TIA or MS

New diagnosis and before diagnosis
1

Hi All.

Im new to the forum and so glad to find you as it’s helping me to understand my symptoms and to know I’m not alone. I’m 43 year old female with 3 teenage children. Well one will be 21 next week!

I was told I had a TIA 3 weeks ago and put on clopidogral and statins I had a Mri and ct scan which came back clear. After a revisit to the doctor they now think it could be MS so waiting to be referred to a neurologist. I’m a little scared of the unknown and we have a family cleaning business working very long hours so the uncertainty of how I’m going to cope is frightening.

A few months ago I started to loose sight in my right eye for seconds I was experiencing dizzy spells and vertigo. I ignored it thinking it would go away. however, it then became more frequent, happening daily. At this point I became concerned and told my hubby and mum who immediately told me to see a doctor. I have been having tingling and numbness in my arms and legs for about 2 years with foggy brain. Doctor said I was Vitamin D deficient. After taking the tablets it did help for a while but the symptoms came back which I just kept putting down to Vit D deficiency.

I am now looking at all my symptoms more closely. I have been walking with a limp for around 2 years but had pain in my left hip for about 3 years. I have terrible bladder control. We have just got back from a holiday and I love to walk, last October I could run rings around our teenage children with them telling me to slow down this holiday I really struggled and was very fatigued.

Some mornings I find it hard to get out of bed and tbh if I was employed rather than self employed I think I’d phone in sick I don’t have the energy for anything other than work.

After being told about the TIA and being put on tablets I thought the symptoms would go away which they did for a few days now they’re back but not as frequent. More I read the symptoms about ms the more I see it in myself. I am going to the TIA clinic tomorrow so I’ll see what they say.

Sorry for the essay but it’s nice to write it all down.

2

Hello Claire

Do bear in mind that a) you’ve had a clear MRI, and b) a GP can’t diagnose MS. I assume you will also have seen a neurologist in the hospital when you were diagnosed with TIA. So your chances of it being MS are actually quite low.

But, your GP is doing absolutely the right thing by referring you to a neurologist. They will take a history from you (so it’s worth writing down everything that’s happened to you that could be connected with dates - a timeline), and do a physical examination. If the neurologist thinks it’s necessary, they’ll send you for more tests, another MRI perhaps, maybe a lumbar puncture and other tests.

It’s definitely a good thing to write it all down, sometimes you don’t realise all that you’ve been living with until you come to write it out. Sharing it with all of us is also an empowering thing, you know that we’ll accept what you tell us, empathise with you, and completely understand the symptoms you have.

Just remember, many diseases and disorders share symptoms with MS, including straightforward vitamin deficiencies (as you’ve already had experience of), so it’s not MS, regardless of your GPs suggestion, until the neurologist says it is.

You could be in for a good few months of waiting around, for appointments, test dates, results, more appointments. So be aware of that from the outset. On here, it’s known as ‘limbo’, the period of time you wait for a definitive answer.

Best of luck Claire, feel free to keep coming back here as things happen and you worry. Someone will have experienced the same, and will understand and respond.

Sue