Newbie on the block
Posted: Fri Mar 09, 2007 12:12 pm
Hi all! Great to find you. I've been lurking for a couple of days to get the jist of this place and have been very impressed with everyone. My history is that I was diagnosed with Systemic Lupus at 14 years old and attributed many of the signs of MS to that for some time.
Ten years later, at 24 years old, I was hospitalized with temp. leg paralysis, vertigo, L'hermites... you know the drill.
Anyway... a year later, I've tried Rebif, Copaxone, Betaserone and now Avonex and am doing well on Avonex. I'm now 25, living quite well with HUGE life changes (I was a perfectionist, an overachiever, a workaholic and chronic non-sleeper). I am finishing my Masters degree in 3 years instead of 1 as I had planned, substitute teaching instead of full-time teaching in order to help my sleep/doctor/health schedule, and sometimes let the dishes stay in my sink overnight.
With the help from my AMAZING husband (who I met, dated, moved in with and then married SINCE I was diagnosed last year... there is hope for a love life even at the most desperate of times!!) I have become someone who can sleep late, take a day off whenever I feel like it, and essentially live the good life with only minimal guilt for cancelling plans with friends becuase I'm tired.
I'm stoked to have a group of peers on here because I live day to day without most people knowing I have MS. I come from a medical background (parents, sibling, grew up in hospitals due to Lupus) and have a lot of general health knowledge, but still feel baffled by this disease. Despite carrying a cane from time-to-time, having balance problems, minimal speech trouble, and chronic fatigue, I live the life of a fairly normal 25-year-old dynamo.
The more I read about all of you... I wonder seriously if this is a disease of the over-acheiving and perfectionists?!! There is certainly a link to running your body into the ground and health... however... it seems to be even more serious with MS folks. Anyway, excited to read more about all of you in the coming weeks!!
Ten years later, at 24 years old, I was hospitalized with temp. leg paralysis, vertigo, L'hermites... you know the drill.
Anyway... a year later, I've tried Rebif, Copaxone, Betaserone and now Avonex and am doing well on Avonex. I'm now 25, living quite well with HUGE life changes (I was a perfectionist, an overachiever, a workaholic and chronic non-sleeper). I am finishing my Masters degree in 3 years instead of 1 as I had planned, substitute teaching instead of full-time teaching in order to help my sleep/doctor/health schedule, and sometimes let the dishes stay in my sink overnight. With the help from my AMAZING husband (who I met, dated, moved in with and then married SINCE I was diagnosed last year... there is hope for a love life even at the most desperate of times!!) I have become someone who can sleep late, take a day off whenever I feel like it, and essentially live the good life with only minimal guilt for cancelling plans with friends becuase I'm tired.
I'm stoked to have a group of peers on here because I live day to day without most people knowing I have MS. I come from a medical background (parents, sibling, grew up in hospitals due to Lupus) and have a lot of general health knowledge, but still feel baffled by this disease. Despite carrying a cane from time-to-time, having balance problems, minimal speech trouble, and chronic fatigue, I live the life of a fairly normal 25-year-old dynamo.
The more I read about all of you... I wonder seriously if this is a disease of the over-acheiving and perfectionists?!! There is certainly a link to running your body into the ground and health... however... it seems to be even more serious with MS folks. Anyway, excited to read more about all of you in the coming weeks!!
