This Is MS Multiple Sclerosis Knowledge & Support Community

Hi. My name is Terri. I am 46 and was diagnosed in June.
I am having a hard time accepting this. I spend so much time wondering what caused this.
Not much support here. My husband is in total denial. It's nice to meet you all, even though I wish we didn'y *need* to be here.

00

Hey Bob,
Thanks for the nice welcome. I started to fell "odd" about 3 years ago. 2 yrs ago Fatigue was awful. I assumed that's how a 45 yr old with 2 kids and working full time with special ed kids feels, so I shrugged it off. In December (last Year) I started to spill things a lot more than normal.. Shrugged that off also. Then by March I was falling/tripping over my own feet. I thought it was a pinched nerve and was going to again let it go. My Dr ran blood work and then had me get an MRI. The next day he called me and asked if my husband could bring me in. They told us that I had an in operable <sp> brain tumor and I needed to see a neuro right away. I had an sppointment for that Friday, but I never made it. I got very sick and had to be rushed to the ER, where they said I was dehydrated and my heart was in A-fib. They could not even look at the brain the heart was okay.. I had to have some procedure where thet re-boot my heart.. Fun. Then I had tons of tests done for the brain tumor... I was at the Unive of Penn for 12 days. Lost all use of my left side. It took almost 7 weeks to get the results of my biopsy because they couldn't identify the abnormalities and had to send it all over creation. Finally after 7 weeks they told me I didn't have a tumor, but rather MS and that I had a very a typical hard case..Thinking back, I had a lot of symptoms, I had buzzing like electrical shock waves going through my back, lightheadedness and vision issues... What were your wifes symptoms?

00

HI HIG
Just wanted to welcome you and let you know that there is no way that you knowingly caused your MS. There is just no way. So don't keep thinking about that. You will find a lot of infor here that will help you in making future choices.
NN

Hi Terri,

I'm 48, and I was diagnosed four years ago at 44. I'd had symptoms for years, but like you, stress seemed to bring about the diagnosis. Nobody causes MS by what they do. They don't know the cause of it yet, so we can't blame ourselves for doing something wrong, or lack of doing something we should have. All you can do is try to take care of yourself, and remember, it isn't a death sentence, life still goes on. It took me a few years to accept the idea of having a chronic illness, but I eventually did.

Time heals all things. The first year can be hard, because of denial or anger and other emotions. Stay in touch here, and you'll find people who know what you're going through. It might take your husband awhile to deal with it. It took mine a couple of years, and then only after we had some serious "discussions."

Stay in touch, this is a good place to share.

Hi HIGs:

It sounds like they really put you thru the ringer. I can relate to the denial your husband is in. I was dx’d with PPMS in 2001 (at 49 yrs old) and I’m just now coming out of denial. It all takes time I guess. I had the same fatigue at work and thought I was just out of shape or old. I even tried to start exercising but that just made it worse. Anyway, at least you can come here and find info and people who understand what its like. I hope you can find a way to get some rest in your busy schedule. Sorry you’re here but Welcome aboard.

Mick