Hello. My name is Jo and i began this journey being told i had cancer of the thyroid last November. I had nearly lost my voice. In May, i had surgery and had three benign tumours removed alongside half of my thyroid. During recovery, i was very dizzy, wobbly on feet, in a lot of pain in legs, arms, head and chest. My eyesight was very odf and i went to the opticians to try and explain what was happening. They didnt help. Long story short is after two hour and a half MRI scans, actually in the tube for that long! I was told by neurologist she had found several lesions on brain amd spinal chord. (Awaiting results from second scan) i also had three slipped discs. Neurologist asked me not to look online, but i am kn pain every day even though i am taking gabapentin, and am very clunky in the legs. I am getting vvery severe headaches, and pain kn my pelvis and feet! I am having what yhey have called tremors too just to add to the mix. I just wanted to ask is this normal for ms? And is there any other joyful symptoms i should look out for! Feelong very low, strong independant woman who is still trying to work. Any info welcome. Thanks
hi jo
ms will keep adding to the symptoms but eventually you get used to it.
as you are a strong, independent woman you will cope with it.
what really hurts is how it affects relationships.
make sure you have a few good friends who you can confide in and meet up with.
i kept in touch with two former colleagues who have been wonderful.
they have organised a “team meeting” in a restaurant very close to where i live, which is very kind as i no longer drive.
so that’s something to look forward to.
if you start to struggle at work, contact Access to Work who will assess your work station to see if anything needs adapting - such as a new chair, better lighting. they will also work with your employer to see if they can make any reasonable adjustments. they can also provide taxis to and from work.
good luck and stay strong
carole x
HI Jo,
Have you been diagnosed with MS? I’ am not sure if you had MS and went through treatment as one of the treatments (Lemtrada) can give side effects such as thyroid disorders.
Generally you would need to have some sort of MS ‘attack’ i.e. Numbness, tingling, loss of sensation, pain.
Hello Jo
I’m a tad confused too.
I read your post differently to Pollos (and Carole). I thought what you were saying was that you had the subtotal thyroidectomy because of the cancer and subsequent to that had MRIs which disclosed lesions on the brain and spinal cord.
Have you been told that these are demyelinating lesions typical of MS? Or was the neurologist telling you not to look online because it may not be MS, but something else? Obviously the neuro may have said it’s MS but don’t google it because it’s too easy to be lead astray by looking up symptoms.
Regardless, I’m not surprised you are feeling low. And trying to work with nasty symptoms whilst undergoing neurological tests is hard.
Let us know what you meant. And any questions with which we can help.
All the best.
Sue
Hi Sue. Sorry for the confusion. Yes you are right. And the symptoms have been very apparent since the surgery. She - the neurologist says i have all the symptoms of ms and she didnt want me to worry by lookkng online. She wanted me to tell her what wad happening without influence. I have had two sets of brain and spinal chord scans now. Awaiting results. I seem to have ‘clunky’ legs on a daily basis. Worse in the morning i think. But sometimes i find myself walking more freely and othrr times i am almost trippong iver my own feet. Is this normal?
Thankyou for your reply Carole. You stay strong too hun xx
Hello Pollos. Thanks for your reply. Surgery happened. Then symptoms. The attack as you suggest was dizzyness, numbness, pins and needles, pain, chest pain, trouble walking. Headaches and weird eyesight. She called it a mygraine aura or something like that.
There is no such thing as ‘normal’ when it comes to MS, if that is indeed what you have!
I hope your results come through quickly.
Sue
Your neurologist is right. Sometimes we are very influenced by what we see online. Each and every person differs. I think you shouldnt worry yourself too much. Its a bummer youve just come through cancer and now face this. However i think you are brave to have beaten that. How are you generally feeling at the moment health wise?
Hi there. Yes i do agree i think with what you are saying. Honestly feeling very run down and low. I am in hospital every other week for tests. The neurologist said she was surprised at my mobility with what results she is getting. Things seem to be happening very quickly, and symptoms (if ms or not) are pretty much on a daily basis. Pain is a big thing and gabapentin has been prescribed along with steroids. Just trying to get dosage right. Just seems like a lot of strange and big things happening very fast.