Tag Archives: diagnosis

Firstly I would like to apologise for the delay in posting the next part to my journey but I haven’t been at my best so have had to take my time writing! Told you I would get there eventually!

 

 

4th instalment, on to the next…

 

So, the first scan done! On to the next…

Again I dosed myself with ‘Arnica’ and ‘Rescue Remedy’ this time I was taking ‘Rescue Remedy’ for a longer period!

I thought I knew what to expect but the second scan for my eye problem was so much different!

I took my music with me to ‘drown out the noise’ or at least have something else to focus on instead of the panic button I would hold in my hand!

When I passed the CD to the staff. They told me the music wasn’t working and so wouldn’t be able to listen to it! Gulp! Sheer panic set in!

I lay on the scanner bed and was told I had to have a piece of equipment over my head which can only be described as a cage! This is so that u stay in exactly the same place for the entire time in the scanner. The images the consultant wanted to see was of my head and my spine.
Instead of ear phones I had ‘pads’ put on my ears to protect them from the sound of the scanner. They didn’t do much good if I’m honest!

Ok, second time in one of these machines! I can do this! Deep breaths Vicky, deep breaths.

The cool air started to circulate and the noise began. I could feel my heart begin to race and my breathing quicken. My eyes were shut so tight because the noise was so much louder without any earphones or music!
Tears started to fall down my cheeks. It was just too much for me and I ended up pressing the button again!

My partner ended up coming into the room where the machine was. All jewellery had to be taken off, keys and phone left outside because of the magnets that the machine uses.

She stood at the bottom of the scanner bed and put her hand on my shin to comfort me. Every time the scanner processes a new image a different sound starts and a timer starts on the outside of machine. My partner could see how long each scan had left and started tapping the seconds on my shin with her hand, counting down from ten so that I knew how long until the next scan would start.

Although this was really comforting to me the tears still came. I just wanted it to end. I was so uncomfortable and felt trapped!
I needed to do this! If I pressed the button it would only delay it longer!
I started to focus more on my breathing and the tapping ofmy partners

My breathing started to steady and I could feel my whole body starting to relax!

45 minutes later the machine stopped and the scanner bed started to move. It was over!

All I had to do now was wait for the results!

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3rd instalment: MRI

You would think I would have been concerned with not knowing what was wrong with my vision but I wasn’t. I was more concerned about the thought of going into the MRI scanner!

I had an accident involving a horse when I was 18 years old and somehow managed to shatter both the Tibia (shin bone) and Fibula (smaller bone next to Tibia) in my right leg! I now have a pin that runs from my knee to my ankle and 2 screws holding it in place!
This was the main concern for me, knowing that an MRI scanner is just basically a giant magnet. I didn’t think that it would mix well with the pin in my leg!

At the same time as I was waiting for the MRI appointment I was also seeing a physiotherapist for a shoulder problem.

I had woken one morning before the issue with my eye and my left shoulder felt as though I had a trapped nerve in it. This can be common for a lot of people so I never thought anything of it, not until it persisted any way!

A couple of months passed and I started to loose a lot of strength in my arm & particularly my hand so I saw my GP and he referred me for physiotherapy. After quite a few sessions with Catherine, my physio, she found that nothing she was trying was helping and requested an MRI.

The appointment for my shoulder MRI came through and was only one week before the MRI for my eye!
Because they were at different hospitals they couldn’t be done at the same time.

Now I had the worry of 2 MRI’s and believe me I am a worrier!

MRI number one!
Because my family used to own a health food shop I knew the right things to take for anxiety!
I dosed my self with Arnica when I knew my appointment date and then on the day of the scan I was taking Rescue Remedy as well!

I had a chat with the staff there about the pin in my leg and was told because it has been in for a long time it shouldn’t be going anywhere.
I didn’t take much comfort with that purely because the word “shouldn’t” is questionable!

I knew you could take your own music to listen to so I went armed with ‘Kings Of Leon’ hoping it would be loud enough to drown out the noise of the scanner! Wishful thinking!

If you have never been inside an MRI scanner before, it’s just like a tunnel with not even enough room to adjust your position! If you have an itch on your nose you can forget about scratching it because one, you won’t be able to reach and two, your not allowed to move otherwise the images will be blurred and you have to stay in longer!

Before they send you into the machine they give you a ‘panic button’ just incase you need to come out.

I lay flat on the scanner bed, ear phones on, music paying and alarm in hand ready to go, deep breaths Vicky, deep breaths!
Five minutes into it and I pressed the panic button! Wimp or not I hated it! I carried on though as I was told through the ear phones that it wouldn’t take much longer and thankfully it didn’t!

When I came out of the scanner I was shaking!
If you don’t like loud noises or tight spaces it really isn’t the best place to be!

All I could think was ‘I have to do that all over again next week’!

And so it begins!

MeSsy days!, , , ,

So this is how it all began, my story of my MS. What my symptoms were, through to diagnosis, and up to now!

 

2010 turned out to be a very tough year!

In the March of 2010 myself & my partner where in discussions of selling our house & moving, we had seen a house that we had fallen in love with & put ours on the market with the intention of buying the one we had seen.

It was in this same month that I started to have problems with my vision.
It started in my right eye. In my outer peripheral vision I was seeing flashing lights, the best way I can describe it was like the flashing from a sparkler on bonfire night!
I thought I was getting a migraine, I have had these before so I knew what to expect… A violent headache followed by sickness. This never followed though! Instead the flashing continued and I started to get pain in my eye.

Luckily at the time I worked as an optical assistant and so the next day I asked the optician at work to check my eye. She said she could see ‘something’ but didn’t have the equipment to see properly so referred me to the eye hospital. Due to it not being an emergency I didn’t go straight away, instead I waited until the next day (Sunday) and went to Birmingham eye hospital. This hospital is further away for us than the eye casualty in Coventry but they were closed on a Sunday!

Sunday morning, we were up at the crack of dawn and made our way over to Birmingham. We wanted to be there as early as possible so I could be seen quickly.
I had my eyes dilated, that’s painful enough even when ur eye doesn’t already hurt! Again the ophthalmologist could see something but didn’t tell me what. He said he wanted me to have an MRI before he would know for sure. I was referred for this and sent home.

I made my way to work the next day, pain still the same except I noticed everything seemed so much brighter & blurred!

When I got into work the pain and light sensitivity was getting much worse and I ended up having to call a paramedic because it was so bad! 

When the paramedic arrived he decided it would be best if I got seen at A&E straight away and took me to hospital.
I phoned my partner to let her know and she met me at the local hospital.
Because they don’t have an eye specialist at local hospital, a dr had a brief look at my eyes. It became apparent when he was looking at my eyes that I had lost vision I my right outer peripheral, the same area I was getting the flashing lights!
I was told I needed to go to the eye casualty in Coventry.

When I arrived there I had all the same tests again that I’d had at Birmingham and was told the same as I was there but this time I was to be booked in for a field test to check my peripheral vision.
It was about 3 weeks later by the time I had done 2 field tests and was back in for the results. They showed a definite loss of vision so it was then decided I should have an MRI scan.

Here’s how it is….

MeSsy days!, , , ,

11th August 2010, I was diagnosed with Relapsing Remitting Multiple Sclerosis. This was the start of my incredible journey! At the time I didn’t realise it was going to be as amazing as it is!

By using this blog I hope to be able to inspire people & to continue inspiring myself as I write about how it all started up to where I am now.

Please continue to follow my blogs as I let u into pieces of my MegaSpecial life!

I will do my best to blog regularly but due to my MS there may be short periods when I can’t, please bare with!