I was diagnosed Summer of 2017 with RRMS at age 42. I'm a surgeon and stopped operating for a few weeks with arm weakness and other crazy symptoms of my first relapse.
Started Plegridy and was feeling better until Spring of 2018. I looked normal and was full time surgeon, but I did back off my normal surgery schedule some. I still struggled some with my self confidence that I needed to see patients and I worried if my MS would stay quiet and allow me to continue to operate.
Spring of 2018, I started feeling the fatigue again, then intermittent spasticity on my right side, and then left eye optic neuritis started. It reached a peak on a Monday morning clinic. I was seeing a patient when the spasticity affected my neck muscles and I couldn't talk. The emotions flooded me and I was stuck in spasticity in my office chair.
The MRI that week showed progression of brain lesions and 2 new lesions in cervical spine. My neurologist felt with the progression that we should move to new medicine. I'm JCV- and he recommended Tysabri. I missed about a month of work before symptoms improved that I could safely operate again.
I've been on Tysabri since August 2018. I have zero side effects. Since October I've felt the best I have since my diagnosis. I now get my infusion on a Friday morning. I leave the infusion office, take off my IV bandaid, and am operating 30 minutes later.
Did a follow-up MRI this week. No active and no new lesions on brain. Best news is both cervical lesions are absolutely gone. I have confidence again that I can continue to operate and help people for years to come with my MS diagnosis. Tysabri had been miraculous for me.
Started Plegridy and was feeling better until Spring of 2018. I looked normal and was full time surgeon, but I did back off my normal surgery schedule some. I still struggled some with my self confidence that I needed to see patients and I worried if my MS would stay quiet and allow me to continue to operate.
Spring of 2018, I started feeling the fatigue again, then intermittent spasticity on my right side, and then left eye optic neuritis started. It reached a peak on a Monday morning clinic. I was seeing a patient when the spasticity affected my neck muscles and I couldn't talk. The emotions flooded me and I was stuck in spasticity in my office chair.
The MRI that week showed progression of brain lesions and 2 new lesions in cervical spine. My neurologist felt with the progression that we should move to new medicine. I'm JCV- and he recommended Tysabri. I missed about a month of work before symptoms improved that I could safely operate again.
I've been on Tysabri since August 2018. I have zero side effects. Since October I've felt the best I have since my diagnosis. I now get my infusion on a Friday morning. I leave the infusion office, take off my IV bandaid, and am operating 30 minutes later.
Did a follow-up MRI this week. No active and no new lesions on brain. Best news is both cervical lesions are absolutely gone. I have confidence again that I can continue to operate and help people for years to come with my MS diagnosis. Tysabri had been miraculous for me.
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