Multiple Sclerosis Symptoms and My Story: Part 1

I have been writing long enough now, I thought a bit of my story is in order.  This will come in several little "chapters, so this is chapter 1.


I look at my life with Multiple Sclerosis and before.  Ok, before I was diagnosed (dx) not necessarily before MS became a part of my life.  There are some thoughts that strike me regarding Multiple Sclerosis Symptoms.

First, that wonderful phrase almost everyone hears at one time or another:  "But you look so good!"

Ok, so much of MS is invisible.  The pain.  The muscle spasms.  Forgetting words, or at times, whole conversations, or even where you are or where you are going.  I read a lot, and if it doesn't seem very pertinent, I forget that, too. Bladder and bowl issues.  (Those of us who have yet to experience such issues breath a sigh of cautious relief here.)  Strange sensations such as a burning sensation, tingling, pins and needles, and more.  Facial pain.  Numbness.  Muscle weakness.  And the list goes on.

My first symptom, the one we can trace back to sometime in 1980 (I have a little finger dyslexia, whereas I used to be a pretty good typist - I typed here we would trace back to 1080, and I am certain I am not THAT old!)  Anyway, that was when my legs started feeling a little wooden, like they were not mine.  I think it was a year or so later, I actually asked a friend of mine, who was the track coach, to watch me run.  She said I didn't bend my knees the way I should when I run.  I practiced high-stepping and jogging while concentrating on lifting my knees, but it just wore me out.  I figured there was something "not right," but left it at that.  Doctors could not find anything wrong, and when my knees (first one, then years later) began to be so painful I could not walk, I went to several doctors and specialists, all of whom diagnosed something different.  The last one put me in a leg brace and on crutches (one knee was acting up at this time), and gave me some exercises I dutifully practiced.  After six weeks and another set of x-rays, he said to me, "Well, it doesn't look any different.  Does it feel any different?"  I told him yes.  It was stiff and weak.

Well, after extensive research on the topic, now I know better.  This was the true beginning of my MS.