How I Learned I Have MS

It was Feb 2011, I cut my workday short in a hurry to get home to take my wife out to celebrate our anniversary. I was feeling good. I told my wife I’m going to take a shower and I’ll be ready in 15min.

Neuro team ordered an MRI

While in the shower With no warning I passed out cold. My wife heard the fall and helped me to my feet and went to get a chair for me. As soon as she let go of my hand I went down again. I was taken by ambulance to the hospital. The doctors thought it may be a cardio issue so for one week they gave me every heart test known to man. When all the tests proved negative a doctor came in my room and said he will release me today. I told him for some reason I had no feeling in my big toe on my right foot. He called in a Neuro team who said they ordered an MRI for me for this afternoon. There was a bus accident in the area and the MRI machines were taken up.

My spine lit up like a Christmas tree

At 1am they woke me and took me to radiology. I requested a copy of the test results and the next afternoon I was released. At home sitting up in bed two nights later I asked my wife to give me the test results. I couldn’t make sense out of any of it until I read in very small print on the bottom of the page possible signs of MS on T2 & T3 on my spine. The next day I had a follow up with the Neuro at his office. He said they can’t find anything wrong with me. What does this T2 &T3 and MS mean? I asked him to get my MRI test on his computer and my spine lit up like a Christmas tree. He told us to meet him in the ER in two hrs.

A spinal tap concluded MS

I was admitted and another week or tests including a Spinal which concluded I had MS. When they came in my room to tell me I had MS I thought it was a death sentence. The next ten days in the hospital they gave me 1,000mg of steroids a day for ten days. For the next three years I had several MRIs and blood tests then one MRI showed a new lesion and it was time to go on a treatment.

I feel like I've gotten so much worse

I have been on Aubagio for 6 yrs. I had a numb toe now I have neuropathy in pain all the time I took Gabapentin for the pain put it destroyed my teeth and gums and infected my jawbones. After spending thousands of dollars on my teeth I can’t take anything for the pain. I was told from the beginning I had RRMS. I feel like I have gotten so much worse since 2011 yet I’m told it is still RRMS. I have been going to my neuro every 3 months for 9yrs. My exams consist or getting prescriptions renewed. Occasional blood work and one MRI a yr. I wish something more can be done for us.