I’m 23 and training to be a nurse (so naturally a hypercondriac!) and having early signs and symptoms of MS. Have visited the GP on numerous occassions and pretty much been fobbed off with “oh it’s just anxiety because you have exams coming up”. They have checked my eyes and said it is very unlikely I have MS but have chosen to refer me to a Neurologist just in case and I am worried to death!! To make it worse, it’s been 2 weeks since they decided to refer me and I chased it up yesterday only to find out that my Doctor forgot to make the referral - wonderful. I have constantly weak limbs that feel almost numb inside!? I have ridiculous double vision at times, I struggle to hold a pen because my hand becomes so weak and extreme fatigue on a daily basis no matter how much I sleep.
Hi poggle, I am sure you have read a lot of post on here and information elsewhere, as I have myself, and the common thread in all of them is how long it takes to find out what is going on. MS or not it takes a long time, but you are heading in the right direction, first thing that needs to happen if you are having symptoms is to be referred to a Neurologist, which you have done. I know this is a very worrying time, especially if you are studying (and partying, I married a nurse!) but as difficult as it is the investigation process just needs to run its course. And if it turns out that it is ms, it doesn’t need to stop you from doing what you want to do. I was in the same position as you in 1994 with some unexplained symptoms, the year after I started a 4 year degree which I completed. And for the 18 years after the first symptom I played football and ran for an athletics club after that, the only reason I am not still running is work commitments, oh, and laziness. I know a lot of people suffer badly from this condition, and being a nurse you may, like my wife, only see people who are badly affected by ms. You probably don’t see the people who walk into the Neurology department unaided, it effects us all differently. Good luck with your Neurology appointment.
As you probably already know, neurology is complicated by the fact that many different conditions have very similar symptoms so although your symptoms are found in MS, they are also found in lots of other conditions, some of which are relatively easy to treat (e.g. vitamin deficiencies) and some of which only happen the once (e.g. ADEM). Unfortunately, this means that working out what’s going on can take a long time and it’s not helped by the fact that there are all too few neuros in the UK so I’m afraid you are going to have to prepare yourself for a bit of a long haul
It’s also best to try not to worry because stress and worry will only make your symptoms worse; better to accept that there is weird stuff going on, but that it’s nothing urgent so you can afford to relax, rest and wait and see what the neuro says. I really do understand how difficult this is (we all do on here!), but there’s no gain from worrying. And you never know, it might be one of those more simple to fix things!
Hi Polly and welcome to the forum - I can only echo what the others have said. It’s easy to say ‘don’t worry,’ but of course we still do; we’re only human. It’s trying to keep things in perspective which is difficult, that and it constantly being at the forefront of our minds. Waiting is hard, but as Rizzo and GorrestFump have said, it’s a process we have to go through until something shows itself, enough to point the neuro in the right direction, and that only comes through tests and time unfortunately. With any luck your symptoms are easily rectifiable. Let us know how you get on and good luck. Debbie xx
