Hi all, my name is Anne. I am 27 years old and was just given the RRMS diagnosis yesterday.
My neurologist said that my MS symptoms were very atypical but my MRI was definitely consistent for MS lesions. My first symptom was left sided trigeminal neuralgia in December 2012. In September of this year, I had blurred vision and the feeling of being "spaced out". I saw both a neurologist and an ophthalmologist who did not feel it was optic neuritis. An MRI was recommended to rule out MS but the neurologist was not concerned for MS and the symptoms went away in about a month. I also had a completely normal neurological exam so I did not pursue the MRI. In November 2013 I had a cold and a few weeks later had a flare up of right sided bells palsy. The left sided trigeminal neuralgia and right sided bells palsy threw up a red flag to my PCP and recommended I have the MRI and follow up with the neurologist. Well, here I am today and the neurologist was just as surprised with the MRI findings as I was.
My neurologist is recommending an MRI of my spine to see if there any any lesions. We decided against a lumbar tap at this time since it would just confirm the findings on the MRI. Labs were drawn yesterday to make sure I don't have anything that could be mimicking my symptoms such as Lyme's.
A question I have for you on here is should I have a second opinion? Did you have a second opinion following your diagnosis of MS? Did you have the lumbar tap and is there any other benefit to having it other than to just confirm the MS diagnosis?
Also, due to the severity of my lesions my neurologist is recommending that I start Vitamin D asap as well as research the medications available with a goal of starting one next month. The medications he has recommended include Copaxone, Avonex, Rebif, Betaseron, Gilenya, or Tecfidera. There are a few medications I turned down right away such as the infusion drug. What medication are you taking or have you tried? Did you have any serious side effects? I am not worried about having to give myself injections so that is not an issue. I am looking for a medication with the least amount of side effects (not too worried about side effects related to injection site irritation). My doctor said that Copaxone will have the least amount of side effects and if he were in my shoes, that is the one he would choose to take.
Thank you in advance for your time and feedback!!!
My neurologist said that my MS symptoms were very atypical but my MRI was definitely consistent for MS lesions. My first symptom was left sided trigeminal neuralgia in December 2012. In September of this year, I had blurred vision and the feeling of being "spaced out". I saw both a neurologist and an ophthalmologist who did not feel it was optic neuritis. An MRI was recommended to rule out MS but the neurologist was not concerned for MS and the symptoms went away in about a month. I also had a completely normal neurological exam so I did not pursue the MRI. In November 2013 I had a cold and a few weeks later had a flare up of right sided bells palsy. The left sided trigeminal neuralgia and right sided bells palsy threw up a red flag to my PCP and recommended I have the MRI and follow up with the neurologist. Well, here I am today and the neurologist was just as surprised with the MRI findings as I was.
My neurologist is recommending an MRI of my spine to see if there any any lesions. We decided against a lumbar tap at this time since it would just confirm the findings on the MRI. Labs were drawn yesterday to make sure I don't have anything that could be mimicking my symptoms such as Lyme's.
A question I have for you on here is should I have a second opinion? Did you have a second opinion following your diagnosis of MS? Did you have the lumbar tap and is there any other benefit to having it other than to just confirm the MS diagnosis?
Also, due to the severity of my lesions my neurologist is recommending that I start Vitamin D asap as well as research the medications available with a goal of starting one next month. The medications he has recommended include Copaxone, Avonex, Rebif, Betaseron, Gilenya, or Tecfidera. There are a few medications I turned down right away such as the infusion drug. What medication are you taking or have you tried? Did you have any serious side effects? I am not worried about having to give myself injections so that is not an issue. I am looking for a medication with the least amount of side effects (not too worried about side effects related to injection site irritation). My doctor said that Copaxone will have the least amount of side effects and if he were in my shoes, that is the one he would choose to take.
Thank you in advance for your time and feedback!!!
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