17 with ms

[intothewild]

Hi everyone!

This is my first post on this site, which I'm very happy to have found. Especially this part of the forum, while I've searched around the web for quite a bit to find something for people who are considerd young being diagnosed with ms.

I recived my diagnosis exactly 3 weeks ago today. It came as a total shock. I've always been healthy and active, and I thought that nothing would stop that for a very long time. Oh how wrong I was. Being diagnosed with a serious chronical disease wasn't exactly a part of my plan this year. Especially since I'm only 17.

I don't think I realized that I was sick until yesterday, when I saw pictures from the MRI. I was all of a sudden able to see the ugly spots in my brain myself, which brought the whole thing to a whole new level for me. Suddenly it shook me; I have to reconcider all my ambitious life plans. I might not be able to walk in 15 years. Yesterday was the first time I cried since I was diagnosed.

Coming back to school after summer made it even more surreal. Everything is the same. Everything but me. I feel broken inside. Lost and counfused, with no idea what will happen in the future. It worries the hell out of me, I'm so scared that I won't be able to do the things I want, get the career that I for many years have fought for in school. I'm absolutely terrified, and it feels so unfare. I haven't even lived a small part of the life as a grown up that I so have longed for.

You have to pardon my dramatic twist on everything at the moment, but I have had a bit of a emotional breakdown these past two days, and I just had to get it all out of my system. I try to be so strong in front of everyone, letting them belive that my ms doesn't even touch me in the back, but really that's not the case. So I had to find a place to ventilate, and I hope that this site will fill that function.

If you're in a similar position as myself, preferably around the same age, you're very welcome to answer or to write me in private. At the moment, I feel like I need all the support I can get. Hope to get an answer soon!

Best regards,

[lyndacarol]

I welcome you to ThisIsMS. You have found many supportive friends at this site. I am not your age, but I like to think that I can understand how you are feeling. The future is uncertain for everyone. If you are feeling good at the moment, you need to plow ahead with your plans. You strike me as being very capable – you CAN handle this. We want to be supportive. If possible, we would wrap our arms around you.

We are here to listen… to rantings, to questions, to everything.
All the best to you.

[intothewild]

The fact that someone takes time to answer my post means so much. Thank you! It feels a lot easier to start the day in a good mood now. I have my ups and downs, but knowing that there are other people experiencing the same things that I have been through the last couple of weeks makes it easier to handle. I wish you all the best; let's hope we can overcome our diagnosises together!

Ps. Pardon my lacking knowledges in the English language, It's not my first language. Please let me know if anything is hard to understand!

[itzmesarahb]

I was just diagnosed a few days ago. I am 23 years old but I truly believe that with life-altering news it is completely normal to emotionally break down. This is all new to me as well. Just wanted to let you know that I, too, am scared. Finding out early is good though so treatment can start right away. I wish the best for you and keep reaching out and sharing. It is part of the process of feeling better.

[intothewild]

Thank you for answering Sara! I'm very sorry for your diagnosis, but I hope we can find a way through this together with everyone else on this forum. It's not fun being sick when you're young like us, but as you mentioned, a early diagnosis hopefully speaks for a good future. I believe that I'm out of the "shock-phase" now, but it's still hard to accept and adopt to the changed circumstances. It will feel better after a couple of weeks, when you have gotten a bit more used to everything. Take care!

[LilyBunny]

Hello new to this site and saw ur post. Wanted to reply and hhopefully give you sum encouragement! I can relate to what ur going thru. Was diagnosed with ms at age 18. Very severe optic neuritis which left me completely blind for a couple weeks with partial recovery over the next year. Next was paralysis of my right arm and leg which I recovered from over several months. Very scary and also frustrating since I was getting ready to finish highschool and start college.
Feared the worst being diagnosed so young and with such severe episodes. But....my good news is that the worst imaginable was not my future. I am now 35 yrs old. I have not had any additional episodes and I live an active and enjoyable life. I do have symptoms of ms sometimes worse than others and some permanent nerve damage but my life is not centered on my disabilities or this disease.
I encourage you to pursue your dreams and stay positive about your health as much as possible. I strive always to stay low stress, get plenty of rest, really watch my diet and exercise regularly. I do not take any medication for ms although I did take avonex for several years early after my diagnosis.
Just wanted to let you know that you are not alone and that much concerning your future quality of life is still in your hands. I dont know much about your story but you are welcome to ask me any questions and I will answer as honestly and thoroughly as I can
Hope this post is encouragement for you and wish you nothing but the best in future as it is obvious from your post that you are more than capable to overcome the mental and physical challenges ms will bring you!

[Flashover81]

Hi, Sorry about your diagnosis. I have a 17 year old son that has ms. He had his first episode at the age of 14, Nystagmus and balance issues. Was in the hospital for 6 days on solumedrol. The Nuero told me that it might be ADEM (ACUTE DISSEMINATED ENCEPHALOMEYELITIS) or MS. I went home and hit the ground and pretty much had a breakdown myself. 6 months out did a MRI no new leisions and old ones going away. I was happy and feeling good, then another MRI 6 months later a new leision and thus the diagnosis of MS. Once again feelings and hope crushed. My son only had the 1 episode at 14 and recovered completely.

We talk about it every now and then but don't want him to be worried and have it be a burden to him and stress him out. Live your life to the fullest and never stop living your dreams. I am hopeful that good things are on the way for pwms. I find myself getting emotional while writing because I know what you are going through. But stay positive and LIVE YOUR LIFE to the fullest.

[Youarethecure]

OP, what you are going through is normal. I went through a two month depression because I denied the symptoms as much as possible, and this was all before the mri that led to my diagnosis.

Don't ever change your goals and plans in life until it truly makes you...if it ever does. Catching it so early is a huge plus. With proper diet, exercise, nutrition and medication you can fight it off for a very long time. Plus the cure is out there somewhere and you are so young that you can always seek solace in that idea.

Once you come out of your slump try to grasp how incredible life really is, and how much you need to fight back against this to keep it that way. This is why we are here, to beat this disease.. by not letting it beat is.

I have been diagnosed for a week, but as I said I denied it for so long before taking an mri. I knew what was happening though. I am older than you, I will be 25 in a few days and technically in my second episode now. I had a single optic neuritis issue at 19 years old. I had many symptoms recently but it was all very mild and easy to deal with. All my symptoms were annoyances more than anything else. If I didn't know what ms was I probably wouldn't even thought twice about most of the issues. I easily could have never seen a doctor for anything. It is very good that they caught it in the early stages of it for you and all of us in this section.

Always stay positive and strong. Always fight back. You don't know what path it will take or when, so you cant live in fear of what you don't know. Make the proper adjustments to fight back and live your life to the fullest. We will see a cure..... or a drastic incredible treatment in our life time.

[n1234]

I feel the same way now, glad to know we're not alone.

I am just curious to know what your symptoms were that led you to understand that you have MS, besides the lesions on your MRI. I have those too