Why I Wore Lipstick...

...To My MS Diagnosis.

It's official. Sarah Ellis - Mom, Military Wife, Business Owner, and MS'er.

No surprise here however the fam didn't take it as well. I had already commited to the fact that I had MS, as was clearly shown in one of my past posts. The Hubs has been wonderful and even wrote a little something that I would like to share with you.

"It's been a long process, but today we got confirmation that Sarah has Multiple Sclerosis. So I'm writing this for her, for me, for them and for you. But most importantly for Us. Because, in the end, it is the 'Us' and the 'We' who makes this journey through the ups and downs of life easier on 'you' and 'I'. Today marks a turning point in our lives but not a stopping point nor a resting point. In fact, it is Sarah's quiet strength, determination and courage (not to mention stubborness) in the face of a debilitating disease that has given me the ability to cope with the possibilities of the future. So, today We decide to persevere and not give in...We decided to rejoice in life and not focus on the suffering...We decide to laugh and smile more than we will cry...We decide to support each other when we are the weakest. But most importantly, We will continue to be Us."

So now you know why I love this man. :) I think he pretty much said it all.

I'm handling everything pretty well. I'm telling myself I'm fine but this headache that I've had for 3 days now is telling me I'm stressing. It'll go away soon, I know. No tears. Those were shed months ago, ok maybe weeks ago, when all of this was really hitting me.

Results of my Spinal MRI, EEG and VEP:

My Spinal MRI showed one more lesion. So three in my noggin and one on my spine. My EEG came back normal so my ex-neuro was wrong when she diagnosed seizures. My VEP results weren't back yet but he said the results wouldn't make a difference either way.

The diagnosis was delivered and now it's time to get down to business. As I told a fellow MS'er, "I think I'm waiting for the words to come out of the neuros mouth and then something inside of me will say "GO!" and I'll be on my way to healthy living." I'm sticking to that but first, I've got some reading to do...

These are 4 binders, each containing information about a different drug said to slow the progression of MS (I have RRMS by the way). When the Doc said he was going to give us "information packets" on each, I think Sean and I were just expecting a pamphlet. Nope! We both said, "Holy Shit!" (ok, maybe it was just me) when we saw the nurse walk up with these monsters.

At first I was not willing to consider a drug, but after conversing with my neuro and reading up on my options I think I'm going to go for it. I'm not looking forward to injecting myself everyday and yesterday I thought, "I am 27. 27! 27! TWENTY SEVEN! And now my refrigerater is constantly going to be stocked with a months worth of mommy's drugs. Ah well, what can ya do?

So the plan is set! Diet. Exercise. Drugs.

Oh My!

Spinal MRI

Yesterday was my MRI of the Cervical and Thoracic (sounds like a dinosaur) Spine. It was at a different place then my last MRI because of the Doc change of course. I didn't think it was possible for this MRI to be any louder then the first one but surprise, surprise, this one was.

I went in a 7:30pm with a slight headache. I finished at 9pm with the sound of fog horns ringing in both ears and a massive headache. She gave me ear phones that were playing classical music but really, what's the point? I heard maybe one song throughout the entire hour and a half.

I don't know if I've mentioned this before but I don't handle IV's or getting my blood drawn very well, or in this case the contrast.* For me, it's not the prick or even the feel of the stuff going in that bothers me, it's the thought. I think about a needle hanging out of my arm and blood and....yuck! Anyway, I'm known for passing out.

So the radiologist asks me before I even go in, "How are your veins?" And luckily, they're great! So I tell her that but I also inform her that I don't handle that kind of stuff well and so on. When the time came for the contrast, all was fine until I see what looks like water flying towards my face. I close my eyes and then she quickly asks if I'm alright. "Yes," I say. She then tells me to NOT move my arm no matter what and that she has to go and get some more contrast. Great!

So I'm sitting there, thinking about a needle hanging out of my arm, wondering if I'm bleeding or what's happeneing. Of course I can't see because I have all this padding crap around my head and a metal bridge-looking thing going over my neck. In my mind I'm thinking, "Come on Lady! Hurry it up!" I keep looking at the beautiful (artifical) scenary that's postered on the ceiling panels and trying to think of something else. Anything else.

Finally, what felt like 10 minutes but was probably only 2, she came back. She finished up the contrast, taped the "wound", and sent me back into the tomb of (noisy) death. I hate it when I'm in there. I've only done it twice but with both times, I've been ready to scream right at the moment before they pull me out.

I received a copy of my scans (obviously) and have shared a couple of the clearest pics with you. I'm no doctor but I have a pretty good idea of what I'm looking at. If I'm right, I'm screwed!

* Contrast - Contrast dye is a solution that is used to accentuate specific structures when looking at an image. Injected into your blood vessels. Fun! Fun!