In my case, unknowingly, my first symptom was back in 1997. I was working full time and one of my jobs was answering the phone for the General Manager. Well .. one day I couldn't speak. Whaat ?? Phone rings, I get it and can't formulate any answers. I remembered I was puzzled and amused at the same time .. wtf. I was able to say small sentences and words .. just couldn't formulate a long phrase. My doctor at the time told me it was the hormones I was taking. That he had read about those side effects but never actually met anyone that had them. Great .. wohoo, I'm so lucky !! Anyway, that went away in a couple of days .. phew. And as many can testify, I recovered 100% of my speaking abilities .. lol. Remember those days Cata ?
Second symptom, 1999. I start seeing in shadows with my left eye. I could see, but it was dark ... like it was night time on the street sort of thing. When this happened I was in Spain. I had no doctor to go to so I just winged it. My vision came back to a 100% after a couple of days. When I returned, my doctor said (drumrolls please ...) stress. Of course .. it was a stressful time in my life anyway.
Now, keep in mind, these could or couldn't have been the first signs of my MS. Nobody knows.
Then ... flash forward to 2007. Had a 2 year old and a 6 month old baby. Those times that you do a lot of stuff with only one hand cause you're holding your baby with the other. In my case, with my left arm. I start loosing sensitivity of my left arm, starting with my fingers. After a few weeks, I couldn't feel my forearm and it was getting to my left shoulder. Went to Emergency, just to make sure I wasn't having a heart attack or something, and the doctor said ... pinched nerve. Stop doing what you're doing. It will be alright. Alright then. Couldn't stop holding my baby while I was doing the rest of the things anyway, but tried to take it easy. I have to say that I did recover the sensitivity in my arm, but the tips of my fingers were tingly and after a few months I totaly lost sensitivity in them. Until today. For example, if I want to feel the texture of something, I have to feel it with the fingertips of my right hand. Hey !! I can live with that, no biggie. Right ?
Then ... let's jump to early 2009. By then I had a 4 yr old in her first year of school, a 3 year old in Nursery School and a 1 yr old at home. Yes, busy times. I remember walking back home after volunteering at school with my daughter. Short walk, really .. maybe a 10 minute walk. By the time I'm getting home, my left leg gets all uncoordinated. I remember thinking ... (yup, you guessed it) wtf !!! Since then ... it started to happen every time I'd do a long walk. For the next year my walking distance was getting shorter until my leg started acting funny again. Mental note, ask my doctor for my annual check-up. I think I missed my doctor appointment that year, so left it for the next. Again, no biggie .. must be something simple.
By the end of 2011, I go to my doctor and tell him about my leg. Which at this point was funny and the long walks were long gone. I was more efficient now. I suggest all the simple solutions, blood circulation problems, maybe if I use special socks ... varicose veins ?? He did simple tests, looked at me kind of puzzled and referred me to a Neurologist ... WHOOOTTT ??? That time in my life was awful. I started digging the internet for more information ... trying to look for another diagnosis .. couldn't be MS, please no !! So by the time I go to the Neurologist, he sends me for un-ending tests, MRIs and such. He gave me the diagnosis. Tentative MS. I remember I was puzzled at first. Couldn't say anything and then I just started crying ... balling actually. I had MS. February 2012.
So this nice Neurologist, sends me to the MS Neurologist. He tries to put me on drugs right away, I rather try other things first. Tried steroids, muscle relaxing drugs, phisio, gym, yoga, nothing works. Suggests to start on a drug to slow my progression. Don't let MS creep on you he said. I just wasn't ready. Took my time, yes, maybe I was on denial. But I needed my time. I needed to grieve, to be mad, depressed. I needed to see where I would be a year after.
I still had to tell my family. Had to tell my Dad. All the way in Chile. And we were planning to spend Christmas there that December. Didn't want that visit to be about my MS. So found the time and told them on the phone. Felt better. Told my husband's family here at home ... another sight of relief. Had a wonderful Christmas with familly and friends. Wearing shorts and eating barbecue (It's always a hot Christmas in Chile -it's summer over there). Look at the pictures ... we're wearing short sleeves in December !!
By the year after (2013) I realize I was still walking .. but now needed a cane. I remember my girls tried to pimp it and put a lot of glitter stickers on it, it was hilarious. By now my balance was getting worse. Wall surfing around the house. No need to drink now, who needs that. Dizzy feeling without the effort ... lol. A big relief really. My MS wasn't aggressive. Just a slow, annoying, relentless MS. Yay !? Right before Christmas I got my disabled permit on the mail. It felt so permanent. So I shed some tears, and maybe some more. But boy it felt good when I used it to go shopping at the busy malls that time of the year. Thank God !!
By the end of that year I'm ready to start a treatment. Good timing according to my Neurologist. A new drug has been approved. Won't need the daily needles anymore. Now they are just capsules. I can do that. Right ?
I think now that I've updated you on my MS I must stop here. Things get exciting in the next post. It will be of how I found out about HSCT. No technical stuff, for that you can google it. Wikipedia has a very good explanation, although a bit outdated.
:)
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