Newly Diagnosed in SW Washington
Greetings All,
New to MS and new to MSWorld. Through a brief perusal of the board it seems everyone has a story of their journey so here's mine:
In July 2011 I suffered sudden hearing loss in my left ear followed by vertigo and nausea. Because of the symptoms they started looking at inner ear issues and concluded I had Labyrinthitis. The prescribed Prednisone and I was back on my feet, more or less, in two weeks with most symptoms disappearing with the exception of some lingering loss of hearing.
Fast forward to March 13 of this year and I again suffered hearing loss but this time it was in the right ear. The following day I had severe numbness/tingling on my right side from my ankle to my thigh, down my right arm and on my abdomen. Panic doesn't begin to describe it.
However, I have some decent health insurance and doctors so down the long road we went. The short of it is a full-brain MRI was done and the radiologist and neurologist were in complete agreement that it is RRMS. Since then most of the symptoms have ebbed with lingering hearing loss and lessened but persistent numbness and tingling in my right leg/foot and right arm.
Now I'm waiting to get through the insurance bureaucracy to start on Copaxone. I'm hoping to start within the next two weeks if not sooner.
My emotional reactions have run the gambit from panic to relief, from scared to confident, from grief to acceptance, all in a short amount of time. To date my case seems to be relatively minor compared to many others and for this I consider myself very fortunate. I don't want to look to far ahead to what COULD transpire as I've been one who tends to live in the now. I'll worry about today because tomorrow will take care of itself.
I've taken quite a bit of time to read as much as possible in terms of the disease itself, DMTs (DMD seems a more common acronym on this board) and the experiences of others. I will never consider myself an expert because it seems there is a huge range of experiences to draw from.
So who am I? I'm a 47yo IT Geek in SW Washington State, right across the river from Portland. I have been married to the same wonderful woman for 18 years and have three sons ranging in age from almost 15 to almost 23. We enjoy camping/RVing in our travel trailer year round, hiking and geocaching among other things. I'm a huge fan of the group Rush and see them every time they roll through the area. I'm also into astronomy.
So with all of that said I send my greetings to you! I am not sure what I can bring to this board beyond a positive attitude and a smile
but I guess we'll find out.
Thanks for reading,
Codex1554
New to MS and new to MSWorld. Through a brief perusal of the board it seems everyone has a story of their journey so here's mine:
In July 2011 I suffered sudden hearing loss in my left ear followed by vertigo and nausea. Because of the symptoms they started looking at inner ear issues and concluded I had Labyrinthitis. The prescribed Prednisone and I was back on my feet, more or less, in two weeks with most symptoms disappearing with the exception of some lingering loss of hearing.
Fast forward to March 13 of this year and I again suffered hearing loss but this time it was in the right ear. The following day I had severe numbness/tingling on my right side from my ankle to my thigh, down my right arm and on my abdomen. Panic doesn't begin to describe it.
However, I have some decent health insurance and doctors so down the long road we went. The short of it is a full-brain MRI was done and the radiologist and neurologist were in complete agreement that it is RRMS. Since then most of the symptoms have ebbed with lingering hearing loss and lessened but persistent numbness and tingling in my right leg/foot and right arm.
Now I'm waiting to get through the insurance bureaucracy to start on Copaxone. I'm hoping to start within the next two weeks if not sooner.
My emotional reactions have run the gambit from panic to relief, from scared to confident, from grief to acceptance, all in a short amount of time. To date my case seems to be relatively minor compared to many others and for this I consider myself very fortunate. I don't want to look to far ahead to what COULD transpire as I've been one who tends to live in the now. I'll worry about today because tomorrow will take care of itself.
I've taken quite a bit of time to read as much as possible in terms of the disease itself, DMTs (DMD seems a more common acronym on this board) and the experiences of others. I will never consider myself an expert because it seems there is a huge range of experiences to draw from.
So who am I? I'm a 47yo IT Geek in SW Washington State, right across the river from Portland. I have been married to the same wonderful woman for 18 years and have three sons ranging in age from almost 15 to almost 23. We enjoy camping/RVing in our travel trailer year round, hiking and geocaching among other things. I'm a huge fan of the group Rush and see them every time they roll through the area. I'm also into astronomy.
So with all of that said I send my greetings to you! I am not sure what I can bring to this board beyond a positive attitude and a smile
but I guess we'll find out.Thanks for reading,
Codex1554
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