I’m a 43 year old female, married with 2 daughters, 17 and 18. I was diagnosed with MS February 2011. However, like many of us, I’ve had symptoms for years and either ignored them or was not given proper tests. Now, my Neurologist and I have agreed that I’ve probably had it around 8-10 years. Over the last decade, I would have these episodes of sickness that would put me in bed for weeks at a time. Let’s see, according to all of the doctors I’ve seen over the years, I’ve suffered from: Mono – twice, Non-specific Hepatitis A, food poisoning, overworked, overstressed, a mini stroke, etc. None of which was confirmed by any medical tests.
Finally, I lost site in my left eye and I had a good friend who was an Ophthalmologist. He diagnosed me with Optic Neuritis, referred me to a Neurologist and I had a brain and spinal MRI right away. Great news! The results showed no abnormalities. He ordered a spinal tap and I suddenly had 2 family emergencies that I had to deal with. I kept putting the appt off. My mother and father in law were near death and I was solely responsible for their care, financial decisions and estates. Luckily, my mother survived her ordeal and is as healthy as she once was.
I worked a physically demanding job for the last 15 years. Out in the heat of summer (in South Carolina). I was a GIS analyst in the winter and a shoreline inspector, on our local lake, in the summer.
My vision eventually improved so I forgot about the spinal tap. I thought the Optic Neuritis was an isolated incident, I was very stressed and chalked up all of my other symptoms to just stress. When things began to return to normal and I started to try to catch up on all of my missed work, my symptoms came at me like a tidal wave. I began having every text book symptom associated with MS. I had lost my balance and depth perception and could no longer drive my boat and company car without fearing that I would cause an accident. I was a liability and I knew it.
I thought I would lose my job if I didn’t get to the bottom of this.
I finally got the spinal tap done. A week later, a receptionist called me and told me I had MS and to pick from a list of drugs. That was it. Pick my drug and have a nice weekend. I’m not sure if there is a limit to how long my post can be, but I have more to my story……
** Moderator's note - Post broken into paragraphs for easier reading. Many people with MS have visual difficulties that prevent them from reading large blocks of print. **
Finally, I lost site in my left eye and I had a good friend who was an Ophthalmologist. He diagnosed me with Optic Neuritis, referred me to a Neurologist and I had a brain and spinal MRI right away. Great news! The results showed no abnormalities. He ordered a spinal tap and I suddenly had 2 family emergencies that I had to deal with. I kept putting the appt off. My mother and father in law were near death and I was solely responsible for their care, financial decisions and estates. Luckily, my mother survived her ordeal and is as healthy as she once was.
I worked a physically demanding job for the last 15 years. Out in the heat of summer (in South Carolina). I was a GIS analyst in the winter and a shoreline inspector, on our local lake, in the summer.
My vision eventually improved so I forgot about the spinal tap. I thought the Optic Neuritis was an isolated incident, I was very stressed and chalked up all of my other symptoms to just stress. When things began to return to normal and I started to try to catch up on all of my missed work, my symptoms came at me like a tidal wave. I began having every text book symptom associated with MS. I had lost my balance and depth perception and could no longer drive my boat and company car without fearing that I would cause an accident. I was a liability and I knew it.
I thought I would lose my job if I didn’t get to the bottom of this.
I finally got the spinal tap done. A week later, a receptionist called me and told me I had MS and to pick from a list of drugs. That was it. Pick my drug and have a nice weekend. I’m not sure if there is a limit to how long my post can be, but I have more to my story……
** Moderator's note - Post broken into paragraphs for easier reading. Many people with MS have visual difficulties that prevent them from reading large blocks of print. **
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