This Is MS Multiple Sclerosis Community: Knowledge & Support

HI everyone!

I'm new here, though not new to MS, and just introduced myself on another thread.

Has anyone been told their chest muscles are weak thus making breathing "seem" labored? My MS doc explains this sometimes happens to PwMS but is no real problem, it just "seems" like it is. He also says if pulmonary function tests are done it would prove I was getting enough O2. He did not listen to my chest, or look at the chest xray. Strike one!

I have no problems breathing as long as I don't sit in a chair or walk or stand. Makes for a loooong day. It feels like I have ran a marathon when I've only walked a few steps or even sat up in a chair.

This MS doc dx'd me in 2002, and I made my first complaint of this months later after starting Copaxone as my energy picked up from the relief of some MS symptoms.

My PCP says he hears congestion, which is good because I can feel it!
It'always good to have a doc confirm a complaint. It's half the battle.

It doesn't help that I have drug induced Osteoporsis, so hairline fractures in my spine need to be ruled out on the advise of PT.

Oh heck, it's all so complicated to me.

On top of all this, both parents have a history of rare pulmonary complications, so I'll go for pulmonary testing anyway along with xrays for my t spine.

Comments anyone? It concerned me that my MS doc was so blase' about this. (strike two?) Maybe I'm being too sensitive or just ignorant, you think?

The good news is my PCP is redfaced about this, so maybe he will help me figure this out. TIA!!!

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alicen

Hi,

Sorry to hear about your troubles. Although I have not had similar symptoms I have had similar experiences with doctors. It's vitally important that we find doctors who can really 'listen' to us. One of the greatest gifts a doctor has is to 'listen' .... 'really listen' to his patients. That's what makes him great and sets him above the rest. Are they too busy? Are they too 'set' in their minds about us + MS from their textbook learnings? Is MS 'not their cup of tea'? (One doc I visited said "Sorry MS isn't my thing you know I'm a Parkinson's specialist" Well silly old me for having MS!!)
Stick with the doctor who is listening to you and keep searching till you find others that hear you.

Hope all works out for you,

Annette.

Thank you Annette!!

A doctor who 'really listens' is the golden rule.

My doctor is a MS specialist and use to listen intently. This is one reason I am so baffled at his response.

After thinking about this all weekend, I realized he was parrotting something another health professional had told me. This health care professional person I speak of is from the net and has limited information about me. We have never met in person either. He mentioned this person during my visit too.

too weird! Makes me very leary from here on out. Thankfully, there are other doctors.

Thanks again for your insight! It does help to have someone to talk with about these things.

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alicen