@jat721 

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jat721

Newbie to MS and Shift.MS!

Hey Everyone! I am new to the site. I live in the US and was just diagnosed 3 months ago. I live with my husband in Georgia. I'm 27 and he's 31, so we still have a lot of adventures ahead of us. We've been trying to expand our family, and we love to travel. We'll be heading to the British Virgin Islands in December for another sailing trip, and we hope to make it to Europe next year. In 3 years, we'll have the opportunity to move to the west coast with dh's job, possibly California, so that we can be closer to our families who live in California and Washington. I had 3 bad relapses between Christmas and the end of January. It started with vertigo; by the third relapse I had also developed double vision, loss of balance, and loss of hearing and numbness in my left ear. I was relieved at first with the diagnosis, as I knew something was wrong, but couldn't get any doctor to tell me anything other than: you're dehydrated (I know I'm dehydrated, I've vomited more than 20 times in the last 24 hours), you have the flu (I don't have the flu, I can't walk because I can't see straight and I can't walk straight because my balance keeps sending me to the right, and the flu does not make you lose hearing or make the left side of your head numb!!) So, I finally found a doctor to see me and give me an mri and diagnosed me with MS. Looking back and now knowing the symptoms of MS I can see that I had a relapse of vertigo 2 years ago, I had Lerhmites last summer in my neck while drying my hair on the hot summer days, and I had black spots in my vision about 4 1/2 years ago for a couple weeks. The first couple months I was doing great, I had steroid infusions to put me in remission, and I was very positive, I was having a tough time trying to find support online that wasn't a complete "Woa is me" attitude on the site. I'm now having a tougher time with bad emotional days in the last month, and unfortunately I tend to take it out on my husband. It's kind of like unpredictable pms.. Now it's getting hot here (It's been almost 90 for the past week) and I feel like it's starting to take it's toll. I don't feel like I'm exposing myself too much to the heat, but I have been fatigued for a few days and my legs have been tired and tight, making it hard to lay still at night to sleep. Now I also notice that my arms are tight. I don't know if tight is the right description, It's like the muscles are tight, so there's not much oomph I can put into things and when I do try to use my muscles more, they're shakey almost like they're weak. It's a very odd sensation. So this change is kinda freeking me out a little. I have always been such a positive person, I have a great life and I have a great life ahead of me too. I'm so glad I found this site because it seams more real, more positive. It's not a site to bitch and moan about everything that goes wrong. It's about the facts and life! We went to California last week to do the MS Walk in Folsom with our families. It was a great week. Our families are so supportive and we raised almost $3000 for NMSS. I already have plans for next year to bring it over $3000. It makes me excited to help raise money and awareness for MS Research. It's definitely something I'm going to continue doing, and I think everyone affected by MS (or any other illness) should have the same passion. Thanks for providing this site so we can all get together.
@ophelia

Welcome!!! I'm also a newbie, diagnosed a month ago. I'm sorry you're not feeling too great at the moment, I hope it passes soon and you return to your happy positive self!!! I'm alway up for a chat if you need!! Ophelia.xx

@desbanks

Welcome, i'm also a newbie, awaiting results, take care , be strong and god bless