I'm 27 (as of a few days ago) and I was diagnosed with relapsing remitting MS on March 25 of this year. It started with optic neuritis.
I was out of town for work (I used to work in the television business, until I left the company in April, for reasons unrelated to my diagnosis) and my left eye started to hurt, a lot. Then my vision began to deteriorate and by the time I got home it was bad.
I woke up the next morning, called my eye doctor's office, explained my symptoms and the receptionist who answered the phone put me on hold to see if they could see me sometime that week. She came back on the line in about five seconds and told me not to worry about an appointment, just to get there as soon as I could.
So I did, and my eye doctor referred me to another doctor, but not until he told me that the optic neuritis could mean MS. The other doctor ordered an MRI and blood work, and while I waited for the blood work to get back I scheduled an appointment with yet another doctor (both of them are neuroophthalmologists, or however that's spelled). My appointment with the second of the two was March 25 and he took a look at the MRI, the blood work, and my eye and said it's MS, no doubt about it.
The first of these two doctors came to the same conclusion, but not until I'd already seen one MS specialist and had an appointment the following day with another. I was very fortunate to get into see these specialists as soon as I did (both in the first week of April), I know that I really lucked out in seeing them that quickly (one of them has something like a six month wait for the first appointment, it's nice to know people!).
The first specialist confirmed the diagnosis, prescribed copaxone and set up another appointment for three months later. The second specialist ordered another MRI, as the first one was focused on the eyes, and a lot more blood work to rule everything else out. Interestingly they both said I did not need a lumbar puncture, which I appreciated.
My second appointment with the second doctor was a month+ out from the first one, and in that time I was dealing with my insurance and the pharmacy to get the copaxone, which didn't happen until after my second appointment with this doctor. He actually gave me copaxone that his office had to get me started before the pharmacy finally shipped my first month of it.
I have to say that this doctor is amazing. He is sooooo nice, and when I thought he was asking me about my medical history (he still wanted to know that stuff), he really wanted to know about me. Both appointments with him lasted more than two hours, and I'm scheduled for some followup stuff at his office later this month (physical therapy for spasticity, cognitive testing and meeting with their psychologist). I could not be happier with my doctor. I liked the first one I saw, but after meeting the second one (I'm not sure if it's okay to post doctors' names here) I find that I trust him implicitly. He even gave me his cell number to call him whenever I need, and he calls me back when I leave a message at his office, not some assistant.
Anyway, the copaxone didn't work out. I started it and the first four or five injections were okay, though each injection burned more than the last, but then I started getting these huge (like, massive, not normal sized) red areas after the injections that were very painful and very itchy. When I tried injecting in my legs I couldn't put weight on the leg in question for at least an hour after the injection, and I limped around for days afterward.
My doctor, as well as two nurses at his practice, and another doctor, all think it was an allergic reaction. Unfortunately, I'm bipolar, so the interferons are out of the question due to my history with bipolar disorder, so I'm starting tysabri sometime soon (this week or the next, depends on if we can get it going before I have to attend my cousin's wedding reception this coming weekend).
I swear, everything before March feels like it was a different life. I'd had symptoms of MS before, but I'd never seen anyone about it (vision problems, another others). Anyway, just introducing myself.
I was out of town for work (I used to work in the television business, until I left the company in April, for reasons unrelated to my diagnosis) and my left eye started to hurt, a lot. Then my vision began to deteriorate and by the time I got home it was bad.
I woke up the next morning, called my eye doctor's office, explained my symptoms and the receptionist who answered the phone put me on hold to see if they could see me sometime that week. She came back on the line in about five seconds and told me not to worry about an appointment, just to get there as soon as I could.
So I did, and my eye doctor referred me to another doctor, but not until he told me that the optic neuritis could mean MS. The other doctor ordered an MRI and blood work, and while I waited for the blood work to get back I scheduled an appointment with yet another doctor (both of them are neuroophthalmologists, or however that's spelled). My appointment with the second of the two was March 25 and he took a look at the MRI, the blood work, and my eye and said it's MS, no doubt about it.
The first of these two doctors came to the same conclusion, but not until I'd already seen one MS specialist and had an appointment the following day with another. I was very fortunate to get into see these specialists as soon as I did (both in the first week of April), I know that I really lucked out in seeing them that quickly (one of them has something like a six month wait for the first appointment, it's nice to know people!).
The first specialist confirmed the diagnosis, prescribed copaxone and set up another appointment for three months later. The second specialist ordered another MRI, as the first one was focused on the eyes, and a lot more blood work to rule everything else out. Interestingly they both said I did not need a lumbar puncture, which I appreciated.
My second appointment with the second doctor was a month+ out from the first one, and in that time I was dealing with my insurance and the pharmacy to get the copaxone, which didn't happen until after my second appointment with this doctor. He actually gave me copaxone that his office had to get me started before the pharmacy finally shipped my first month of it.
I have to say that this doctor is amazing. He is sooooo nice, and when I thought he was asking me about my medical history (he still wanted to know that stuff), he really wanted to know about me. Both appointments with him lasted more than two hours, and I'm scheduled for some followup stuff at his office later this month (physical therapy for spasticity, cognitive testing and meeting with their psychologist). I could not be happier with my doctor. I liked the first one I saw, but after meeting the second one (I'm not sure if it's okay to post doctors' names here) I find that I trust him implicitly. He even gave me his cell number to call him whenever I need, and he calls me back when I leave a message at his office, not some assistant.
Anyway, the copaxone didn't work out. I started it and the first four or five injections were okay, though each injection burned more than the last, but then I started getting these huge (like, massive, not normal sized) red areas after the injections that were very painful and very itchy. When I tried injecting in my legs I couldn't put weight on the leg in question for at least an hour after the injection, and I limped around for days afterward.
My doctor, as well as two nurses at his practice, and another doctor, all think it was an allergic reaction. Unfortunately, I'm bipolar, so the interferons are out of the question due to my history with bipolar disorder, so I'm starting tysabri sometime soon (this week or the next, depends on if we can get it going before I have to attend my cousin's wedding reception this coming weekend).
I swear, everything before March feels like it was a different life. I'd had symptoms of MS before, but I'd never seen anyone about it (vision problems, another others). Anyway, just introducing myself.
Happy Belated 27th Birthday to you.
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