Hello Everyone!
Let me start by introducing myself. My name is Jodi. I am 39 years old and am now in the middle of getting diagnosed for MS. Let me give you a little history....
14.5 years ago I got diagnosed with optic neuritis. It was so horrible. It was 6 months prior to my getting married. I was completely blind in my one eye for almost 2 months. Luckily, I regained my sight before I got married. Anyway, back then I was tested for MS because optic neuritis is one of the main symptoms of MS. At that point, I had a clean MRI, but I do now remember going for an open MRI and they aren't as accurate I have heard. Anyway, I thought I was "in the clear". At no point did anyone tell me, hey...you got to come back every so often & get tested for this.
Circa summer 2011. Back in June, I had a sinus infection. But this time it was different. I had such dizziness that I couldn't even stand it. I took bonine and other over-the-counter Meclizine to help relieve the dizziness. Nothing helped. I started losing my balance too. I thought I had positional vertigo because everytime I bent over, I got so lightheaded and dizzy. Sometimes weird things would happen like if I was laying on my side on a bunch of pillows, when I got up to walk, I wouldn't walk in a straight line. Then I went on a child's amusement park ride with a friend's daughter. Oh my God!!! What was supposed to be "wheeeeee, this is fun" almost turned into a "911, what's your emergency?" --- I seriously thought I was going to pass out. It was a swing for goodness sakes. I was so sick for two days after that. During this time, little things started to happen that I didn't pay much attention to....
So to make an incredibly long story short....I found out that my father (who passed away in 2007) got diagnosed with MS in his early 60s. I did not have a relationshop with him, but found out through a letter he sent me telling me his medical history.
So with these "signs" I thought I should go see a neurologist because I thought something was up. I was sent for an MRI and an MRA of my brain where the doctor found 3 lesions. However, they are further up on my myelin and not close to the cerebral cortex which he thinks is a good sign. But, he said they were too large to be migraine lesions. So he sent me for further tests because of my past "episode/exacerbation" when I had the optic neuritis 14yrs ago. He also said with the family history I am more prone to get MS.
I went for an MRI of my spine and luckily showed no lesions.
Last week, I went for the cognitive tests. I had a VEP and a BAER done. I am now awaiting the results of these tests. I honestly feel like I did not do well with my left eye on the VEP test. The BAER, I honestly don't know what anyone could get from that. It was just clicking sounds and I just had to sit there.
I am anxiously awaiting my appointment on Monday with the neurologist. He said he is trying to test all avenues and would only send me for a spinal tap if he was unsure.
Has anyone had a positive diagnosis with any of the signs/symptoms I listed above? I know that one could have lesions on their brain and/or spine or both and still have it.
I thank you all in advance and honestly am preparing for the worst yet hoping for the best.
Let me start by introducing myself. My name is Jodi. I am 39 years old and am now in the middle of getting diagnosed for MS. Let me give you a little history....
14.5 years ago I got diagnosed with optic neuritis. It was so horrible. It was 6 months prior to my getting married. I was completely blind in my one eye for almost 2 months. Luckily, I regained my sight before I got married. Anyway, back then I was tested for MS because optic neuritis is one of the main symptoms of MS. At that point, I had a clean MRI, but I do now remember going for an open MRI and they aren't as accurate I have heard. Anyway, I thought I was "in the clear". At no point did anyone tell me, hey...you got to come back every so often & get tested for this.
Circa summer 2011. Back in June, I had a sinus infection. But this time it was different. I had such dizziness that I couldn't even stand it. I took bonine and other over-the-counter Meclizine to help relieve the dizziness. Nothing helped. I started losing my balance too. I thought I had positional vertigo because everytime I bent over, I got so lightheaded and dizzy. Sometimes weird things would happen like if I was laying on my side on a bunch of pillows, when I got up to walk, I wouldn't walk in a straight line. Then I went on a child's amusement park ride with a friend's daughter. Oh my God!!! What was supposed to be "wheeeeee, this is fun" almost turned into a "911, what's your emergency?" --- I seriously thought I was going to pass out. It was a swing for goodness sakes. I was so sick for two days after that. During this time, little things started to happen that I didn't pay much attention to....
- When I wake up my hands are numb
- Sometimes I get horrible spasms in my side that wake me up and are sore for hours or days after
- Every so often I get a shooting pain in my arm from my wrist to my elbow and it goes away in about 15mins
- I sometimes have trouble finding the right words and get frustrated or will "trip" on my words
- I have a constant dull headache that nothing relieves it
- Sometimes my fingertips go numb for a little while
- The other day, my cheek felt like it went numb for about 15mins then it was fine.
So to make an incredibly long story short....I found out that my father (who passed away in 2007) got diagnosed with MS in his early 60s. I did not have a relationshop with him, but found out through a letter he sent me telling me his medical history.
So with these "signs" I thought I should go see a neurologist because I thought something was up. I was sent for an MRI and an MRA of my brain where the doctor found 3 lesions. However, they are further up on my myelin and not close to the cerebral cortex which he thinks is a good sign. But, he said they were too large to be migraine lesions. So he sent me for further tests because of my past "episode/exacerbation" when I had the optic neuritis 14yrs ago. He also said with the family history I am more prone to get MS.
I went for an MRI of my spine and luckily showed no lesions.
Last week, I went for the cognitive tests. I had a VEP and a BAER done. I am now awaiting the results of these tests. I honestly feel like I did not do well with my left eye on the VEP test. The BAER, I honestly don't know what anyone could get from that. It was just clicking sounds and I just had to sit there.
I am anxiously awaiting my appointment on Monday with the neurologist. He said he is trying to test all avenues and would only send me for a spinal tap if he was unsure.
Has anyone had a positive diagnosis with any of the signs/symptoms I listed above? I know that one could have lesions on their brain and/or spine or both and still have it.
I thank you all in advance and honestly am preparing for the worst yet hoping for the best.
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