Hi :)
Hi all,
I'm 25, I live in New England and I've always loved it here...I went to college in Kentucky which I liked a lot as well. Mostly I like to read and spend time with friends and family. I play some computer/video games when I can find the spare time. I was working 4 part time jobs, now I'm down to 2. I've been lurking on here for a little while, reading posts here and there and finally decided to join because I feel like I can benefit from the kind of support that exists here, and hopefully help others as well. About a year and a half ago I found my brother (we had been separated for 19 years) and am in the process of getting to know him which feels wonderful. Last week I became and aunt
and I can't wait to spoil the little one...my MS story follows for anyone interested.
My symptoms started in nov/dec 2011...in October I fell down the stairs in my house, not due to balance issues or anything else that I know of, my foot just slipped right off the top step and down I went, right on my behind...
When I developed tingling in my left foot (in nov/dec) I was concerned that the fall down the stairs had triggered it. My doctor first put me on prescription strength ibuprofen to see if that would reduce inflammation and make the tingling go away...it didn't and I didn't want to destroy my stomach by taking that much ibuprofen. Next step was to physical therapy, and by that point the tingling had progressed to my entire left foot (previously it was only certain areas) and also my right foot. It was a constant tingling, nothing I did made it any better or worse.
I went to pt twice a week for a month and by the end my feet were no longer tingling. I'm not sure now if that was just the end of an exacerbation or if the pt helped. During this time I developed another symptom which I now know is L'hermitte's Sign (but didn't at that time). My physical therapist wanted me to get x-rays, they showed nothing significant. My pcp then sent me to get MRIs and referred me to a neuro. I've had MRIs of my neck, head and brain with and without contrast they show 5 small lesions (4 in the brain, one in my c-spine)
My first neuro appointment went well, he recommended that I go for an LP which as some of you know from a previous post I've been trying to figure out what I should do. And then the next step is start treatment and see an ms specialist since my neuro is not.
Overall I've been doing alright in terms of accepting or attempting to accept ms as a diagnosis even though I'm probably far from being "officially" diagnosed. There are always times when I find myself asking why and getting down about it but I've been trying to tell myself that it'll be alright and surrounding myself with positive people. Luckily for me my boyfriend is great, very supportive and his family has been wonderful as well...my family not so much but that's it's own novel.
In some ways it feels like I have an answer to some symptoms I've been having and didn't even know they could be a part of a bigger picture...and it feels like I'm closer to an answer than I used to be with my doctor literally telling me she doesn't know...
I believe that a positive attitude goes a long way, so that's been my focus for now!
I'm 25, I live in New England and I've always loved it here...I went to college in Kentucky which I liked a lot as well. Mostly I like to read and spend time with friends and family. I play some computer/video games when I can find the spare time. I was working 4 part time jobs, now I'm down to 2. I've been lurking on here for a little while, reading posts here and there and finally decided to join because I feel like I can benefit from the kind of support that exists here, and hopefully help others as well. About a year and a half ago I found my brother (we had been separated for 19 years) and am in the process of getting to know him which feels wonderful. Last week I became and aunt
and I can't wait to spoil the little one...my MS story follows for anyone interested.My symptoms started in nov/dec 2011...in October I fell down the stairs in my house, not due to balance issues or anything else that I know of, my foot just slipped right off the top step and down I went, right on my behind...
When I developed tingling in my left foot (in nov/dec) I was concerned that the fall down the stairs had triggered it. My doctor first put me on prescription strength ibuprofen to see if that would reduce inflammation and make the tingling go away...it didn't and I didn't want to destroy my stomach by taking that much ibuprofen. Next step was to physical therapy, and by that point the tingling had progressed to my entire left foot (previously it was only certain areas) and also my right foot. It was a constant tingling, nothing I did made it any better or worse.
I went to pt twice a week for a month and by the end my feet were no longer tingling. I'm not sure now if that was just the end of an exacerbation or if the pt helped. During this time I developed another symptom which I now know is L'hermitte's Sign (but didn't at that time). My physical therapist wanted me to get x-rays, they showed nothing significant. My pcp then sent me to get MRIs and referred me to a neuro. I've had MRIs of my neck, head and brain with and without contrast they show 5 small lesions (4 in the brain, one in my c-spine)
My first neuro appointment went well, he recommended that I go for an LP which as some of you know from a previous post I've been trying to figure out what I should do. And then the next step is start treatment and see an ms specialist since my neuro is not.
Overall I've been doing alright in terms of accepting or attempting to accept ms as a diagnosis even though I'm probably far from being "officially" diagnosed. There are always times when I find myself asking why and getting down about it but I've been trying to tell myself that it'll be alright and surrounding myself with positive people. Luckily for me my boyfriend is great, very supportive and his family has been wonderful as well...my family not so much but that's it's own novel.
In some ways it feels like I have an answer to some symptoms I've been having and didn't even know they could be a part of a bigger picture...and it feels like I'm closer to an answer than I used to be with my doctor literally telling me she doesn't know...
I believe that a positive attitude goes a long way, so that's been my focus for now!
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