Diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis at 23
On the 13th of December 2018 I was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis. Scared is probably an understatement of how I was feeling when I left the neurologist office, tears running down my face and a feeling of not knowing what was next for me.
I had my first round of Optic Neuritis in 2016, after about a week of thinking it was just a bad migraine which. Lots of medication and a trip to the emergency department I was finally told I should get an MRI to rule out anything major. The results came back and I had some minor spots on my brain that the doctor said could eventually turn into MS but probably wouldn't. My optic neuritis got better after about 3 months and I went on to live life normally, not looking back. I guess I thought something like MS wouldn't happen to me so I hardly gave it another thought.
Fast forward two years, a stressful time in my life and another round of Optic Neuritis. I went straight to my GP and they booked me in for an MRI. The results from my MRI were sent to the neurologist and when I met with him he said the lesions on my brain had become significantly worse and he wanted to run some further tests as he wasn't able to diagnose MS from the MRI. In that appointment I was advised that I had an 80% chance of getting Multiple Sclerosis. Two days later I was preparing for a lumbar puncture, getting blood tests and trying hard to pull myself together. Which in this situation was easier said than done.
I waited a month until I saw the neurologist again to discuss the results from my blood tests and lumbar puncture. A week before I was meant to see the neurologist I started feeling some numbness in my right foot. I didn't tell anyone about the numbness because I knew what the outcome was going to be, Multiple Sclerosis. Even though I knew what was about to happen it didn't make it easier when the words "I'm sorry, you have Multiple Sclerosis" were said.
I was so overwhelmingly frightened but deep down I felt relieved, the feeling of distress had faded slightly. Finally a reason as to why my body was doing what it was doing.