This Is MS Multiple Sclerosis Community: Knowledge & Support

Hi,

My name is Nicole. I was just diagnosed with MS a few days ago. I woke up with a numb face 2 weeks ago and called my neurologist (luckily I already had one because of migraines) and had an MRI Wednesday. Friday I was in her office staring at 3 lesions and talking about whether or not I wanted to start medication. She's giving me the option so I guess that's good. She said that she seems to think that it's benign MS... does that sound right to you guys? In your opinion should I start meds? I'm so confused and in a state of shock still I don't know what to do.

Anyway, I'm 27 (28 on the June 22, happy birthday to me), from NY, USA and I'm a pediatric nurse. I hate to admit that I know absolutely nothing about MS, but I never had to; I know kid stuff.

Well, glad to be here. I could use all the support I can get right now.

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I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I needed to be. - Douglas Adams

Welcome Nicole!
I can attest that you will find all the support and information you need from the people here. Everyone is so knowledgable and kind enough to share information and help. All you need to do is ask. Lots of times you don't even need to do that! Many times the answer has already been posted because someone else been through what you are going through now. Welcome again.
Lori

Hi Nicolina-

The criteria involved with a MS diagnosis has evolved with time. One approach states that if someone has had an incident consistent with MS, they term it as a "clinically isolated incident"...and, if they have a second such incident, it is considered MS...also, it is not just the presence of lesions in the brain that is relevant...it is also the location of the lesions...certain areas are more associated with a MS diagnosis vs. other areas...there are other tests that also can be used to aid with identifying its presence (CSF tap)...regardless, you may want to seek a second opinion with a neurologist who specializes in MS...

Sorry about the unfortuante birthday news...good luck with everything!!!

thinkingoutloud

hey nicolina! cool name.

i think the good news that comes with your bad news is that you have 3 lesions. for ms diagnosis i think they have to find 9 or 10 lesions in your brain. my neuro and the mri tech searched long and hard, and found em - plus two BIGGIES on my spinal cord. also if your doctor is talking about opting for meds, that is pretty positive too. this could be a one off.

anyway if you're anything like me, just read read read. at first it's kind of annoying that there are no hard and fast definitions, knowledge, etc, just a bunch of medical educated guesses! but it gets better as you get to understand more about it. you can definitely find information you can act on, for both prevention and healing. i think a few of us here are pretty hooked on pubmed, it's good stuff.

stay positive!

sorry about disappearing... and thanks for the replies!

I was in a major car accident last week. I slammed into a telephone pole (went right through it and went another 30 feet), flipped over a few times and slid in the car's side the rest of the way. The cops swore I'd be dead but they found me standing up in the car trying to turn off the radio, with the air conditioner's knobs, no less. Can we say disoriented? They had to use the jaws of life to get me out.

Anyway, one of the neurologists I was going to is the chief of the dept where I work and he swears the lesions I have are not from MS. He thinks they're from a stroke brought on from years of migraines. I told him about accident and he's having me admitted tonight (I'm sitting at home now waiting for a room) for testing. He thinks I had another stroke which caused the accident. How scary is that? Now I'm scared to death to drive.

I talked to the other neurologist I was going to today. She looked at the actual MRI films (as opposed to the CD) and her radiologist said that an MS diagnosis was "iffy, " based on the small amount of lesions and size of them themselves.

So, now I'm just confused. I'm still reading up on MS. If anything I've become fascinated with the condition and want to learn more jsut because I knew nothing about it before.

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I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I needed to be. - Douglas Adams

holy crap nicolina, that is amazing that you came through!

also holy crap, i was just about to send an abstract to a friend with migraines. i could not believe seeing you mention migraine in your post. so, since the abstract is on my clipboard anyway, here it is (you may have seen it already):


Vitamin D helps in the treatment of menstrual migraine headaches.
Headache. 1994 Oct;34(9):544-6.
Vitamin D and calcium in menstrual migraine.
Thys-Jacobs S.

Two premenopausal women with a history of menstrually-related migraines and premenstrual syndrome were treated with a combination of vitamin D and elemental calcium for late luteal phase symptoms. Both cited a major reduction in their headache attacks as well as premenstrual symptomatology within 2 months of therapy. These observations suggest that vitamin D and calcium therapy should be considered in the treatment of migraine headaches.

i agree this whole thing is a fascinating study!

Hey Nicolina, I hate to admit it but you and I have a lot in common when it comes to MS symptoms. Im also 28 just turned in April and was diagnosed 3 years ago. My first symptom was a numb face which went away on its own after about a month. The only other symptoms for the last 3 years that ive experienced are cognitive decline meaning im not as sharp as I used to be but my IQ is still above Americas average thankfully. In addition to that slight pain in my arm that comes and goes and for a while a week to be precise my foot would lose sensation every othre step that I took. The best way to diagnose if you have MS is by having an MRI which youve already done, followed by a spinal tap which should show MS bands, and then finally having another attack. If the spinal tap comes back negative it should be followed up again 6 months to a year later as they sometimes dont show up for a while. Mine came back positive 2 weeks after the test so at least I didnt have to dread the not knowing part which can be extremely frustrating. If I were you id get on copaxone as soon as you can. I think its the best drug available right now. Its simple to use and has the least amount of side effects associated with it than any of the others. They'll give you an injection gun to use with the drug typically which helps a lot since it shoots the drug in so fast I dont even feel any pain during the injection. Goodluck to you and hope you recover quickly from your recent events.

Nicolina, what a week! I'm so glad you're OK and I hope you get answers quickly to help restore your health and your confidence. We're here for you.

-a

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Disclaimer: Any information you find on this site should not be considered medical advice. All decisions should be made with the consent of your doctor, otherwise you are at your own risk.