Undiagnosed and Scared

After so much extensive research of my own, I’m starting to rule out everything else that isn’t MS. It’s the only thing that makes sense as to why I’ve been feeling the way I have.

My first flare-up

My first flare-up was a little over a year ago, around Christmas 2018. I had what I believe now to be the MS hug, and extreme lower and upper back pain. My heart rate dropped. The joints and nerves in my hips ached and I had difficulty walking. I couldn’t work, nor could I focus on even watching tv. My whole body would crack and pop at the slightest movements. Jaw pain and migraines to the max. I did not have the means to get myself checked out, so I detoxed and rode it out, and recovered back to a normal state within a month. Shortly after I started taking buspirone for anxiety and it has changed my outlook on life for the better.

Extreme difficulty bearing the summer

The summer rolled around and I had extreme difficulty bearing the heat and humidity. I did everything to avoid the outdoors, but had no physical flare-ups. Just mental flare — extreme brain fog, light sensitivity, difficulty concentrating and feeling overstimulated.

Pain, stiffness, irritability, and IBS symptoms

I had another flare-up in the fall. This time I had pain in my genitals following intercourse and my incompetence and IBS symptoms started. The same pain and stiffness in my hip joints/nerves happened, accompanied with shoulder joint/nerve pain. Jaw pain. Charlie horses in my calves and feet. I realized I felt worse when eating gluten, and eliminated it from my diet. Extreme irritability and difficulty concentrating followed cutting out gluten. Once again, no means to get checked out by a doctor, but I returned to a normal state within a month, but still had incompetence.

Another flare-up

Now it is 3 months since my last flare-up, and I think quitting smoking cigarettes and marijuana is what caused a flare-up this time. The MS hug feeling has returned, and this time my sacrum has been aching and causing nerve tingling and pain down the backs of my legs. But no hip/shoulder joint pain this time. Deep, throbbing shoulder pain, but within the trapezius muscles. My vision is getting progressively worse and at times, double-vision like. Hearing loss in my right ear. Sharp twinges in trunk and limbs when I move too quickly or suddenly. Jaw pain. Cold feet. Difficulty/taking a long time to perform daily tasks. Diarrhea for weeks, and, you guessed it, incompetence.

No means of visiting a doctor

I still have no means of getting checked out and am trying so hard to get a job with health benefits. I now live a very healthy, active, and sober lifestyle. I’m sure I’m still detoxing from smoking which is causing this flare-up. I’m hoping I can pass into another remission, work for medical benefits, and get diagnosed soon.