My first post here. A month ago I had an attack of vertigo and ended up in an emergency clinic. I had severe chest pain, couldn’t take a deep breath and the pain radiated into my left arm. I’m 61 so the doc’s first thought was heart attack. But found a thrombus in my left internal jugular vein with emboli flooding my chest, lungs and abdomen. Then as an aside they did an MRI. Instantly the mood shifted and they said I needed to go do my doctor ASAP. It took a while but the neurologist says it’s MS, no doubt about it. No lumbar tap as I’m on blood thinners because of the blood clots. But the doctor says it’s not needed, the MRI (actually 3) confirms MS. I’m scheduled for one more round of blood tests for the clotting system. Then I take steroid injections for three days then start Tysabri, one injection a month for life.
Reading__MS, a Guide for the Newly Diagnosed__, I don’t have any signs. No eye problems, no weakness in either leg, no muscle spasms, the vertigo responded after a couple days on Pradaxa. But I’m reading that I might have been having signs going back years or decades. Problem is I’ve always been a hypochondriac. At age 5 I read a poster, the 7 deadly signs of cancer, in Look Magazine. At the time I had a thickening under a nipple and was convinced it was cancer and wouldn’t stop screaming til my parents got me to a doctor.
20 years ago I developed foot drop. Being a hypochondriac I researched and found an abstract on MedLine; Peroneal Nerve Entrapment as a cause of Foot Drop. In surgery they found the nerve was 90% dead. Then I read sometimes the only sign is alteration of the olfactory system. For years I’ve had periods of olfactory hallucinations. That’s smelling things that aren’t there. All signs that could relate to MS, according to the neurologist. Years ago I had weakness in both arms causing me to drop tools while doing surgery. I’m a veterinarian. I had surgery on both lateral olecranons, commonly done for tennis elbow. I’ve never played tennis. Another sign of undiagnosed MS?
kaypeeoh