Hi! I was diagnosed Oct2015 relapsing remitting, age 39... it was a big surprise diagnosis, only got the whiff that it might be MS the night before! I thought I was getting old and bits of me weren't working so good :-) I don't think my GP was especially thinking MS but I had an MRI to look at my optic nerve, which showed up lots of lesions all over the place.
Here's my "funny MS diagnosis" story... my GP told me at 12:30pm (surprise! you have MS!) then she said to take mega-steroids as soon as the hospital could deliver them, but they might make me a bit crazy... I had a big exam the next day... so I walked down to the university to discuss with them and ended up taking the exam early at 2pm that same day! In retrospect, saying yes to that was probably not the best move! But hey, my brain was actively inflamed! Also, I didn't really know what MS was anyway... [so proud I still managed to pass! half-blind, foggy brained, unprepared, partly in shock... can still churn out an exam!.... not a very good mark though ;-) ]
Symptoms we retrospectively decided were MS: numb hands for a while, one side went numb from tummy button down for a bit, an ear infection that made me nauseous and dizzy and bang into walls when I tried to walk (I didn't know that those things _aren't_ normal ear infection things), double vision for a bit (which also made me bang into things and feel naseous!), then had partial vision loss in one eye for a bit... and bad fatigue. During the partial blindness relapse around diagnosis, my memory was rubbish and I was using the wrong words for some things or just not finding them at all.
I am on Natalizumab (Tysabri), but am also JCV positive (very low titre...so far!). I've only had 2 doses so far, no side-effects. It is the best medication my country provides on public health, so I am happy that I qualified to get it - and I feel lucky because it only just became available here in 2014 (it might have been available privately, I don't know! but I couldn't have afforded it!).
I medically retired 3 years ago from a professional job due to depression, and after failing to find a new job, decided to retrain to start a new career..... then I was thriving, got off the antidepressants.. then boom! MS! I am hoping to finish off my degree this year, and then get an internship and then a job.... I am worried about how the MS might affect my ability to get a job :-/ Mostly the fatigue - can I handle full-time work? Also, my hospital only does infusions on Wednesdays, so I'll have to explain my 4 weekly absenses... hmmm... I'm going to try though!
Also, I have cats :-) and a nice man :-)
Here's my "funny MS diagnosis" story... my GP told me at 12:30pm (surprise! you have MS!) then she said to take mega-steroids as soon as the hospital could deliver them, but they might make me a bit crazy... I had a big exam the next day... so I walked down to the university to discuss with them and ended up taking the exam early at 2pm that same day! In retrospect, saying yes to that was probably not the best move! But hey, my brain was actively inflamed! Also, I didn't really know what MS was anyway... [so proud I still managed to pass! half-blind, foggy brained, unprepared, partly in shock... can still churn out an exam!.... not a very good mark though ;-) ]
Symptoms we retrospectively decided were MS: numb hands for a while, one side went numb from tummy button down for a bit, an ear infection that made me nauseous and dizzy and bang into walls when I tried to walk (I didn't know that those things _aren't_ normal ear infection things), double vision for a bit (which also made me bang into things and feel naseous!), then had partial vision loss in one eye for a bit... and bad fatigue. During the partial blindness relapse around diagnosis, my memory was rubbish and I was using the wrong words for some things or just not finding them at all.
I am on Natalizumab (Tysabri), but am also JCV positive (very low titre...so far!). I've only had 2 doses so far, no side-effects. It is the best medication my country provides on public health, so I am happy that I qualified to get it - and I feel lucky because it only just became available here in 2014 (it might have been available privately, I don't know! but I couldn't have afforded it!).
I medically retired 3 years ago from a professional job due to depression, and after failing to find a new job, decided to retrain to start a new career..... then I was thriving, got off the antidepressants.. then boom! MS! I am hoping to finish off my degree this year, and then get an internship and then a job.... I am worried about how the MS might affect my ability to get a job :-/ Mostly the fatigue - can I handle full-time work? Also, my hospital only does infusions on Wednesdays, so I'll have to explain my 4 weekly absenses... hmmm... I'm going to try though!
Also, I have cats :-) and a nice man :-)
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