Newly Diagnosed At 15 Staying Positive!

[court.leppek]

Hi everyone!!

As you proably guessed from the subject I'm 15 and diagnosed with MS (official date: January 27, 2011)! Well I'm not letting that bring me down!!! I want to keep the most positive out look possible but I'm curious to the other teens out there what were your symptoms?? And what meds are you on???

My symptoms were: numbness/tingling in the whole body and always starting in face, balance and walking issues, and double and vision vertigo.
The med I will soon be starting... Next week.....is Copaxone.

Hope to here from everyone!

[mattntp]

I was suspected MS at 14 yrs old, and was symptom free until 3 months ago. I am now 28. I remember sitting in 8th grade Geometry class and my left side started going numb and my vision went blurry. I had all kinds of tests done and all were inconclusive, they called it "Complicated Migraine". I only experienced a couple minor episodes of this and I forgot about it until last December when the ER doctor told me that my MRI showed lesions that were very suspicious of MS. My current symptoms are similar to what you listed, and have been improving with time. Hopefully yours will improve and you will go at least 14 yrs without problems.

I am on Rebif and have also made lots of healthy lifestyle changes, mostly based on info found on this forum. I changed my diet and am taking supplements. It is good that you are staying positive, I think that is the most important thing. Some days will be better than others, there is always something in life to complain about(MS or not) but focus on the good things and keep moving forward.
This forum has helped me immensely and will also help you.

[miz92]

i know how you feel im 18 n i was diagnosed a couple months after i turned 15... i had the same symptoms as you...

just recently a couple months ago i lost hope...i got so sick of it...my symptoms came back n they hit me even worse then when i was first diagnosed...but one day my friend beat sense into me...it was crazy...in case you ever lose your fighting spirit against this just think about the people you love...trust me i saw my mom suffer way to much for my selfish actions...thats why i owe so much to my friend i love her to death...member dont give up

[MSrocker27]

How are u I'm heather i have ms and I'm 15 almost a year now. Glas your staying positive

[jojo18]

hi im melissa. im 20 and have been diagnosed with MS since January 2004.

my symptoms are: fatigue, insomnia(great combo i know) balance problems, light headiness, tremor in left hand, and memory issues.

ive been on: avonex, rebif, novantrone, tysabri, copaxone, daclizumab,and am currently on rituxan.

its been hard staying positive somethings because of some many drugs that didnt work for me. but i was recently apart of a CCSVI study and one month out i am 99.98% sure i had the real thing, and wasn't in the control group. my balance has improved tremendously in a short time.

[court.leppek]

Everyone I'm doing great still!

I'm so glad to hear all your replies it's such a great feeling to know I'm not alone...age wise! Lol! A quick FYI though, I just wanted to let you all know that I'm still staying positive and I won't be giving up ever!!!

Thanks again!!

Ps still hopping to hear from more people!

[MSrocker27]

Stay. Positive and stay happy and there is. No reason to give up!!!!!

[jordynbbz]

Hi I'm 16 and was pretty much diagnosed yesterday but I had symtoms and testing back when I was 15. Now I have to choose what treatment too. I'm not a big fan of needles at all so I think ill start out on one that isn't daily like copaxone. I'm thinking rebif or annovex. Hope all is well! x

[xxStevixx]

Hi Courtney!

I am in a similar place that you are--I'm 17 and was diagnosed just after Thanksgiving. I'd had noticeable symptoms since the summer, when I was complaining to my boyfriend that I couldn't feel my hand lol. It got considerably worse as time when on, more of my body went numb, mostly on my left side--my foot, my arm, and eventually the left side of my face went flat. I looked like a demented comic book villian when I smiled because only half my face moved :P My balance went pretty far south too, and I just felt like I'd lost control of my body. It felt like I could fall over or trip or hurt something at any moment. I couldn't drive anymore, and eventually I was getting more and more unresponsive. By that I mean I was foggy and my reaction time was a lot slower--I talk really fast and when it took an extra second for me to answer a question, that really scared my mom.

BUT ON THE UPSIDE

I did a few weeks of intense physical therapy, a week in the hospital and about 6 weeks out of school, but now I am starting to get back into the swing of my life. I still have numb feet, stiff legs and pretty constant fatigue (I'm having an exceptionally bad week though) but I (usually) refuse to let it stop me. I'm still working my tail off to stay in glee club, and I'm counting the days til I leave for university. I have good days and bad days, and lately I've been getting increasingly frustrated with my still-existant symptoms, but I'm slowly learning to take my life one day at a time. I love that you're so positive about it--at this point, its all that we can do. My nuero keeps saying to me, "the best thing that you can do for yourself is to have a good mental, emotional and spiritual state of being, because that's what determines how you handle your condition." My prayers are with you, and if you ever want to talk, I suspect I'll be on quite a bit now. It's nice to have someone around my age to talk to about it.

Take care,
Stevi

[not_a_clue]

you have a long life and the drugs out now are really helping. You will make it.

[als5445]

I am 22 now, but I was dx at 16. I started out with depression, numbness, and weakness in my legs. I was started on Rebif then Copaxone and now im on Tysabri. Its great you are keeping a positive outlook!

[502424125@facebook]

posted on medicalnewstoday
google this article!!!!!

"A reversible form of axon damage in experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis and multiple sclerosis."
Ivana Nikić, Doron Merkler, Catherine Sorbara, Mary Brinkoetter, Mario Kreutzfeldt, Florence M Bareyre, Wolfgang Brück, Derron Bishop, Thomas Misgeld, Martin Kerschensteiner.
Nature Medicine Published online 27 March 2011

[chickennugg]

Hi, I'm Ariana and I'm also 15. If you look at my profile you can find out how I found out I had MS in the thread I posted. I was diagnosed in December and long story short my first flare up was optic neuritis (inflammation of the optic nerve). My symptoms are fatigue, insomnia, the jitters, vertigo, and sometimes loss of appetite (don't know if that's a symptom of the MS or that's just me). I'm on betaseron. Good luck with your medication and stay strong!

[seabass]

Hi Everyone,

We offer a camp for Teens who have MS ages 10-18. It will be held June 20-23, 2011 in Southern California. Last year we had 15 kids attend from across the US and everyone had so much fun. This camp is especially great because so few teens with MS rarely even get a chance to meet another teen with MS. If you would like any information, reply to this post or you can call me at ****** my name is Tiffany.
** Phone # removed by Moderator in compliance with MSWorld guidelines. This may be put in your profile for all registered, logged-in members to see**

[757cutie]

i was 15 when i was diagnosed also im 29 now and just had my first child 7 months ago and i am also wheelchair bound. Keeping a positive attitude will definitely help u over come a lot .