Hi everyone,
I am a 37yo female in Canada recently diagnosed with RRMS April 1st, 2020. I was really hoping it was just a bad April Fool's joke but was relieved to have an answer for my symptoms.
My first symptom was a partially-numb left foot in Dec 2018 which I went to my doctor for, he did some poking and tickling and I still had some sensation so he wanted to wait and see for a couple of weeks. I had a few weeks of holidays and it resolved over that time so we chalked it up to long workdays on my feet. Then while on holidays in July 2019 I went through a hugely stressful few weeks with my dog getting diagnosed with bladder cancer (TCC), me and my boyfriend breaking up and him moving out, and then my dog passing away. That all happened between June 26th and July 9th. I had a friend visit from out of town as well for 5 days the week after which was preplanned and honestly at first I felt I could use the company, but hosting while grieving is still stressful.
After holidays were over and my friend left town it was back to work and I noticed that the left side of my torso was numb from my bra line to my belly button, spine to sternum. My chiropractor thought it could be shingles and told me to watch for blisters, or it could be shingles without blisters (called Zoster sine herpete). I have had shingles before but I didn't remember it feeling like that first and with such a large area. I had pain over my ribs that made sleeping difficult and neither Advil or Tylenol worked for it. I went to a walk-in doctor (because my regular doctor takes a couple of weeks to get in to see) and he prescribed a stronger concentration of Voltaren to use at night. He didn't think it was shingles and did mention MS as one of the possibilities but said he wasn't sure because it "doesn't usually present this way" and described the MS 'hug' feeling which I didn't have. He said to follow up if things got worse.
I booked in with my doctor and saw him a couple of weeks later. He referred me to a physiatrist (Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation physician) as it would be faster than waiting for the neurologist and might get me an MRI quicker. They did an x-ray of my thoracic spine and found no issues. He also found the fact that it was such a broad area "interesting" and dismissed shingles. He tried to do an EMG but my muscles did not want to calm down and so we gave up on that and he ordered an MRI. They found a small area of demyelination on my T7. Both my doctor and the physiatrist referred me to the same neurologist and I think having two referrals (or maybe one from another specialist) sped things up perhaps because I have known people who have waited for much longer to see the neurologist and I think I only had to wait 7 weeks for the consult. During that time, however, the numbness on my torso switched to the right side (although the rib pain still remains on the left), and my right leg became a bit weak and partially numb as well and that even jumped to the left leg for a bit and then back to the right leg. Both of my feet also are partially numb now. I got another MRI done of my brain and cervical spine in mid-March and they found a few more lesions so I was diagnosed with RRMS.
I just started Tecfidera last Saturday and am on a very slow titration schedule, even slower than the recommended starting dose written in the packaging. So far so good and only two episodes of flushing; the 2nd was a bit more uncomfortable with itching/redness on my face and neck and in the bends of my arms. Both episodes only lasted probably 20 minutes. Not consistent enough for me to take the Aspirin yet, but we will see what happens when i increase the dosage.
I am so grateful to have found this forum so I have another resource of people to talk to and learn from. I guess one thing I would maybe ask about is your personal experiences or recommendations with when and how to disclose information to employers/coworkers, seeing as I may have side effects from the medications while at work, etc. Also, leg weakness and fatigue is a thing right now. Most people know about the torso numbness and such but only that I had an upcoming neuro consult, etc. A few people know about the possibility of MS but not that it is confirmed.
Thanks for reading!
I am a 37yo female in Canada recently diagnosed with RRMS April 1st, 2020. I was really hoping it was just a bad April Fool's joke but was relieved to have an answer for my symptoms.
My first symptom was a partially-numb left foot in Dec 2018 which I went to my doctor for, he did some poking and tickling and I still had some sensation so he wanted to wait and see for a couple of weeks. I had a few weeks of holidays and it resolved over that time so we chalked it up to long workdays on my feet. Then while on holidays in July 2019 I went through a hugely stressful few weeks with my dog getting diagnosed with bladder cancer (TCC), me and my boyfriend breaking up and him moving out, and then my dog passing away. That all happened between June 26th and July 9th. I had a friend visit from out of town as well for 5 days the week after which was preplanned and honestly at first I felt I could use the company, but hosting while grieving is still stressful.
After holidays were over and my friend left town it was back to work and I noticed that the left side of my torso was numb from my bra line to my belly button, spine to sternum. My chiropractor thought it could be shingles and told me to watch for blisters, or it could be shingles without blisters (called Zoster sine herpete). I have had shingles before but I didn't remember it feeling like that first and with such a large area. I had pain over my ribs that made sleeping difficult and neither Advil or Tylenol worked for it. I went to a walk-in doctor (because my regular doctor takes a couple of weeks to get in to see) and he prescribed a stronger concentration of Voltaren to use at night. He didn't think it was shingles and did mention MS as one of the possibilities but said he wasn't sure because it "doesn't usually present this way" and described the MS 'hug' feeling which I didn't have. He said to follow up if things got worse.
I booked in with my doctor and saw him a couple of weeks later. He referred me to a physiatrist (Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation physician) as it would be faster than waiting for the neurologist and might get me an MRI quicker. They did an x-ray of my thoracic spine and found no issues. He also found the fact that it was such a broad area "interesting" and dismissed shingles. He tried to do an EMG but my muscles did not want to calm down and so we gave up on that and he ordered an MRI. They found a small area of demyelination on my T7. Both my doctor and the physiatrist referred me to the same neurologist and I think having two referrals (or maybe one from another specialist) sped things up perhaps because I have known people who have waited for much longer to see the neurologist and I think I only had to wait 7 weeks for the consult. During that time, however, the numbness on my torso switched to the right side (although the rib pain still remains on the left), and my right leg became a bit weak and partially numb as well and that even jumped to the left leg for a bit and then back to the right leg. Both of my feet also are partially numb now. I got another MRI done of my brain and cervical spine in mid-March and they found a few more lesions so I was diagnosed with RRMS.
I just started Tecfidera last Saturday and am on a very slow titration schedule, even slower than the recommended starting dose written in the packaging. So far so good and only two episodes of flushing; the 2nd was a bit more uncomfortable with itching/redness on my face and neck and in the bends of my arms. Both episodes only lasted probably 20 minutes. Not consistent enough for me to take the Aspirin yet, but we will see what happens when i increase the dosage.
I am so grateful to have found this forum so I have another resource of people to talk to and learn from. I guess one thing I would maybe ask about is your personal experiences or recommendations with when and how to disclose information to employers/coworkers, seeing as I may have side effects from the medications while at work, etc. Also, leg weakness and fatigue is a thing right now. Most people know about the torso numbness and such but only that I had an upcoming neuro consult, etc. A few people know about the possibility of MS but not that it is confirmed.
Thanks for reading!
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