Hey,
I'm a Brazilian grad student, diagnosed late last year after a couple of years of symptoms showing. I was actually diagnosed almost by accident - I've had migraine issues ever since I can remember, specially since my teen years, so I usually did follow ups with a neuro. Then, 2008, I entered college life (late, as I usually do with important things) and by the middle of the year I was starting to feel a lot of headaches and such, so I went again to the neuro to see if I would need preventive medication or anything. It had been 4 years since my last MRI.
So the doctor asked for a full round of exams, blood work and all you can think of, to see what was triggering my migraines - that's when the MRI showed lesions. He told me it could be MS and referred me to a specialist - who had no room for new patients since she is the only one in my town. I started looking for other neuros who understood at least a little about MS, ended up visiting about 3 different doctors - including one who kept telling me the lesions were from chronic migraine and that I had nothing to worry about - she had seen scans with a lot more lesions then mine. Needless to say that didn't calm me the least.
I had already done my research on MS, including talking to a few people at college who worked with MS patients. My major's Phys Ed and ever since I got the diagnosis it has worried me whether I can pull that through, with all the practice classes and trying to get a job on this particular field being an MSed guy. Anyway, I kept pushing the doctor to do more tests and to come up with a better answer then "it's ok to have lesions on your brain popping up".
For a while, I was depressed and giving up, but I got help from a psychologist, and started trying to get consults with all these different doctors, until I finally managed to get under the care of that first specialist I went after, because my grandmother had a friend whose granddaughter also has MS - she heard of my situation and called the doctor's office and asked them to fit me in her appointment slot.
Ever since, I've been taking Avonex - with all the delightful side effects - and hadn't had a flare. Aside from occasional twitching and not-so-occasional fatigue and body pains, I'm doing ok and still pursuing my Phys Ed diploma. It may take me more time then it should to get there, but...
I'm a Brazilian grad student, diagnosed late last year after a couple of years of symptoms showing. I was actually diagnosed almost by accident - I've had migraine issues ever since I can remember, specially since my teen years, so I usually did follow ups with a neuro. Then, 2008, I entered college life (late, as I usually do with important things) and by the middle of the year I was starting to feel a lot of headaches and such, so I went again to the neuro to see if I would need preventive medication or anything. It had been 4 years since my last MRI.
So the doctor asked for a full round of exams, blood work and all you can think of, to see what was triggering my migraines - that's when the MRI showed lesions. He told me it could be MS and referred me to a specialist - who had no room for new patients since she is the only one in my town. I started looking for other neuros who understood at least a little about MS, ended up visiting about 3 different doctors - including one who kept telling me the lesions were from chronic migraine and that I had nothing to worry about - she had seen scans with a lot more lesions then mine. Needless to say that didn't calm me the least.
I had already done my research on MS, including talking to a few people at college who worked with MS patients. My major's Phys Ed and ever since I got the diagnosis it has worried me whether I can pull that through, with all the practice classes and trying to get a job on this particular field being an MSed guy. Anyway, I kept pushing the doctor to do more tests and to come up with a better answer then "it's ok to have lesions on your brain popping up".
For a while, I was depressed and giving up, but I got help from a psychologist, and started trying to get consults with all these different doctors, until I finally managed to get under the care of that first specialist I went after, because my grandmother had a friend whose granddaughter also has MS - she heard of my situation and called the doctor's office and asked them to fit me in her appointment slot.
Ever since, I've been taking Avonex - with all the delightful side effects - and hadn't had a flare. Aside from occasional twitching and not-so-occasional fatigue and body pains, I'm doing ok and still pursuing my Phys Ed diploma. It may take me more time then it should to get there, but...
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