There are currently studies involving MS patients and pregnancy being performed at USC in the Neurology Dept. If you are an MS patient thinking of becoming pregnant and would not mind participating in the study, please contact me for more details.
I was involved in one last year. They have found that the hormones produced during pregnancy are the best form of medicine so far for MS...so...getting pregnant is a good idea! It's the aftermath, unfortunately, that is not always so good. I was fortunate and had no episodes but I know this is not the case for many other people. They're trying to figure out what changes in the blood, etc occur to see if they can mimic those effects in the form of a drug.
My doctor suggested that I get off my medications (currently Copaxone) approx. 2 months before attempting to get pregnant but you should consult your specialist when you decide to start a family.
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
Sunday, July 8, 2007
Brit's Story
My name is Britney Dalton and I was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis late 2001. That summer I had just graduated high school and was already experiencing symptoms. It started with the left side of my face going numb with the pins and needles feeling. My mother is a nurse so I told her about it and she suggested that maybe I was just sleeping funny on a nerve and needed to try to change my sleeping habits. When it persisted the next couple weeks she decided to take me into the ER where she worked and get some of the doctors opinions. They concluded that it might be Bells Palsy, and were about to put me on a bunch of steroids to combat it. Suddenly, my left arm went numb as well and the Bells Palsy theory was out the window. The numbness wasn't the only symptom...I would have these freeze attacks, as I called them, where my arm would tense up and freeze with my fingers rigid and in odd positions. It would sometimes happen when I was driving, which was really scary. With my hand so numb I was unable to feel how tight I was gripping objects, soda cans would slide right out of my grip onto the floor.
The numbness continued to spread down my hand, up my back, neck and on to the top of my head. It was crazy because it was exactly split down my left side. Left side of my tongue, nose, etc. It wrapped down my torso all the way to about my belt buckle. It took a couple weeks for the numbness to spread to each new area, each time baffling my doctors once again.
My doctors dropped the bomb on me when they said I couldn't go away to school and I definitely needed to stop the sports for a while. This was devastating as I had several colleges interested in me for soccer and volleyball. I was so angry. I wanted to prove to them that I was fine and that I could beat whatever this was. So, one night really really late after everyone had gone to bed I decided to do 100 sit-ups. After completing them I stood up, feeling accomplished and took a step towards my bedroom door, all of a sudden the "freeze attack" hit my entire body. I tensed up and couldn't move and helplessly closed my eyes as I crashed into a wall and hit the floor. This time the freeze attack lasted a couple hours. Luckily my parents heard me fall and they were able to pick me up and carry me back to my bed. After a long night with both of them kneeling at my bedside, praying all through the night I finally decided to give in and quit messing around.
After many trips to various Doctors, Radiologists, Neurologists, etc. they decided it must be depression. I guess if you get depressed enough they say your system can shut down on one side causing numbness and tingling. They determined this after various blood tests, x-rays and MRI's came back negative. It seemed there was nothing that should be causing this odd phenomenon. Months down the road and many tests later I finally met a neurologist that insisted on re-doing the MRI's and having them done in other areas, not just brain but L-1 and L-2 spinals, T spinals, etc. That's when they found it.
They noticed a large white spot on my upper spinal cord, in the L-1 area. This spot, that I would later find is referred to as a "lesion" was much bigger in size then any of my doctors had ever seen. Normally they range anywhere from 1-4 mm in size...mine was 7. This, they explained, was what was interfering with my brains ability to transmit the proper "feeling" signals to the left side of my body. They didn't want to diagnose me with MS at this point as the definition implies "multiple" sclerosis (or scars)...I only had one...and the more common place to have them, the brain, showed mine was completely clean.
Instead they chose the path of cancer. Well, not entirely, but they were much more comfortable suggesting this diagnosis then the MS. Finally they told me it was one of three things...cancer, a spinal tumor, or MS. Because of the location of the blockage they told me I'd better pray for MS because it was inoperable where it was on my spine. So I found myself at age 18 praying for MS...in fact, my whole church prayed and a little girl came up to me at the end of service with a drawing of a girl in a field of flowers with a big smile on her face. "It's you...I hope you feel better" she said...she proceeded to tell me that she had fasted and prayed all day for me and that she was not even 8 yet so that was very hard! Such a cute girl!
Well, our prayers were answered when the results of my spinal tap or lumbar puncture came in: 99% chance I had MS! They still know so little about the disease, no one is fully diagnosed. I was the youngest case any of my doctors had ever seen. Then the battle began. I tried Avonex, an injection once a week that gave me flu like symptoms for an entire day...so...every Sunday I knew I was gonna feel sick. After a year of no progress my specialist switched me over to Copaxone, daily subcutaneous injections that burn for about a half hour but are much better then the weekly flu! So far this is the drug that has worked best for me.
In 2002 I was lucky enough to marry the man of my dreams who takes such good care of me! He read every book he could get his hands on about MS and helped me develop a good diet to build up my immune system. Basically no red meat or dairy for a year...and I had to be way paranoid about the oils used to cook my foods in, the type of butter, etc...no mushrooms....on and on. It actually worked and that year my body amazed all my doctors by healing itself, cutting that 7 mm lesion in half and maintaining my remission. I have not had any symptoms since my diagnosis other then fatigue and today that spot is practically gone! For someone who is devoted to soccer and volleyball, I am very used to running on empty and burning the candle at both ends. I now am learning my limits and trying to conserve energy whenever possible. I avoid the heat as much as I can and I try hard to be good about getting my shots.
Although some of the doctors were against it, I gave birth to my first baby boy on July 12, 2006 and have still remained symptom free. We look forward to increasing the size of our family as long as my health permits. I believe you should live your life and stay positive, I believe your attitude is half the battle. Faith is an amazing thing. Without my faith I know I would have been devastated and would not have the happy, healthy life I am living today. I hope that this story has helped those of you who may be going through something similar, or know someone who is. You'd never know by meeting me that I have this disease. My life is as full as I would have ever wanted it to be, I even play in indoor soccer leagues and competitive volleyball leagues as well. I know my limits and I don't push them. If you have any questions or just need someone to listen, feel free to leave me a message and I will be more then happy to help ease your anxiety, as this is still such an unexplored, unknown diagnosis. I have connections at the USC Neurology Program. I know many people who have lived with this disease much longer then I have. All at different levels. I was fortunate enough to be diagnosed with Relapsing Remitting.
P.S. did you know most electric companies offer discounts on AC summer bills with proof of diagnosis? MS patients are proven to be more heat sensitive, and remissions are triggered by high heat or stress situations. Edison did for me when I lived in California.
The numbness continued to spread down my hand, up my back, neck and on to the top of my head. It was crazy because it was exactly split down my left side. Left side of my tongue, nose, etc. It wrapped down my torso all the way to about my belt buckle. It took a couple weeks for the numbness to spread to each new area, each time baffling my doctors once again.
My doctors dropped the bomb on me when they said I couldn't go away to school and I definitely needed to stop the sports for a while. This was devastating as I had several colleges interested in me for soccer and volleyball. I was so angry. I wanted to prove to them that I was fine and that I could beat whatever this was. So, one night really really late after everyone had gone to bed I decided to do 100 sit-ups. After completing them I stood up, feeling accomplished and took a step towards my bedroom door, all of a sudden the "freeze attack" hit my entire body. I tensed up and couldn't move and helplessly closed my eyes as I crashed into a wall and hit the floor. This time the freeze attack lasted a couple hours. Luckily my parents heard me fall and they were able to pick me up and carry me back to my bed. After a long night with both of them kneeling at my bedside, praying all through the night I finally decided to give in and quit messing around.
After many trips to various Doctors, Radiologists, Neurologists, etc. they decided it must be depression. I guess if you get depressed enough they say your system can shut down on one side causing numbness and tingling. They determined this after various blood tests, x-rays and MRI's came back negative. It seemed there was nothing that should be causing this odd phenomenon. Months down the road and many tests later I finally met a neurologist that insisted on re-doing the MRI's and having them done in other areas, not just brain but L-1 and L-2 spinals, T spinals, etc. That's when they found it.
They noticed a large white spot on my upper spinal cord, in the L-1 area. This spot, that I would later find is referred to as a "lesion" was much bigger in size then any of my doctors had ever seen. Normally they range anywhere from 1-4 mm in size...mine was 7. This, they explained, was what was interfering with my brains ability to transmit the proper "feeling" signals to the left side of my body. They didn't want to diagnose me with MS at this point as the definition implies "multiple" sclerosis (or scars)...I only had one...and the more common place to have them, the brain, showed mine was completely clean.
Instead they chose the path of cancer. Well, not entirely, but they were much more comfortable suggesting this diagnosis then the MS. Finally they told me it was one of three things...cancer, a spinal tumor, or MS. Because of the location of the blockage they told me I'd better pray for MS because it was inoperable where it was on my spine. So I found myself at age 18 praying for MS...in fact, my whole church prayed and a little girl came up to me at the end of service with a drawing of a girl in a field of flowers with a big smile on her face. "It's you...I hope you feel better" she said...she proceeded to tell me that she had fasted and prayed all day for me and that she was not even 8 yet so that was very hard! Such a cute girl!
Well, our prayers were answered when the results of my spinal tap or lumbar puncture came in: 99% chance I had MS! They still know so little about the disease, no one is fully diagnosed. I was the youngest case any of my doctors had ever seen. Then the battle began. I tried Avonex, an injection once a week that gave me flu like symptoms for an entire day...so...every Sunday I knew I was gonna feel sick. After a year of no progress my specialist switched me over to Copaxone, daily subcutaneous injections that burn for about a half hour but are much better then the weekly flu! So far this is the drug that has worked best for me.
In 2002 I was lucky enough to marry the man of my dreams who takes such good care of me! He read every book he could get his hands on about MS and helped me develop a good diet to build up my immune system. Basically no red meat or dairy for a year...and I had to be way paranoid about the oils used to cook my foods in, the type of butter, etc...no mushrooms....on and on. It actually worked and that year my body amazed all my doctors by healing itself, cutting that 7 mm lesion in half and maintaining my remission. I have not had any symptoms since my diagnosis other then fatigue and today that spot is practically gone! For someone who is devoted to soccer and volleyball, I am very used to running on empty and burning the candle at both ends. I now am learning my limits and trying to conserve energy whenever possible. I avoid the heat as much as I can and I try hard to be good about getting my shots.
Although some of the doctors were against it, I gave birth to my first baby boy on July 12, 2006 and have still remained symptom free. We look forward to increasing the size of our family as long as my health permits. I believe you should live your life and stay positive, I believe your attitude is half the battle. Faith is an amazing thing. Without my faith I know I would have been devastated and would not have the happy, healthy life I am living today. I hope that this story has helped those of you who may be going through something similar, or know someone who is. You'd never know by meeting me that I have this disease. My life is as full as I would have ever wanted it to be, I even play in indoor soccer leagues and competitive volleyball leagues as well. I know my limits and I don't push them. If you have any questions or just need someone to listen, feel free to leave me a message and I will be more then happy to help ease your anxiety, as this is still such an unexplored, unknown diagnosis. I have connections at the USC Neurology Program. I know many people who have lived with this disease much longer then I have. All at different levels. I was fortunate enough to be diagnosed with Relapsing Remitting.
P.S. did you know most electric companies offer discounts on AC summer bills with proof of diagnosis? MS patients are proven to be more heat sensitive, and remissions are triggered by high heat or stress situations. Edison did for me when I lived in California.
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