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Newly diagnosed with MS

Posted: Tue Jan 26, 2010 7:14 am
by cbrudd
I am 37 and was finally diagnosed yesterday by my Neuro with MS. It all started when I went a bit crazy at the gym and decided to run on the treadmill (I am overweight trying to get back in shape) and I over did it. I started feeling numbness in my foot the next day and within a day or two it had crept up my body to my underarm and I was numb both front and back all the way to the center line of my body. I was sent to a neuro and had a total of 4 MRI's done to check for pinched nerves, etc they found some spots on my brain that may have been caused by migranes but they also found a lesion on my spinal cord which caused the numbness. About 3 weeks ago my left eye started going blurry. There is a spot in my vision that distorts things, if i close the left eye I can see perfectly. Anyway last week I had a LP done and it came back with 5 bands that my blood did not show. My doctor told me yesterday that this was MS, not a doubt in his mind that this is what it is. They are sending a person to my house in a couple of weeks to get me started on Copaxone.

I don't really know what to think about all of this, my mon is convinced that dr's are the antichrist and that they just want to keep me coming back and are lying to me. No one in my family has ever been disgnosed with MS, but I know that doesn't mean much. I don't think my neuro is lying to me or anythign like that it just feels so weird that out of the blue I now have a disease that could put me in a wheelchair down the road and it all came from overdoing it at the gym.. I feel scared but at the same time I know things are much better now as far as treatment then they were a decade ago.

Sorry for rambling, I just don't know how to feel. One minute I want to cry and the next I feel like an idiot for being such a big baby :(

Posted: Tue Jan 26, 2010 7:39 am
by Algis
You ok here cbrudd. We're all scared or at least have been.

I cant decide for you on treatment; but I am sure that if you read threads in here you will have a better idea on each and any of them.

Hang there Buddy :)

Posted: Tue Jan 26, 2010 8:12 pm
by patientx
cbrudd:

Your story sounds a lot like mine. I'm 39, and the first symptom that I noticed was numbness in the bottoms of my feet after I started running again (though, looking back, I probably had a few minor relapses prior to that). Four months later, and I was given a diagnosis of MS. The only difference is I never had the LP - I was told it wasn't necessary. Though sometimes I wish I had done it, just for peace of mind.

I have to admit going through the same emotions, even 2 years later. My course so far has been relatively benign, and sometimes I think I would be better off not knowing. But, then again, the consensus seems to be that whatever treatment you're going to do, it's best to do or start as early as possible.