10th August 2003
I got an MRI in March and a spinal tap in April and was finally diagnosed with MS, though it is suspected that I've had it since 1990 or 1991. I was put on Avonex within a couple weeks. I am very lucky, I guess, because there aren't that many physical symptoms right now, although this episode-- exacerbation?-- was precipitated by 3-4 weeks of blindness due to optic neuritis in January. In a way it's very liberating to know why I have had no stamina for a good 10-15 years, why I nearly faint after a bath, why -- a lot of things!!
The neuro-psych exam showed only one area of loss -- attention, concentration, and fine motor skills. That came out "low average" where everything else was superior and above average... I actually have a relatively high IQ (though I'm not a Mensa candidate). I'm told that "normal" above average is what makes the inefficiencies more noticable to me. Unfortunately, that's the one area I need to excel in as an *****istrative Assistant! I can't even type very well anymore. So I'm leaning heavily on a former "sideline" -- I got my massage therapist license last year.
The thing that is sometimes very difficult is that I can't seem to take in what someone is telling me. My vision got worse after the optic neuritis because my childhood lazy eye has returned -- which makes the whole contration thing even harder because it's hard to focus visually AND mentally... At least I didn't end up wheelchair bound.
My mom had a massive stroke in June and is slowly recovering, though she IS wheelchair-bound. I moved from Texas to Minnesota to help her with rehab, from a huge city to a dying little rural town. No job prospects and the prospect of bankruptcy looming on the horizon as I live on credit cards. Shock hasn't really set in yet. Though for the last month I've been having every bad side affect you can get with the Avonex (I assume this is stress-related)...
Mom doesn't seem to have lost her faculties and is very determined to walk again, so in spite of the stress it adds to my life, it's also an inspiration. She says its "the halt leading the blind." I know she's glad I came, but I really feel like I'm barely surving in this fog...
I want to cry out to God that it's enough already!
The neuro-psych exam showed only one area of loss -- attention, concentration, and fine motor skills. That came out "low average" where everything else was superior and above average... I actually have a relatively high IQ (though I'm not a Mensa candidate). I'm told that "normal" above average is what makes the inefficiencies more noticable to me. Unfortunately, that's the one area I need to excel in as an *****istrative Assistant! I can't even type very well anymore. So I'm leaning heavily on a former "sideline" -- I got my massage therapist license last year.
The thing that is sometimes very difficult is that I can't seem to take in what someone is telling me. My vision got worse after the optic neuritis because my childhood lazy eye has returned -- which makes the whole contration thing even harder because it's hard to focus visually AND mentally... At least I didn't end up wheelchair bound.
My mom had a massive stroke in June and is slowly recovering, though she IS wheelchair-bound. I moved from Texas to Minnesota to help her with rehab, from a huge city to a dying little rural town. No job prospects and the prospect of bankruptcy looming on the horizon as I live on credit cards. Shock hasn't really set in yet. Though for the last month I've been having every bad side affect you can get with the Avonex (I assume this is stress-related)...
Mom doesn't seem to have lost her faculties and is very determined to walk again, so in spite of the stress it adds to my life, it's also an inspiration. She says its "the halt leading the blind." I know she's glad I came, but I really feel like I'm barely surving in this fog...
I want to cry out to God that it's enough already!