I will be happy to answer any questions that you or your family member may have. I was diagnosed with MS in 2004 at the age of 58 by a neurologist who had ordered several MRI's and a spinal tap. My symptoms were varied for several years but neither my doctors nor I considered the whole picture. I was having bladder and bowel problems, tingling in my feet and hands, extreme fatigue, sometimes dragging my right foot, cognitive problems. I was chalking all this up to getting old before my time and the specialists I was referred to could not find any problems. Then one day I started seeing double and also was having difficulty focusing. I went to an opthomologist who performed eye surgery to tighten the muscles in my right eye. My vision improved but my eye doctor strongly suggested that I have an MRI. I went to the hospital kicking & screaming at the thought of sliding into a tube on my back. It turned out to be nothing compared with the spinal tap that unbeknown to me was in my future. The radiologist who read my films & diagnosed probable MS. I was referred to the neurologist who examined me & stuck a needle the size of one of my mom's knitting needles into my spine. OUCH! The final results came back for secondary progressive multiple sclerosis. It has been a long and sometimes arduous road since then but I have learned a great deal about "silent diseases". Go online to nmss.org where you will learn a lot about the diseases and the support that is available. Please feel free to contact me directly at [email protected] or 912-638-1691.
Sarah Gillespie
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I will be happy to answer any questions that you or your family member may have. I was diagnosed with MS in 2004 at the age of 58 by a neurologist who had ordered several MRI's and a spinal tap. My symptoms were varied for several years but neither my doctors nor I considered the whole picture. I was having bladder and bowel problems, tingling in my feet and hands, extreme fatigue, sometimes dragging my right foot, cognitive problems. I was chalking all this up to getting old before my time and the specialists I was referred to could not find any problems. Then one day I started seeing double and also was having difficulty focusing. I went to an opthomologist who performed eye surgery to tighten the muscles in my right eye. My vision improved but my eye doctor strongly suggested that I have an MRI. I went to the hospital kicking & screaming at the thought of sliding into a tube on my back. It turned out to be nothing compared with the spinal tap that unbeknown to me was in my future. The radiologist who read my films & diagnosed probable MS. I was referred to the neurologist who examined me & stuck a needle the size of one of my mom's knitting needles into my spine. OUCH! The final results came back for secondary progressive multiple sclerosis. It has been a long and sometimes arduous road since then but I have learned a great deal about "silent diseases". Go online to nmss.org where you will learn a lot about the diseases and the support that is available. Please feel free to contact me directly at [email protected] or 912-638-1691.
December 28, 2008 - 2:39pmSarah Gillespie
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