This Is MS Multiple Sclerosis Community: Knowledge & Support

My name is Kris and I have MS,... well maybe

Does anyone else feel like the new guy/gal at an 12-step meeting? When you first get there you question why you're even there at all, but as you listen more and more to each persons story, you start to realize that maybe you're exactly where you need to be? That's how I feel right now. That gal way in the back, not quite ready to stand up to say "Hi, my name is (insert name here) and I have (insert disease here) and not quite ready to leave yet either.

I'll try to make my story brief.

in '08 I had an "episode". It hit me like a Mac truck. Electrical shocks down my back, weakness in my legs, RLS, insomnia, on a few occasions, it felt like my whole body was vibrating. The "fog" was the worst. It got to the point where I couldn't even follow a conversation let alone have one. I couldn't even read without getting confused. The worst of it lasted a week. Scary was an understatement. I slowly recovered,... mostly. I had some lingering sxs in my feet when I walked for long periods.

I saw my Primary Dr. who sent me to a neurologist. By the time they ran the MRI and evoked potentials I was almost symptom free and by the time I had my follow up I felt fantastic. The neuro made me feel like I was wasting her time although she did say that she couldn't rule out MS just yet.

I went about my business, had baby #4 and decided not to worry about it until I had sxs again. Which came about 18 months later.

In the past month I've had numbness and tingling, muscle twitching, tightness, weakness. For a week, I had so much pain in my arms every time I used them I just wanted to cry. Some of my symptoms come and go and seem to get worse with activity, especially this tightness in my lower ribs. I've had pressure in my head that won't go away and now a constant ringing in my ears that won't go away either. I saw a NEW neurologist a few weeks ago who specializes in MS. I figured if anyone could rule it out, she could. She order an MRI of my brain, neck and thoracic region. I saw my eye Dr. a few days ago because of the pressure and pain behind my eyes and he dx me with swelling of the optic nerve due to pressure in the brain and suggested I call my Neuro every day until she calls me back.

OK, (this is already way too long) I got my MRI results back today, thanks to my wonderful Primary Dr., It appears I have two "tiny foci of flair hyperintensity... under surface of corpus callosum.." basically both on the right side, but in different spots and the IMPRESSION read blah, blah,..."possiblity of early findings related to multiple sclerosis cannot be excluded and can be correlated clinically"

I know that no one can tell me definitively what I already suspect, but I do have a few questions for you veterans.

1. My new neurologist said at my initial visit (before my new MRI) that although my symptoms were common in those with MS, they were not typical because I told her that they come and go with exertion. Thinking to myself... "Thanks for making me feel even more crazy than before I walked in your office"

I've done a lot of reading about how there is no "typical" in MS and the visit just left me confused. Maybe some of you can clarify this for me.

2. My eye Dr. mentioned "Psuedotumor" as a possibility when he told me about my swollen optic nerves. Have any of you ever suffered from a pressure in your head? It has cause a constant ringing in my ears, neck pain and stiffness and sometimes my ears feel plugged. I haven't been able to find much relating this to MS and was wondering if maybe this was an unrelated issue or maybe I don't' have MS and it's something else altogether.

At any rate. I'm sure my next step will be a lumbar puncture and maybe some time to wait and see as well. In the mean time, my husband is drawing up my will and searching the singles ads. OK, not really, but it helps to joke about it.

Oh, any good jokes? I really need a good laugh right about now. Terrified at the thought of waking up one day, unable to take care of my husband and kids. I'm managing to keep my spirits up, but could use a little lift.

Thanks for your time and your input!

Hi Kris,
Welcome to ThisIsMS.



If this isn't typical of MS, then the sky isn't blue. Really. I think that most folks here would likely say that their symptoms get worse with exertion.

NHE

My first definite symptom of MS was a big headache behind the left eye and foggy vision. This is optic neuritis. I thought it was brain cancer myself, it was quite a relief only to have MS. You sound pretty MSy to me, sorry.

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