Hi, my name is Annette and I have been diagnosed with MS since early 2004. In November of 2003 I was at Walmart with my sig. other and our daughter and all of a sudden couldn't see the wall of fish tanks- it had turned completely blurry. The next month I had bladder problems which then sent me to the clinic I was going to then. From then on it seemed I picked up one symptom after another-in February spasticity, then drop foot, trembling, intention tremors, girdle sensation, etc., etc. In retrospect I realized that I had been having alot of these symptoms for years on and off, like extreme heat sensitivity in high school track, the girdle sensation that sent me to the ER several times in my twenties to be tested for heart trouble, the fibromyalgia that I was diagnosed with in my twenties also, that I understand many MSers have too. I have also been diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis in the last couple of years. I wanted to introduce myself to all of you and to ask if
any of you have horrible problems with your families not believing you are as sick as you are and that you are drug addicts because of the narcotics, muscle relaxers, and all the other junk that I have to take to function. It is so bad here, that I have no support from them- my mother doesn't ever ask if she could pick me up anything from the store, and my four brothers and sisters have this "tough-love" policy going of never asking me about my MS or any other problems. Granted, when I was first diagnosed I panicked and could hardly talk about anything else, but isn't that kind of normal? Also, do any of you have problems with your neuros? I have switched a couple of times because I felt not taken very seriously. The MS specialists here in Tulsa don't take Medicaid in addition to the Medicare I am on because of my bipolar disability. Sometimes I think that just having a psychiatric diagnosis just maked everything I complain of seem ridiculous to the docs who should
know better. Any thoughts out there? I'm on Copaxone but my MRIs are getting worse, so want to switch to Tysabri. Any experiences with that out there? Thanks for "listening" and hope to have fun talking to others like me.