Colorado who was diagnosed with MS 10 - 15 years ago. He is the son of my mom's cousin. One of her first cousins also had MS, although it was so new back in the 60's and 70's that they kept misdiagnosing her and by the time they did she was in a nursing home. She passed away there a few years ago. I talked to my cousin on Thursday after my diagnosis, he seems to think I have remitting relapsing although I don't really understand any of it. I just know looking back that this has been going on much longer than 9 months, I attributed early symptoms to other thing for a long, long time. #1 thing was constantly tripping on sidewalks with my right foot. I'm stressed out about the appointment tomorrow. Can anyone tell me what to expect? Kelly said I would have to have a lumbar puncture to verify the MS and they would probably do intravenous steroids to alleviate my symptoms. He was once in a wheelchair and using a cane quite often but now he's doing fine and down to one pill a day. He does take daily naps and he is on social security disability. My memory is also affected, can't remember half the time if I've taken my neurontin or not. I've been very depressed mostly because of not walking right. I'm currently looking for a job and will never get one if I can't walk right. Thanks for listening.
,
Comment