A Long Path to Diagnosis

I’m a 68-year-old man and was just diagnosed with MS in 2020, although I now believe I have had it for as many as 20 years before diagnosis. I've had a long history of symptom treatment but never quite put the puzzle pieces together.

How it all started

It started with tremors during stressful situations, then led to experiencing sexual issues, then sleep issues, and then fatigue. All of these were treated as individual issues. I woke up one day in 2014, and my left arm was numb. I thought it was a pinched nerve. I saw an orthopedic doctor, and after an X-ray and my first, but definitely not last MRI, they suggested I see a neurologist.

The diagnosis I received first

So off to the neurologist I went for more MRIs and a diagnosis of transverse myelitis. He did not feel it was MS because I was a 60-year-old man, and he said it would be atypical. He was also trying to “save” me from a spinal tap. So we went into a period of watchful waiting. Meanwhile, my symptoms continued as I had a couple of stumbles during my daily walks, my anxiety increased, and the situations that I easily handled suddenly became issues, particularly at work.

What if it is MS?

So I asked my neurologist “What if it is MS?” He referred me to an MS specialist, several more MRIs, a spinal tap, and a final prize of an MS diagnosis. Today, I am ending my regimen of Copaxone as I age out of DMTs. I’ve got balance issues, use a walking stick, and am about to get a rollator. My left arm is still numb and sometimes balky. My double vision is controlled by prisms. My mobility is somewhat limited. I’ve got plenty of issues, and some medications to help minimize the symptoms.

But I’m still here. And taking the grandkids to Disney next month!