Hi. In September I went to see my doctor because my left arm went numb in the tricep/bicep area. I was taking a statin drug for cholesterol so he pulled me off of that and said he wanted to send me to a neurologist because he felt there was something else going on with me. I asked what he was thinking and he responded MS. I laughed at him and told him I wasn't worried because I didn't have that.
I travel a lot with my job so I was in Chicago in October and thru the week I had walked thirty miles. By the end of the week my feet were numb and I blew it off thinking I just over did the walking that week. By the following week I was numb up to my waist and having these "episodes" in my arm and leg all on the left side of my body.
I went to the hospital in November thinking I was having mini strokes. They fixated on the fact that I could still walk and blew me off. I left there and went to another hospital because at this point I was scared. The other hospital admitted me and started running tests.
The first neuro I seen told me it was all in my head that there was nothing wrong with me but that he was ordering an MRI of my brain and neck even tho he felt it was a waste of money and his time. The next day he had to come back in my room and tell me they found lesions on my brain and a cluster in my neck but he still felt this was all in my head.
I told the him and the nursing staff he was not permitted back in my room. The next day another neuro came to see me and ordered an EMG and another MRI on my thoracic and lumbar. They found more lesions in the thoracic area. I didn't start taking my meds until January because of fighting with insurance and all that fun stuff. After about 2 months of the meds I stared feeling a little bit better. The numbness all went away at least. After 4 months of meds I went numb on the left side again so my neuro ordered another round of MRI'S. I went to see him the other day to discuss the results and found out I have 4 new lesions 3 on the right side of the brain and 1 on the spine. He told me I have an aggressive form of MS. This disease scares the hell out of me.
** 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. **
I travel a lot with my job so I was in Chicago in October and thru the week I had walked thirty miles. By the end of the week my feet were numb and I blew it off thinking I just over did the walking that week. By the following week I was numb up to my waist and having these "episodes" in my arm and leg all on the left side of my body.
I went to the hospital in November thinking I was having mini strokes. They fixated on the fact that I could still walk and blew me off. I left there and went to another hospital because at this point I was scared. The other hospital admitted me and started running tests.
The first neuro I seen told me it was all in my head that there was nothing wrong with me but that he was ordering an MRI of my brain and neck even tho he felt it was a waste of money and his time. The next day he had to come back in my room and tell me they found lesions on my brain and a cluster in my neck but he still felt this was all in my head.
I told the him and the nursing staff he was not permitted back in my room. The next day another neuro came to see me and ordered an EMG and another MRI on my thoracic and lumbar. They found more lesions in the thoracic area. I didn't start taking my meds until January because of fighting with insurance and all that fun stuff. After about 2 months of the meds I stared feeling a little bit better. The numbness all went away at least. After 4 months of meds I went numb on the left side again so my neuro ordered another round of MRI'S. I went to see him the other day to discuss the results and found out I have 4 new lesions 3 on the right side of the brain and 1 on the spine. He told me I have an aggressive form of MS. This disease scares the hell out of me.
** 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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