So my diagnoses, so I guess I should start with my first symptoms in march 2018 (this year) It was a Monday morning and I woke up with the left side of my face feeling really numb I could feel an itch that I just couldn't scratch it was a strange sensation as if there was a layer of my face that didn't have any feeling. I assumed this would go away (I was wrong) by the Thursday of the same week there had been no change so I decided to go to my gp and get checked over.

 

In this appointment there were scary words thrown around like 'paralysis' the dr thought it best I see a nurse in the rapid access clinic at the hospital, so that's what happened next. I had an appointment with a nurse in the rapid access clinic and after an examination she said she thought it was probably just a sensory issue and its actually very common but she'll send me for an mri scan just to be safe, I was feeling confident at this point that it wasn't anything serious and wasn't paralysis I was told if my mri was clear I wouldn't need another appointment at the hospital.

 

So two weeks passed and I phoned the hospital to see if my results were back the nice lady on the phone said they were back but she could not discuss my results with me but she can see I have an appointment booked in with a neurologist... well at this point I had a hunch they had found something on my mri scan and I was right. My mri scan showed a single lesion on my brain and there may be a possibility that I could have ms but I had no other symptoms at this point and no more clinical evidence to diagnose so it was suggested I have a spinal tap done (lumbar puncture) so they booked that in and then it was just a waiting game, until a week after seeing the neurologist my left arm and leg went completely dead I really lost the feeling in them and the strength.

 

For around three weeks I couldn't walk properly and I really struggled to get myself around, I kept falling over and bumping into things I couldn't carry anything in my left arm it was horrible I had to stop driving and I just felt as id lost control of my body. I emailed the hospital and explained my new symptoms and he moved my spinal tap forward so that was the next step. Spinal tap... wow I hope I don't have to have one of them again! It went well, it was painful and I didn't like it but it needed to be done.

 

A few weeks later the results came back and they found what they suspected they would find too much immune activity that should not be happening. I then had a wave of terrible symptoms that knocked me for six! I was referred to an ms specialist and I had a two and a half month wait to see him, I HATED being in limbo for so long but understand they are busy people I was given an appointment as soon as there was one to give.

 

This brings me to my appointment I had some neurological tests done and I then finally got my diagnoses RRMS relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis.. The dr is certain its new lesions on my spine that have caused the recent wave of symptoms leaving some ongoing issues. I am due to start some treatment soon Tecfidera. I'm due an mri scan in four to six months on my brain and spine to see what lesions are active and if the treatment has made any difference, I'm due to have blood tests every three months and soon to be assigned an ms nurse who I look forward to making contact with. I am newly diagnosed only on 10.10.18 so this is all new to me but if I can help just one person on this journey then I would've done what I set out to do....

thank you for reading

T. xox