im not usually one to start blogs as i can never think of anything to write, but just lately i have been wanting to blog more and more and as i have had a lot go on with me over these last few months i would like to make a blog, not only to share what has been going on but to also raise awareness and contact people who are going through the same as me or just to speak to new people. what better way to do that then to start a blog.
i have just recently been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (an illness that attacks the nervous system) i am yet to fully understand what will happen to me as MS is a very unpredictable illness and it affects people differently. i have relapsing/remitting multiple sclerosis which is the most common form of the illness.
now at 21 years of age i never expected something like this to happen to me and i still have not let it properly sink in.
it all started back in july/august time, i was suffering with numbness and tingling in my feet which was uncomfortable but was something i put down to bad circulation.
i was in a car accident in august and about a week after it happened, i started getting tingling in my right hand and lost feeling in two of my fingers, i went to the doctors and believed it was down to nerve damage from the car accident, i was given a months prescription of naproxin which helped clear it up. i was okay for the best part of a month until i started having problems with my right eye, my vision was getting blurred and everything looked grey i was worried as i had read on the internet that it could be MS, but me being a drama queen both me and my parents put it down to over usage of my contact lenses.
gradually my eye started getting worse and after just 3 days i could not see anything out of it there was just a black smudge, i phoned around opticians believing still it was my contact lenses but after explaining what was wrong the opticians suggested i go to A+E, it was then i started to worry.
what was wrong?
did i have a tumor? was the internet right and i actually had multiple sclerosis?
after speaking to a consultant at my local hospital in redditch she suggested i go straight to kidderminster as they have an eye clinic. my mom drove me to kidderminster. after having a meeting with the consultant he suggested i have an MRI scan, having never had an MRI scan before i felt terrified i didnt know what else to do but to burst in to tears, i didnt want to show weakness but was so unsure of what was happening to me and was just full of fear.
the scan wasnt as bad as i expected it to be but it was just a waiting game to find out what was wrong with me, i had to wait an hour plus for the results, the doctor explained i had a condition called optic neuritis which in non fancy terms is inflammation of the optic nerve, i knew that optic neuritis was a condition related to MS but as an eye doctor the consultant was not able to tell me anyhting more so he referred me to a member of the neurology department in worcester.
i waited around 2-3 weeks for my appointment to come through for worcester, i was having regular check ups with the eye doctor in redditch hospital, my eye was improving but at a very slow rate and due to the inflammation in the optic nerve i was suffering from really bad headaches that were making me feel sick.
on the 30th october 2012, i had my consultation at worcester and was feeling very nervous, i had already made myself believe i had MS due to having so many of the symptoms but was told to think positively, my mom told me that it was very unusual for people the be diagnosed with multiple sclerosis after just one attack so believed it would be a long waiting game, when at the hospital i was asked to explain all my symptoms to the consultant, he showed me my brain scan which revealed a lot of lesions on my brain, he diagnosed me with multiple sclerosis.
i was in shock.
i didnt really take in much after that as i was too shell shocked, it was confirmed but it just wasnt right, i didnt want to hear that i had this illness. my nan was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis and unfortunately for her it shut down her whole nervous system very quickly, she passed away due to the fact her body was so weak she found it difficult to carry on fighting, i had only known my nan to have this illness and seeing how it had attacked her i dont want the same to happen to me.
i am now waiting to hear off the queen elizabeth hospital regarding treatments, i have found a very useful website www.mssociety.org.uk which has helped me find out so much information from a good diet to good exercises, i urge anyone who is suffering from MS or has a family member who is please look at this site it will really help you as it is crammed full of information.
i really thank everyone who has taken the time to read my blog as it has taken a lot for me to write it, i am still under an attack at the minute which is making me suffer from very bad fatigue but i still get up and go to work everyday and carry on with my life, with a smile on my face. somedays i find it hard but with the great support of my family and work friends it has made it easier for me.
i have not written this blog post for people to feel sorry for me because that is not what i want, i just want to raise awareness for this illness and help give people a better understanding.
thank you :) xx
