Hello to everybody out there. My name is Brendan. I'm newly diagnosed. I'm 54 years old, 55 on Monday! Diagnosed last November, but turns out I've had it for 27 years, yes 27! My first episode was in 1990. I have secondary progressive ms and a head full of questions. I'm very slowly learning about the new world that I now inhabit. I say new world because my diagnosis came out of the blue. I spent most of last year seeing my GP, various physios, spinal unit etc, trying to find out more about the "trapped nerve" that I had self diagnosed because of this new "part time" limp in my left leg. One thing led to another and after an MRI scan I was told that I had Multiple Sclerosis. Well, when my neurologist told me, the immediate impact was almost as if I'd been told I had cancer, well, it was to me. When I was a kid, the only ms posters you saw were images of people who looked like Stephen Hawking, so you can imagine what my immediate thoughts were. I then waited for a month to see the ms nurse. In my first few nights sleep I went to some very dark places. 2016 wasn't a great year, we had to get my dad into a home with dementia, my mum died on Valentines day, two very good friends of ours for many years died within weeks and in November I was told I had ms, I know that's just the way it goes, but, you know! So here I am, grateful to be above ground and vertical. I think a large part of my mindset at this time, is confusion. Simple as that. I'm guessing it's the case because I'm new to it all, it's strange to think that I've had it for so long, but only just found out that I've got it. It may take a while, I'm sure it will. Has anybody read any articles about the psychological impact of sudden diagnosis, I think that's why I might be struggling to ingest it all. Although I have accepted it, I'm finding it difficult to believe it. Anyway, mustn't waffle on, cheers all, Brendan.