so i guess i should begin with how a MS dx was put on the table. i have been having back and shoulder problems for almost a year and i have had tingling in my legs for about 6 months. recently, i reinjured myself at work and because i now have tingling in my hand, the docs ordered a MRI. thats when this all began. the MRI goes on at length about the multiple lesions in my cervical spine and one in my lumbar spine ("confirm MS dx clinically" "further workup advised"). i was referred to a neuro who examined me and then ordered more MRIs that included ones of my brain.
i just finished those on thursday and i am now stuck in a waiting game to find out what the neuro thinks. my uncle is a nurse practitioner in a chronic pain clinic and when he found out about what was going on he called me and wanted to know about the MRI findings. he said he expected them to find brain lesions as well. he apoligized and said he has worked with many patients with MS and given that i have multiple spinal lesions he was fairly sure i would have them in my brain as well.
i have been clinging to hope that this will be something else. even when my neuro wouldn't speculate as to the cause of the lesions, only saying that MS was the most common reason for someone my age to have spinal cord lesions i didn't lose hope. it was hard to hear it from my uncle, knowing that he does have a lot of experience working with patients who have MS, but i still was not thinking it could be true. however, yesterday i went to visit my mom (a critical care nurse for 30 years) and we were talking about the MRIs and i mentioned that my uncle thought they would find brain lesions. she quietly said, "i do too, honey." she averted her eyes. at the time we were eating brunch at a restaurant and i instantly lost my appetite. it was SO hard to hear that from my mom.
last week was probably one of the hardest ones of my life. in addition to going through marathons of MRI's, i was basically ambushed by the drs in the occupational health clinic at work (original MRI was through workers comp). i had two doctors going on at length about how my symptoms were from MS, asking me questions about how i felt, telling me they were going to drop me as a patient because i have MS (even though my neuro has not even confirmed this yet...how do they know? i guess MS patients cannot also have a work-related injury??). i felt completely demoralized after leaving the office. an hour of two doctors interrogating me teaming up and working off each other to make me feel as awful as they possibly could about my future. i went back up to my unit and cried in the break room...and i am NOT a "crier." i almost never cry.
if i am really honest with myself then i have to admit that i have had some vague symptoms for quite some time. i just thought that was me. i was seeing a chiropracter and he discovered that i have a positive tandem romberg test (balance issues). at the time, he was trying to convince me that i had this because of a gluten intolerance. but i suppose i can now safely attribute that to the spinal lesions. i have always blamed the chiro for the tingling i feel in my legs. he adjusted me and then later that afternoon i first felt tingling in my legs. now i wonder if the spinal lesions were the culprit and it was just coincidence that it started after the chiro session.
the neuro cautioned me against hot baths, etc. and in direct defiance of what she said, after my appointment i came home and immediately ran a hot bath. when i got out i was shaky and didn't feel well. same thing happened to me this weekend. i went up to the mountains and had to shut the a/c off when i was driving up a steep incline. by the time i got to the top i was shaky again, and by the end of the day i was completely and totally exhausted. that was yesterday. i slept about 10 hours last night and have done nothing but veg on the couch all day under blankets because i felt cold. i have had 4 cups of caffienated tea and i am still ready to fall asleep. maybe i don't have MS but i definitely have problems with fatigue. i also have been having such a hard time with memory. if i answer the phone at work and the caller gives me thier name, by the time they tell me who they would like to talk to i have forgotten it. maybe its just stress from everything going on, but it seems like it gets worse everyday.
i am meeting with the neuro on thursday and i feel like the closer it gets, the harder it is to think about anything else. anytime i am quiet, my mind wanders to MS. the countdown is agonizing, and so is the knowledge that even on thursday i will not likely be dx'd. not that i want to be, i would much rather them tell me this is all a mistake. but i think what i am going to hear is that i need more testing, or there needs to be more watching and waiting before they can say one way or another. limbo. i have a strong suspicion that's where this is headed. gah! my final year of school...seriously?!
anyways, sorry for going on forever...i'm just trying to manage all of this and get through the week without falling apart. my friends and family have been great, but this still isn't easy!
if you made it this far you are quite the trooper. thanks for reading.
i just finished those on thursday and i am now stuck in a waiting game to find out what the neuro thinks. my uncle is a nurse practitioner in a chronic pain clinic and when he found out about what was going on he called me and wanted to know about the MRI findings. he said he expected them to find brain lesions as well. he apoligized and said he has worked with many patients with MS and given that i have multiple spinal lesions he was fairly sure i would have them in my brain as well.
i have been clinging to hope that this will be something else. even when my neuro wouldn't speculate as to the cause of the lesions, only saying that MS was the most common reason for someone my age to have spinal cord lesions i didn't lose hope. it was hard to hear it from my uncle, knowing that he does have a lot of experience working with patients who have MS, but i still was not thinking it could be true. however, yesterday i went to visit my mom (a critical care nurse for 30 years) and we were talking about the MRIs and i mentioned that my uncle thought they would find brain lesions. she quietly said, "i do too, honey." she averted her eyes. at the time we were eating brunch at a restaurant and i instantly lost my appetite. it was SO hard to hear that from my mom.
last week was probably one of the hardest ones of my life. in addition to going through marathons of MRI's, i was basically ambushed by the drs in the occupational health clinic at work (original MRI was through workers comp). i had two doctors going on at length about how my symptoms were from MS, asking me questions about how i felt, telling me they were going to drop me as a patient because i have MS (even though my neuro has not even confirmed this yet...how do they know? i guess MS patients cannot also have a work-related injury??). i felt completely demoralized after leaving the office. an hour of two doctors interrogating me teaming up and working off each other to make me feel as awful as they possibly could about my future. i went back up to my unit and cried in the break room...and i am NOT a "crier." i almost never cry.
if i am really honest with myself then i have to admit that i have had some vague symptoms for quite some time. i just thought that was me. i was seeing a chiropracter and he discovered that i have a positive tandem romberg test (balance issues). at the time, he was trying to convince me that i had this because of a gluten intolerance. but i suppose i can now safely attribute that to the spinal lesions. i have always blamed the chiro for the tingling i feel in my legs. he adjusted me and then later that afternoon i first felt tingling in my legs. now i wonder if the spinal lesions were the culprit and it was just coincidence that it started after the chiro session.
the neuro cautioned me against hot baths, etc. and in direct defiance of what she said, after my appointment i came home and immediately ran a hot bath. when i got out i was shaky and didn't feel well. same thing happened to me this weekend. i went up to the mountains and had to shut the a/c off when i was driving up a steep incline. by the time i got to the top i was shaky again, and by the end of the day i was completely and totally exhausted. that was yesterday. i slept about 10 hours last night and have done nothing but veg on the couch all day under blankets because i felt cold. i have had 4 cups of caffienated tea and i am still ready to fall asleep. maybe i don't have MS but i definitely have problems with fatigue. i also have been having such a hard time with memory. if i answer the phone at work and the caller gives me thier name, by the time they tell me who they would like to talk to i have forgotten it. maybe its just stress from everything going on, but it seems like it gets worse everyday.
i am meeting with the neuro on thursday and i feel like the closer it gets, the harder it is to think about anything else. anytime i am quiet, my mind wanders to MS. the countdown is agonizing, and so is the knowledge that even on thursday i will not likely be dx'd. not that i want to be, i would much rather them tell me this is all a mistake. but i think what i am going to hear is that i need more testing, or there needs to be more watching and waiting before they can say one way or another. limbo. i have a strong suspicion that's where this is headed. gah! my final year of school...seriously?!
anyways, sorry for going on forever...i'm just trying to manage all of this and get through the week without falling apart. my friends and family have been great, but this still isn't easy!
if you made it this far you are quite the trooper. thanks for reading.
I know it's a lot to think about and grasp.
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