I am 55 yrs old, and have had a ‘interesting’ life… I am a practicing nurse, but also have a very creative streak…in my previous career I had a stained glass studio working on architectural stained glass. I now do wet felt paintings, make rag rugs, repair cane and rush chairs and have taught myself to play the fiddle. I am married with two children, 30 and 27 yrs..lots of animals to look after, 2 dogs, cats, 2 riding horses, sheep, hens and occasionally pigs. We live on a smallholding in Scotland some distance away from the rush of city life. I haven’t yet had a diagnosis, but the neuro/ms consultant thinks there is a strong possibility ( based on the symptoms and the patterns)that I have MS and has requested MRI scan, and probably then a lumbar puncture. The MS Consultant said that my Vit D was very low…i think he said 20 .. what ever that means?! In the last 18mths I have had three bouts of ‘This Thing’ where i have quite severe weakness and fatigue..cant lift my arms, am staggering around and cant control my balance, fall over, am clumsy, numb and or tingling feet and hands, muscle cramps or spasms, headaches, visual alterations, problems speaking.. even having problems controlling my bladder and bowels..when i need to go I REALLY do, but also general constipation. When ‘This Thing’ hits I am really not myself I get very lethargic, it took about three weeks to recover from the first two bouts and then maybe not so long after the third..perhaps because I have learned a bit about self moderation. The GP thought it was a muscle virus the first time round but has become more concerned after the repeats. In the midst of this it was discovered that I had nodules on my thyroid ; therefore the fatigue etc was attributed to this, and so I was put down the road of seeing the specialist in Endocrinology. That avanue has been exhausted now. I dont want this to be all consuming, I want to be ME not MS..if that makes sense. I am at the stage that many will have gone through, studying and reading up – trying to understand, learning about lifestyle changes that may support me…and probably wont do me any harm anyway!!!! I work shifts..mainly nights, I had to give up my permanent job and go to an agency (so I can arrange my work around how I am feeling) I do have some pretty late nights/early mornings when out playing the fiddle..so sleep patterns are chaotic!! I do smoke, and I have a horrifically erratic diet..I eat good quality fresh food when I eat... but don't eat regularly, partly because I am in a constant state of jet lag and partly because food is not a major focus of my life. I dont really drink..usually I am the driver. I may have one or two drams a month. I am a very positive person, always looking for the good things to focus on. My all time favourite book is Pollyanna. So that's me, xx Emma T