"A Disease Called Multiple Sclerosis"

"This may be a sign of a disease called Multiple Sclerosis," my neurologist said.

I suppose many people might feel fear when hearing these words, but I finally felt relief.

The immediate cause that sent me to him was an ER visit on August 2nd, when I woke up confusing numbers for words, blanking on what I was going to say, and speaking the ever-popular word blends. Aphasia. When I tried to type a text or an email, well, that came out transposed as well. The cherry on top was the numbness and tingling in my scalp, cheek, and left-side of my tongue. Did I mention I am a college English professor. Rarely, do I ever mispeak. You could play a drinking game based on the number of times I say "um" or mix-up my words, and you would stay completely sober. Three hours, a CT scan, blood work, and a chest x-ray later, I was released and given the all-clear; they couldn't find anything wrong.

But, something was very wrong, and had been for a long time. I had suffered migraines since 1996, and I always had a new type of headaches. Chiropractic adjustments and acupuncture helped for awhile, but a new type of headache with blurred vision or tingling scalp would appear. Plus, for some reason about a year or two ago, I would just sart feeling wierd. Off. Like I suddenly got hit with caffine in the mainline, and at any moment, I would begin to shake. But, I wouldn't. I would lay down and try to figure out why I just suddenly didn't feel right.

We tried B12 drops. Raising the head of our bed in case of low blood volume. Sleep masks. CoQ10. Increasing my intake of Fish Oil. Changing my exercise regiment. Why did I have so many pains in my feet and legs? Essential oil blends. Whatever we could find.

The episodes would go away for months, and I would be convinced I found the problem. On August 2, I began researching MS. On August 3, I was convinced that the wierdness I had been experiencing for almost two years was the onset of the disease. I had nearly every symptom. When I vocalized my concerns to two doctors, they assured me that atypical migraines was most likely the answer. I didn't think so. Not with the way I can no longer make sense of words, and Patrick has to proofread everything that I write.

Words that used to be there are just gone. So are the ways in which many words are spelled.

So, on day 23 of my headache, wierd, numbing crawling scalp, prickly tongue, sore neck, and 595th mispoken word, the MRI confirmed I did indeed have white matter lesions consistent with MS.

And now, I am staring down the barrel of a MRI with contrast and the dreaded spinal tap to confirm diagnosis. But, at least, I will at last know the problem. I can begin to solve it. Blessed be.

#ms #headaches #mri