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    Hello

    I am new to MS World. Am happy to find it for I have found answers to the questions I have. I don't feel so alone here. I was diagnosed in August of 2013. I am from Minnesota. I am married and have two children. A girl, 13, and a boy, 10.
    The time from my symptoms to diagnosis was 3 weeks. Long story short they thought I had a stroke or brain tumor because the right side of my face drooped and low and behold it turns out it is MS. My initial MRIs showed evidence of previous attacks that I probably blew off.I have been on Copaxone now for 6 months and my first MRI showed new lesions. We are going to wait 3 months and do another MRi. Praying nothing new shows up.
    This has been hard on my kids and my husband. I try to keep it together but it gets harder because I live in fear that I don't have the relapsing form. My husband is in the now person and I am the look down into the future and the what if's.
    Thank you for this website because it can allow me to be me and not have to always be strong.

    #2
    Hi madbeach23,

    Welcome to MS World! We're glad you found us, but sorry why you are here. I'm happy MS World helped answer some of your questions. This site has been very informative to me as well, and I'm very thankful for all the supportive people I've met here. It's so hard to constantly "act" strong for the people in our life, and no one else really understands like someone else who has MS does.

    Not sure how much you've explored this site, but you might also want to check out our Resource Center (lots of info there), Creative Center, and Chat Rooms (Here is the schedule: http://msworld.org/chatroom_info)

    Copaxone takes up to 6 months to reach full effectiveness, so I hope in another 3 months no more lesions will show up. Glad to hear your MS was dx'd so quickly. Many people spend years in limbo.

    Quite a few things you mentioned resonated with me. I also have a boy and girl. And my husband also tends to live in the here and now, while I worry more about the future. But, something this disease has taught me is to do my best to try to enjoy the here and now. (No one really knows what tomorrow will bring, anyway.) MS also presented itself to me with complete paralysis of the left side of my face. The ER doctor was less than sensitive when he told me I had Bell's Palsy and stated, "you should be glad that's all that is wrong with you" (never did have an MRI). I didn't really know where his remark came from, since I had been calm the entire time. Guess I was in denial anything serious could even be wrong. (It was my husband who insisted on the ER, my first thought was that I needed to go see my doctor. ) Didn't dawn on me until later he was probably referring to a brain tumor or stroke. Still ... (Later found out he was well known for not having a good bedside manner.)

    In hindsight, we know that wasn't "all" that was wrong with me and it really was my first MS atttack, since all my other symptoms began shortly afterwards. But it still took another 5 years for my PCP to take any of them seriously. By the time I finally saw a neurologist, it was clear MS was the first thing on their radar. By that point, even perfect strangers were starting to ask if I had MS because of how I walked.

    I know it's hard, but I hope I can offer some reassurance to you. Odds are in your favor that you do have Relapsing Remitting MS (85%), and getting on treatment early for your MS is a very good thing! Even if it's determined Copaxone isn't working that well for you, the good news is that now there are several other treatment options.

    I hope you visit us whenever you need support. We're good "listeners" and will do our best to help you through this. Let us know what your next MRI shows, too.

    Take care ,
    Kimba

    “When you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.” ― Max Planck

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      #3
      Everything will be OK! Don't give up!

      Comment


        #4
        Thank you

        Kimba
        I actually woke up with my right side paralyzed and wasn't going to go in right away but a co worker encouraged me to. I went to my general doctor. Thank God for him. He said it looked like Bells Palsy but other symptoms didn't follow it so he ordered the MRI that day and said not to leave the hospital until I talked to him. He prescribed me a steroid just incase it was Bells (again an amazing choice on his part). Nothing alarming but he wanted me to come in the next day to do blood work. They were testing me for Lymes Disease. When the labs came back he told me it wasn't Lymes Disease and that he had made me an appointment with the Neurologist. The Neurologist ordered 2 more MRI's and a Lumbar Puncture (worst thing I have ever done in my life). All came back conclusive of MS. I am thankful for the quickness of everything but on the other hand it has all happened so fast that it has been hard to wrap my head around everything. I know now looking back that I have had many of these symptoms for a very long time but have always put them off as me getting old. Thank you so much for making me feel not so crazy!

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