DIARY OF MS - FROM SYMPTOMS TO DIAGNOSIS

I’m feeling quite tingly all over today
It’s really quite nice in a strange sort of way
But then the numbness creeps in, the tingling goes
And all of a sudden I can’t feel my toes

By mid-afternooon it has spread to my knees
Best go to the Doctor
“An appointment please”

“Let’s wait and see as I haven’t a clue.
It’ll probably get better, or it may just be flu”
Two days later and still feeling numb
Back to the Doctor, (As advised by my Mum)

“Altered sensations,
That’s what you’ve got,
It’ll sort itself out”
Has he lost the plot?

The next week, I’m back
And at last my GP says
“See a Neurologist”
(Whatever that may be)

There’s a 3-month wait?
Oh well what’s money for?
The very next week
I’m knocking at his door

He prods me and pokes me with hammers and pins
He tests me for weakness and guess what, he wins
You’ll need a Lumbar Puncture and an MRI scan
At last someone believes me, he’s a very nice man!

The scan comes back normal, so I must be OK
But first there’s the spinal, Oh please go away
Inflammation shows up in my spinal cord
“It may come back,” I’m told, “Of it’s own accord”

“Now if it comes back, and it probably will
Then you’ll have MS, but not until
So you’ve probably got it, but then maybe not
Don’t think about it”, well at least not a lot

A few months have gone by and the tingles come back
This time in my arms and a little round the back
The bathroom it seems is my favourite place
And suffice to say I’m not washing my face!

So back to the Neurologist, that very nice man
Who says “Well; this is it” (As nice as he can)
So here I am with “official” MS
How will it progress?

Well that’s anyones guess
Live day to day, you can’t alter fate
If you’re tired, go to sleep, the washing can wait
One thing I know, and I hope you can see
I’ve got MS, but it’s not having me!

© By Vivien Mitchell