A Warm Hello
Posted: Tue Dec 24, 2013 7:17 pm
A warm hello to the group!
I wanted to introduce myself and officially join the community. I came here as a visitor searching for information and found a lot of great advice for people at all stages of diagnosis and treatment.
For me, I'm entering my 4th year in limbo land. Finances and pre-existing condition exclusions made that period longer than it needed to be, but I'm getting closer to a diagnosis now. The worst optic neuritis I've ever dealt with along with some new motor and vestibular issues made me return to my neurologist last month. My evoked potentials and visual field tests were abnormal, though my MRI still isn't positive for lesions. Next step is a lumbar puncture in January, so maybe those results can (at last) support a concrete diagnosis.
I'm not hanging hope on finding anything definitive any time soon--I've treated too many appointments as finish lines, and I've been sorely disappointed every time. I've learned to live with this probability and navigate the unpredictable stew of various issues that comes up periodically. Some symptoms are harder to deal with than others, but nothing has been quite as difficult to deal with as the uncertainty. It takes daily attention, but at this point, I've accepted the uncertainty for what it is, and I do my best to stay with the present moment.
I'm currently finishing my doctorate in psychology, specializing in neurological and medical issues. I'm mentioning this only to give some context to where I'm coming from, as I certainly won't be posting here as a professional; I'm just here as a partner on this path, to give and receive all of the support I can.
~Mel
I wanted to introduce myself and officially join the community. I came here as a visitor searching for information and found a lot of great advice for people at all stages of diagnosis and treatment.
For me, I'm entering my 4th year in limbo land. Finances and pre-existing condition exclusions made that period longer than it needed to be, but I'm getting closer to a diagnosis now. The worst optic neuritis I've ever dealt with along with some new motor and vestibular issues made me return to my neurologist last month. My evoked potentials and visual field tests were abnormal, though my MRI still isn't positive for lesions. Next step is a lumbar puncture in January, so maybe those results can (at last) support a concrete diagnosis.
I'm not hanging hope on finding anything definitive any time soon--I've treated too many appointments as finish lines, and I've been sorely disappointed every time. I've learned to live with this probability and navigate the unpredictable stew of various issues that comes up periodically. Some symptoms are harder to deal with than others, but nothing has been quite as difficult to deal with as the uncertainty. It takes daily attention, but at this point, I've accepted the uncertainty for what it is, and I do my best to stay with the present moment.
I'm currently finishing my doctorate in psychology, specializing in neurological and medical issues. I'm mentioning this only to give some context to where I'm coming from, as I certainly won't be posting here as a professional; I'm just here as a partner on this path, to give and receive all of the support I can.
~Mel
