Nine Years Ago Today, I Was Diagnosed

[ProfessorGAC]

My last test was the day of the OK City bombing which is why i saw the coverage from the first moment.

Next day, Dr. calls, and says "It's not anything life threatening, it's just MS." Set me off a good note, since he said "just". He believed from day one it was manageable, especially since we were catching it so early.

The OK City thing has this connection for me, since the two pieces of news happened in the same timeframe.
The Professor

[CO Liberal]

1. Nine Years Ago, I Was Packing to Leave Nevada

I had just accepted a job at QualMed in Pueblo, CO. As we were packing up our apartment, we saw the first video of the bombing.

[MissMillie]

2. I was home sick

I had a nasty case of strep throat. I had been in bed asleep all morning, when I got a phone call asking if I was watching what was on TV.

[GumboYaYa]

3. Not to get to personal, but can you educate me a little.

What are the first signs of MS. I ask because for a few weeks I have had numbness in the pinky finger on my left hand. It seems like it is progressing and I have noticed it in other fingers on the same hand.

One thought that has occurred to me is the possibility of MS. Obviously, I will go see a doctor about this, but should I be worried about MS as a possibility?

[ProfessorGAC]

5. It's Not Too Personal

I never make a secret of having the disease. Everybody i know, knows i have it. On bad days, i can have a problem walking a straight line. Don't want the folks at work thinking i'm loaded.

My first symptoms were actually ignorable. I had pain in my wrists and numbness on the bottom ridge of my hand for about a year. At first it was assumed to be CTS, but when immobilizing the wrists accomplished nothing, that was ruled out.

Later, i started feeling a heavy, fatigued feeling in my legs. I was only 38, in good physical shape, and some days i would walk from the office to the parking lot (about 600 yards) and would get half way and not be sure i could make it. Then, the next day or so, i'd be fine.

Finally, after about a year of this, i went blind in my left eye. Sudden, no warning! In a meeting; one second i could see out of it, the next second i couldn't! That's no longer a symptom that one can ignore without SERIOUS testing.

So, that's what led to early diagnosis.

Today, my most routine symptoms are pain and stiffness in the legs, tightness in the rib cage, assymetric balance (very good to the left, less to the right, but OK), and extreme and sudden fatigue. All in all, i experience the most common symptoms, especially for men with it.
The Professor

[happynewyear]

8. ProfessorGAC

Please check for a message from me.

baldearg

[happynewyear]

9. oh well forget that Professor

I can't send messages it says. :(

[papau]

18. Hang in there - I wish you only the best - and I love your posts!

:-)

:toast:

:-)

[cheezus]

7. sounds like carpal tunnel syndrome

do you notice that your fingertips are a different level of numbness than the rest of your fingers?

it's probably not ms, but you might need to lay off the typing for a while

[ProfessorGAC]

11. Read My Post, cheezus

They thought mine was CTS. It wasn't.
The Professor

[GumboYaYa]

12. It is predominant in my pinky finger and it is worse in the fingertip.

Cool, I hope it is just carpal tunnel. I type a ton so that makes sense.

[XNASA]

4. The OKC bombing happened on a momentous day for me as well.

It was my first day working at JSC-Houston.

911 was my first full day at my current job.

What's happening Professor? Good to hear from you.

[ProfessorGAC]

6. You Heard About My Guitar, Didn't You?

Bought a new Sage Green Metallic Strat (Mexican) about 10 days ago. It matched my rec room decor. That's why i bought it. I know, i know. Wretched excess. Now i have 9 guitars, and i'm a piano player.
The Professor

[XNASA]

14. My goodness.

I'll need to go our and buy a couple of guitars, just to try and keep up.

I've only got 5, although there are 7 in the house.

Sounds great. Do you have a matching amp? Something in brown maybe?

[ProfessorGAC]

15. Alas, No Matching Amp

Just my boogie. Good enough for me.
The Professor

[GOPisEvil]

16. Good God, man, don't give him any ideas!

:D A matching amp, indeed...

[cheezus]

10. be sure to let us all know next time you get a new job!

[NuckinFutz]

13. April 19, 1995...

I was living in OKC. My kids were in daycare that morning, and my husband at work. I was at home sleeping (I worked nights then). I didn't hear the blast, but my husband did and called me. I worked on Tinker AFB at the time. I was at work when McVeigh was taken there on his way to the federal prison. It was one of the most dreadful days in my life, not having been born yet when JFK was shot. The OKC bombing is the occurrence I will always likely remember in the same way those who remember JFK's assasination...where I was when it happened.

[ProfessorGAC]

17. Wow! That's Pretty Up Close And Personal

I hope nobody close to you was injured.
The Professor

[NuckinFutz]

19. Fortunately, no...

However, a lot of people I knew and worked with at Tinker had friends and family who were injured or killed. My sons had a classmate at their daycare (not the one in the Murrah bldg) whose mother was killed in the blast. She was military and had gone to the Social Security office. I remember being afraid to go to work for a while afterwards, being at a federal installation, etc.