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    #46
    Originally posted by Imhappy2468 View Post
    I'm retired Navy. getting my care through TRICARE. Divorced, 6 grown kids (3 in college). just diagnosed (Jan 2012). Will start meds on the 24th. still processing the DX and all that it means. Symptoms are minor so far. Totally afraid I'll become disabled by this disease.
    Its like Navy Week in here.

    Getting used to this crap can take time. It helps to learn how to eliminate as much stress as possible. Learn to control what you can and the heck with the rest.
    Just try to make it a day at a time for now. Eventually you'll figure out what MS is (and isn't).
    All of us have taken this ride, we'll be here to help you out if you want it.

    Comment


      #47
      We're a married couple that reads the forums daily..
      I'm Selena and my husband Jim is here with me, reading about Vets with MS..

      Jim is in the Navy and was in the desert in 2009, he came home very sick in 2010, and was diagnosed with RRMS in December 2010.. We have been trying to get his VA claim approved, as he is un-employable at this time. WE are trying to take one day at a time, but its super frustrating.. Thanks to everyone who posts on here, even though we don't post alot, we do read all the advice..
      Jim started taking Gilenya in December of last year, it seems to be helping some.. WE are planning to move to UTAH soon, so he is not in this Southern Humidity when summer gets here... THANK YOU for this forum!
      Selena & Jim

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        #48
        newbee

        Non combat Navy Seabee 99-04 BU2 (SCW) . Went to doc first time in 02 while deployed to okinawa with numb neck and trouble swallowing told it was acid reflux disease HA. Not wanting to be a sickbay commando I dealt with it. 6 months after honorable discharge I ended up in the hospital barely able to walk up stairs with numbness and weakness from my face down. Lost job as a Union Carpenter in 05 Lost my Class A CDL shortly after that. Lesions in my brain and spinal chord, spinal tap was inconclusive Service connected MS 100% with dependents benefits which was another fight all its own. Thankfully im doing pretty good now, very grateful for VA, PVA, and DAV.
        looking to do volunteer work need suggestions.
        Thanks for reading,
        J.

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          #49
          Current Army E5 here! I just recently got Dxed about a month ago, but, when I think back on it, I have been having episodes since 2006. Being Dxed was like a slap in my face and a relief all at the same time. I was relieved that someone could finally tell me what was wrong with me, but on the other hand, I feel like someone just picked me up and set me on a completely different course in life. For right now, I think the hardest part of dealing with this is the constant fear I live in. I never know when im going to have a flare up, and I will never know how long it WILL last or if its permanent. Im just looking for some support from people that have been through some of these feelings and difficulties and limitations that go along with this illness....

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            #50
            Originally posted by adrac View Post
            looking to do volunteer work need suggestions.
            Thanks for reading,
            J.
            "Grass Roots" is a lot more fun because you get to set your own hours.
            You could try local outreach thru the DAV's and Legion halls in your area or just hang out with Vets. It sounds like you've had some experience that could help others.

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              #51
              Alot depends on what you want to get out of the volunteering, do you want to see your results or just give you a feeling of doing something productive, I olunteered for a while at Habitat for humanity local office doing computer work for them but quit after about 4 months as I was in an office by my self seperate from the other people and really couldn't see any reults from my work.

              I now volunteer with "First "Tee" a Youth Golf program locally, I work with 4-9 yr olds teaching them the game of golf and basic life skills, I really enjoy this and see the results of it right in front of me. As Bob says your own grssroats program is best do you can set your own hours, I do this also twice a yr with golf tournaments I run for local charities.

              I would definately look into something that interests you, since you were a carpenter is there a habitat for humanity office near you, most will be glad to work with any limitations you might have just to get the help.
              Plan for the future, but not too hard; it’s not your decision anyway

              Comment


                #52
                adrac,

                I volunteer with a Veterans Ministry with my church - it is very active. We meet once a month and volunteer one day a month at the airport for the USO, make lunch and give grateful support.

                Great bunch of guys and the one other lady.

                Comment


                  #53
                  My name is Tracy, and I am in the process of being diagnosed with ms. I was in the Army and stationed with the 101st Airborne until late 2004. I had many symptoms of ms while serving, although I had no idea what was causing them, and neither did the Army doctors. It is nice to meet all of you and good to know that I am not alone in this.

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                    #54
                    Got my hearing aides last thursday, trying to get used to them but am hearing things I can't remember hearing but some things such as my dog walking across hardwood floor is increadably loud, my wifes little finch sounds like a crow sitting on the back of my chair.

                    Went on Ebenefits to check on status of my C &P claim and vehicle claim, both had moved backwards to review of evidence from preperation for decision.
                    I sent PVA rep an email yesterday afternoon asking why this happened, rcvd email today saying he had seen that last week himself and had already asked what was happening, he was told they were requesting another exam, he sent them a message that the previous exam had confirmed all items and no additional exam was necessary and for them to use info previous exam.
                    He rcvd a call today and they agreed with him and will get the claim moving, apparently on part of exam report was "missing" but they were able to retrieve it. we will see what happens from there, the one claim is dated feb of 2011 so should be a nice backpay check if they give me % they we are expecting.
                    Plan for the future, but not too hard; it’s not your decision anyway

                    Comment


                      #55
                      Vertigo, shaking hands, alopecia, and tingling scalp.

                      I was in the Air Force for 11 years. Just six months before separating, I started have dizziness issues, and they still occur to this day. About two months before separating from the Air Force my doctor ordered an MRI to investigate the dizziness. The MRI was intended to look at my ENT structure for a vestibular disorder, like Ménière's disease. Nothing positive was found for Ménière's but as an unintended discovery, the docs noted that I had several white matter lesions in the periventricular area with some demyelination.

                      A lumbar puncture was done, but did not conclude anything. This was all discovered just weeks before separating from the Air Force around December 2010. At that time, my life was rather hectic, with trying to move back to my hometown, secure employment in Afghanistan (where I am at now), and all the other minutiae associated with moving. Although the news of having MS was disturbing, the doc told me that I probably don't have MS. But I am not so sure now.

                      19 months on now, I decided to get another MRI done to see if the white matter lesions have grown. MRI was done just last week by a non-military doc in Dubai; he says I have chronic brain inflammation, and next time I visit from Afghanistan, I should get another lumbar puncture. So at this point, I am back at my desk in Afghanistan, and am researching the condition, and in doing that, have discovered this forum.

                      As I have read more about MS here and on other forums, it seems that I have several other symptoms that I would have never tied with MS. Vertigo, for sure. But besides this, my scalp will tingle at times, like the skin is crawling, and I have had several bouts with the autoimmune condition, alopecia. My hands also shake involuntarily at certain times. I have diagnosed tinnitus. Extreme heat exacerbates the symptoms, and well as being stressed or pissed off.

                      I look forward to understanding my condition better from this forum.

                      ** Moderator's note - Post broken into paragraphs for easier reading. Many people with MS have visual difficulties that prevent them from reading large blocks of print. **

                      Comment


                        #56
                        AD Army 1980-1984. Mostly Pershing nuke unit in Germany. I was a 54E (nuke, bio, chem specialist).

                        Got out in 1984 and got a Mechanical engineering degree. Worked at a nuclear power plant for close to 8 years.

                        Dx'ed RRMS early 1988.

                        Got out of nukes when it became obvious it wasn't going to be an expanding career. Went to work as a design engineer. Sea ports, air ports, drawbridges, buildings, etc.

                        One of my clients offered me a job in 2006. So I'm back in the government - I work at NASA at the Johnson Space Center in Houston.

                        I still live a fairly normal life. Nobody knows I have MS except close friends and family.

                        Tom
                        "Doubt is not a pleasant condition, but certainty is an absurd one."
                        - Voltaire

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                          #57
                          desert storm and the anthrax shot

                          HI all, I was recently dx with ms in aug. 2012. Here is what im concerned with is that while on the iraqi border we all lined up to get the anthrax shot in 1991. That was never FDA approved cause it needed time to cure. The gov. pushed it anyway.

                          We all were told "not to say anything about the shot, cause we didnt have enough for the french or the brits and would be courtmarshalled" come to find out that had a lot of squalene in it and can lay dorment in your body until something stirs it up in your body than it will start attacking the central nervous system.

                          Well 4 years ago i had hernia surgery. Since than my left side of my body was slowly falling apart. Started with severe leg drop. So the Va told me that i had a nerve that was being pinched off which the bone that it travels through. Had spine surgery for nothing. The dr. hollowed out the bone it traveled through and i still the same results.

                          Meanwhile something is still attcking the mylin on my nerves in my upper spine,brain, and neck. I came to Tomah wi. for the PTSD program and a neurologist here found the problem MS. So going through 3 years of tests of wasting time i was being eaten away. I drove the bradley during Iraq and was exposed to all kinds of . Now im attempting to file a claim and my service rep. told me to wait until the PTSD claim is done. I think i should put one in now. What anyone else think? Art

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                            #58
                            Check with your rep but I think what his/her point is if your claim has been in for a while ( 6 months or more) that if you put in a MS claim they are going to lump them together which will mean your 1st claim will be started over with possibly a new claim date thereby cutting you out of some back pay when /if approved. My PVA rep recommended the same thing, once the frst claim made it thru ,then he submitted my second which was approved in 10/12 and now what will most likely be my last claim was submitted 12/12. god luck,
                            Plan for the future, but not too hard; it’s not your decision anyway

                            Comment


                              #59
                              Hello

                              My name is Keith. My wife and I will celebrate our thirty-sixth year of marriage later this year. We met in high school. Three children and the nest is empty.

                              Joining the Navy was the best decision I made at eighteen...retiring after twenty years.

                              My MS symptoms begin as my retirement date approaches. There were/is tingling down my entire spine with numbness in my right hand at the tips of my thumb and index finger. Dx will C5 and C6 issues prior to retirement in late November of 1996.

                              Fast forward to 2006, I no longer receives treatment at the VA for not helping me to figure out what is going on. Anyway, non VA doctors did all the right testing and in 2010, it was determined that because my symptoms started, showing no real improvements over the years, yet progressively worsened, I have primary progressive multiple sclerosis (PPMS).

                              Being that there are no therapies for me to halt further deterioration, I go on Copaxone anyway. It's better than nothing. It's not working because when I started in 2010, I was on a cane with a noticeable limp. Today, I am using a wheelchair for long distances and a rollator for short distances.

                              My ear issues (clogged feeling) has yet to be linked to my MS. To me it stands to reason that if everything on the left side of my body is MS related, why not the ear?

                              Last March I medically retired from the VA hospital to focus on my health and enjoy my wife.

                              I'm currently working with a physical therapist and my wife, who has always been the passenger, is now the driver. Weird for me.

                              Scope Dope: a nickname for Operations Specialists (Radarman) during the Vietnam war. I am a Vietnam Era vet.

                              Scope
                              DX with PPMS in 2010

                              Comment


                                #60
                                Hello everyone,

                                I am an Active Navy Doc. I was diagnosed with RRMS in 2006. The diagnosis was scary, but the physical evaluation board process was a lot scarier. I wanted to continue my career. I was told that my dx was not compatible with continued service. Docs in my specialty deploy a lot.

                                I was spared from TDRL by my occupation. Since that time I have deployed multiple times to multiple locations. I am still learning to live with MS, but I pay more attention to my body and acknowledge when I need to slow down or take a break.

                                My goal is to hang on for 20. I am almost there. Thanks for this forum. It is hard to identify with the demands and expectations of military service if you haven't lived it. It also hard to appreciate the spectrum that is MS if your life has not been touched by it.

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