Sunday 10 January 2010

Ridiculous

In my vast experience of having MS for 1 month, I am more than happy to declare it the most ridculous disease ever. I've not got a lot of experience of anything else, and I haven't much experience of this one, but you can trust me on this. In fact, so far in my life, I appear to have escaped many illnesses, and my most significant prior to this escapade was chicken pox.

I was diagnosed on the 15th December 2009 (Merry Christmas!), after various fruitless visits to consultants following months of pain in my left hip and thigh. There was a brief encounter with a physio, and a couple of MRI scans thrown in for good measure. In fact, despite all information to the contrary, I'm probably as radioactive as Sellafield, and I'll need a change of identity and a decent PR campaign to convince anyone otherwise. When the neuro (see how familiar I am with these terms? - how much do we love the internet?!) gave me the news, it was on the back of me pushing for another MRI scan following his assertion that no one had ever presented to him with hip pain as their first sign of MS.

Look at me, a medical marvel.

At the beginning of December, before I was diagnosed, my neck went into spasm and for three days I had an almost perfect view of my right ankle and very little else, unless it was located in my bottom right hand corner.Still, it gave me every opportunity to work on that slightly coy look up through your eyelashes when you're talking that I've often admired, but honestly, never really spent any time working on it.

But do you know what the really funny part is? I went to the GP this week, and mentioned the neck spasm, and she declared that probably wasn't MS. Well forgive me, but my neck's never done that before, and unless I'm very much mistaken, one of the symptoms is muscle spasms. The hip pain? Surprising. Despite pain being, again, a symptom of MS. The neuro warned me against thinking that everything might be MS related. Apparently some days I'll wake up and feel crap, and it will be nothing to do with MS, it will instead be everything to do with feeling crap. And some days I'll wake up and feel great and think, well do you know what, no MS for me today, and that will be entirely down to MS because it affects your mood.

So. A ridiculous disease. If you think you've got it, you probably haven't. And if you think you haven't, that's when you most likely have.

I couldn't have asked for better comedy material.

10 comments:

  1. Knowing very little (in fact virtually nothing) about MS I would be interested to learn more. Sorry you have been diagnosed with it and hope it is something you can get on top of.

    CJ xx

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  2. Absolutely ridiculous! And it must be playing with your head; especially when the health professionals tell you different things. Hope you can make sense of it soon.

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  3. I know maybe I shouldn't laugh, but your wit and observations do make me giggle. I am sure you are going to go through many difficult and confusing times and I am sure that will be hard, but the fact that you are able to glean writing material of such comedic value throughout your journey, is surely something that will lift and help you make sense of things. So, enjoy it when it makes you laugh and hugs from the virtual world for when it makes you mad... x

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  4. I've never heard MS described better. It is truly ridiculous. I say that as the friend of people with MS but especially I say it as a health professional. I hope your symptoms settle soon, wherever they're coming from!

    I found my way here from Judith's room and I look forward to seeing you around the place. You write so well.

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  5. I must agree with Alice. You write with great wit about what must be pretty hardcore for you. Selfishly I hope you keep writing about it, and I also hope you have less crap days than good ones x

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  6. So why does all the bad stuff have nothing to do with MS but the good stuff when you feel great is all the diseases fault? Sounds a bit suspect to me...

    Do keep writing about it, like the others say you write really well, with humour and perception and I know nothing about the disease at all. x

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  7. We know two people with MS and both their experiences have been slightly different but they're both full of incredible spirit and from what I've read of you on here and at Judith's Room you clearly are too. You are a brilliantly funny writer and someone should definitely give you a column. xxx

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  8. Just read your post on the ms. You sound incredibly strong. Wishing you all the best in dealing with it. Julie.x

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  9. Oh lovely this disease sounds like the Mornington Crescent of the disease world ... hope you're ok

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  10. Sorry to read that you had been diagnosed with ms. It must be hard and confusing to come to terms with it, and I think you are handling it exceptionally well. Keep up the writing, it is truly enjoyable! X MM

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