scared about symptoms - Multiple Sclerosis Message Board

JOYCE FIALKOVICH · 07-14-2002, 11:42 PM

I HAVE BEEN HAVING STRANGE SYMPTOMS FOR FOUR MONTHS NOW
AND HAVE BEEN TO FOUR OR FIVE DIFFERENT SPECIALISTS.
I HAVE MY RIGHT FOOT THAT WANTS TO DO SOMETHING ELSE WHEN I WALK. IT SEEMS TO WANT TO BE NUMB OR IT IS HARD TO DESCRIBE. I HAD A NERVE CONDUCTION TEST DONE IT WAS NORMAL. THEY DID THAT TO RULE OUT DIABETIC NEUROPTHY.
NOW I AM GOING FOR AN MRI BECAUSE I BEND MY NECK AND I FEEL A VIBRATION DOWN MY SPINE INTO MY LEGS. I GET EPISODES WHERE I HAVE TO HOLD ON TO A WALL TO WALK.
I GET UP FROM A SITTING POSITION AND FEEL WEAK. I AM SCARED THAT IT MAY BE MS. PLEASE SOMEONE HELP WITH SOME ANSWERS

hundehus · 07-15-2002, 10:51 PM

Joyce,
I am so sorry that you are having problems. The unknown is so very scary. When I went to my doctor, I thought I had a pinched nerve because my right side had gone numb within a period of a month. MS never crossed my mind and I was devastated by the news. My family doctor tried to cheer me up by saying that it least it wasn't a spinal tumor - I'm glad he could find humor in it.
I had an MRI with and without contrast. The contrast will show new from old lesions if you have them. I have them on my brain, but I also have one in my spine and I also get the weird nerve thing down my spine and legs when I bend my neck down. My diagnosis wasn't confirmed, though, until I had a spinal tap. Any good neuro should recommend both.
A word of advice though, don't drink a lot of water before you go in for the MRI. I was only supposed to be in there for 1/2 hour and it ended up being 1 1/2 hours. They don't stop for potty breaks.
I also had to fight for my family doctor to refer me to the neuro I have now. He came highly recommended by several friends and having a good doctor has been a life saver for me.
Like many people have said here, every one is different and just because you have some symptoms of MS, it doesn't mean that's what you have. There isn't anyone here who doesn't know what you are going through. Let us know how the MRI goes and what you find out.
GOOD LUCK!
Jen
~~A person given an intricate problem to solve will spend all day trying to solve it but a canine will have the sense to give up and try something else.~~

JOYCE FIALKOVICH · 07-16-2002, 04:46 PM

THANK YOU FOR WRITING BACK I HAD MY MRI TODAY AND I WANDERED HOW IS IT GOING SINCE YOU FOUND OUT YOU HAVE
MS. ARE YOU ON ANY MEDS ARE THEY HELPING? LET ME KNOW
BECAUSE I JUST HAVE A FUNNY FEELING ABOUT MY SYMPTOMS.
MY FOOT DOCTOR WAS EXAMMING MY FOOT THE OTHER DAY AND
I CANT BELIEVE HOW MY REFLEXES AND MY NERVES WERE JUMPING AROUND IT IS GETTING WORSE. DID THEY SAY YOU
WOULD BE IN A WHEEL CHAIR. HOW SERIOUS IS YOURS?
I JUST NEED SOME ANSWERS I APPRECIATE YOU REPLYING TO
MY MESSAGE. GOD BLESS YOU!

JOY

hundehus · 07-16-2002, 10:52 PM

Joy,
I bet you are glad to have the MRI done. How long until you get the results? Are you planning on getting the spinal tap?
Just shortly after being diagnosed(a month after my 32nd birthday), I had a 7 days of IV steriod (solumedrol) which made my symptoms go away, but they came back so I had an infusion of Novantrone(a chemotherapy drug) just before I started on Avonex 9 weeks ago. (It's relapsing/remitting by the way)
I was very fortunate that my doctors really got on top of things, it was caught early and I was started on therapy quickly. The numbness I had has mostly gone away and I only get a slight limp if I walk very far. Some days my mind is in a fog and I call things by the wrong names, but my family is getting use to that and they understand what I meant and not what I said.

Most days I forget that I have MS - until shot day and the day after - which is my tired and achey day. I am extremely opptimistic that Avonex will continue to help me and keep things from progressing. But one never knows what's in store for them. I just try not to think about the future.

As for what medication works for someone depends on what kind of lesions they have. From my research, I read about a doctor Claudia F. Lucchinetti, MD from the Mayo Clinic that discovered that there are 4 different types of lesions with MS and a person will only have one type of lesion and that's why one medication will work for one person and not for another.

I hope this helps and makes sense.
~Jen