In the summer of 2001, I was working full-time as an ultrasound technologist. I was also doing a “stat” call at a physical rehab hospital afterhours, to check seniors for blood clots in their legs (one of the side-effects of being laid-up with a new hip or knee replacement.)
The work was very tiring, even for people without multiple sclerosis. A lot of the techs would vent in the break area about how patients were always getting “squeezed” in. I absolutely hated that too, and found myself liking the health field more in theory than in practice. Patients were constantly being sent over “stat” because the business was new and of course, the doctors/owners wanted the money! About 25% of the cases that were added on needed immediate attention. I was so weary leaving there sometimes, and then every third week I might have to bolt over to the rehab hospital to do those cases. The money was very good, but for me, it was not worth my energy, which was dwindling fast.
In July of that summer I had another attack, this time affecting my right hand. It felt tingly, numb, and weak, just like my left leg had been the summer before. I had trouble combing my hair, brushing my teeth, and writing. I could barely freaking write! The left leg problems came back at the same time.
Now that I was working in a medical office, I told one of the techs and one of the radiologists. The tech said maybe I had a pinched nerve from scanning the patients. The radiologist immediately said, “Maybe you have multiple sclerosis.” She wanted to do an MRI pronto, but I promised I would get to a neurologist.
And I did. And he, being a general neurologist, wanted to do every test under the sun to figure out what was going on. I told him about the Lyme disease and treatment, so that made the situation a bit confusing. Basically he sent me for bloodwork to check for chronic Lyme disease, lupus, thyroid problems (yes, they can cause tingling in the limbs), blood sugar levels, and other things. The bloodwork came back negative for everything he checked for.
Next came the MRIs. Brain and C-spine (the top part of the spinal cord that attaches to the brain.) These came back with several (not a ton) of “lesions or scars” along the spinal cord indicative of multiple sclerosis. So it seemed a positive case for MS, given the symptoms and the MRIs, but to be more certain, the neurologist sent me for a lumbar puncture, or spinal tap. Yuck. But the hospital staff was kind and I have to say that in my experience, the most compassionate nurses have been male. Anyway, this blog entry is becoming a book, so…..the spinal tap came back positive for oligoclonal bands, something that is present in up to 90% of MS patients’ spinal fluid, but uncommon in anyone else’s. Strike three.
So this neurologist told me I had “probable MS”, and said the next step was to send me to an MS specialist. That is another story…….
