Hello everyone.
I'm des. I'm not new to online forums, but this is my first MS one. I'm in my mid 30's, live in Western Canada, and I'm a Christian, and a wife. No kids.
I was diagnosed with MS in February this year, with multiple lesions in my brain and cervical spine.
My initial symptoms have been extremely mild (yay!)
It started with a numb band across the front of my torso. That went away in a few weeks, and then my fingers went numb. That mostly went away in about six months. I also developed what I now know is called L'hermitte's sign. That last one has hung around and is more obvious some days, but nearly gone on others. Heat is definitely not my friend! More recently I had some numbness on the front of my thighs for a few days, but that seems to be gone now. Initially I didn't see my doctor as I thought maybe it was a pinched nerve or something. But once I did, he sent me off to a neurologist immediately. I have some problems with tightness in my upper back and neck and constant barometric pressure headaches and have had fatigue for a long time. So I really had no idea it would be anything more serious.
So I am glad my symptoms thus far have not really affected my quality of life. And I'm not even sure if the fatigue is related or not as it's been ongoing for a long time. I'm still walking through the grief process of the initial diagnosis, but definitely much better than I was for the first couple of months. I'm not on any meds, and the Dr. I saw at the MS clinic would prefer not to put me on anything right now. I'm glad for that as I'm not a fan of prescription drugs. They tend to do more harm than good. So the longer I can stay off them, the better!
The initial neurologist I saw is young and did not handle my case well at all. The one at the MS clinic is better. And my GP is very supportive and open to whatever course I want to pursue. He even tested my vit. D levels even though Dr's are being discouraged from doing that because it's an expensive test. Yep, it's low. 71 in the summer even after taking pills daily and getting sun whenever it's out (which isn't much here this year! lol)
I'm looking into some diet changes. In particular some form of a modified low carb diet, which I've read can be really good for MS patients. I've done low carb (specifically Atkins) before so I know the ins and outs. But this time around I don't want to do it in an "extreme" way, just a way that might help my overall health. I've still got a lot of research to do. And I want to plan this carefully so I'm only eating non-medicated, hormone-free meats. That's a lot of work to sort out! Plus, it can be expensive, so that's another consideration.
Before I got my diagnosis (which took a year due to the long waits for MRI's here), I started seeing an Atlas chiropractor. He specializes in all things neck related, included muscles, tendons, blood flow, posture, massage, personal training, etc. I'm impressed with his work even though I've always hated chiropractors in the past, lol. There could be some interesting treatments to pursue regarding neck issues and blood flow and he's very open to that.
Anyway, that's my journey so far. I'm researching and keeping an eye on things out there like the CCSVI research. SO much to learn!
I look forward to getting to know you guys.
