Two Years and Counting....

It's been two years since the doctor first mentioned that I had MS. Multiple Sclerosis was never one of the diagnosis I had discussed with the doctors, so it definitely came as a shock when the MRI results came back. It was July 8, 2010, it's a day I remember all too well. Bridget and I were coming home from Destin with some friends and I knew the doctor was supposed to call with the test results. I kept texting my mom asking if he had called, and she kept delaying me with no, not yet, or I called, but they haven't called back. Then, I called to let her know we'd be at our friends house in about an hour so she would come pick us up. Of course I asked again, but on the phone she's not as good of a liar and I could sense that something was wrong. I'm pretty sure that was the longest hour, at that time I was worried I had a chiari malformation.

When I was in the doctor's office that's what we had discussed. Based on prior blood work that ruled out lupus, lyme disease, and a number of other diseases and my neurological exam he sensed that there was an issue. So I had of course googled that and looked into the symptoms and treatments. I'm sure that diagnosis isn't wouldn't have been any easier to handle, but at the time I had researched it and was familiar with that. The MS diagnosis was something that came out of the blue and was never mentioned to me by any other doctor. Well, I take that back, the doctor who ordered the MRI did put MS as the reason for the MRI, but as he handed me the prescription he said he was fairly certain I didn't have MS. Apparently from his perspective I wasn't experiencing those symptoms.

Anyway, once we were at our friends house I was pacing outside waiting for my mom to come get us. We put all our bags into the car and my heart was pounding as I waited to get in the car. Once I got to the car Snuggles immediately gave me kisses and was being so sweet, I'm sure he sensed my anxiety. And that's when she finally said that the doctor was pretty sure I had MS and I had an appointment with a neurologist the following Wednesday. But, by the time we got home the neurologist's office called and said they could fit me in the next afternoon. It was another month before the diagnosis was "official" and I started taking medicine to prevent (or help) more relapses.

It's amazing how in that moment everything changed. Pretty much everyone has experienced numbness, your hands/feet go to sleep, at some point. Which, until I was diagnosed with MS I thought nothing of it. Actually, there are several symptoms I never thought much of until the MS diagnosis. But, now anytime something is out of the ordinary or my hands/feet go numb I look at the clock to see what time it is. Then, I try to work it out. Anytime it take something goes numb I become anxious because it could be a relapse.

The first relapse I had was actually nearly five years ago when the right side of my body went numb. That lasted about a week before it finally subsided. Since then my other relapse was with the nerves affecting my hearing which also lasted about a week, but was more frustrating because all the sudden the ringing in my ears was so intense I couldn't hear much. Anyway, that has been awhile. Then the morning we left for Florida my right hand was numb when I woke up. Usually I don't let get to me, and it usually comes back within 30 minutes. But, as we were packing the car I was trying any/all the tricks I usually do to help my hands gain sensation. It was nearly 5 hours before the feeling was finally back in my hand. (To be considered a relapse it usually lasts at least 24 hours). Even though it wasn't a true relapse, it still makes me worry anytime something is abnormal.

It's funny how something so little that nearly everyone experiences can cause so much anxiety. Once I learned more about MS and the symptoms I was able to find a specialist in the New Orleans area and have learned to tell her even the smallest details. I was amazed how a lot of the symptoms I was experiencing could be traced back to MS. Most of them I had ignored thinking it was "normal" or that I needed more potassium since I was experiencing muscle spasms often.

The past two years have changed me a lot. It was definitely a shock and took time to adjust to the diagnosis and what it meant. When I was first diagnosed I knew very little about MS, I just knew of one person who had MS. She was diagnosed before all the medicines were available. Now MS is treatable, not curable, but with all the research I'm sure it'll come sometime in the future, hopefully sooner rather than later.