My Diagnosis

In 2000, I awoke one day to blurry/cloudy vision in my right eye which looked as if someone had smeared vaseline on my glasses. This was such a dramatic change that I called my eye doctor who worked me in immediately. He saw nothing wrong, physically, but did note that I misidentified some colored objects. Suspecting an emergency situation was developing with my retina, he sent me straight to a retina specialist who also determined that there was nothing structurally wrong with my eyes. The specialist called a neuro-opthalmologist who worked me in that very afternoon.

Fortunately, the neuro-opthalmologist explained my vision would most likely get worse before it got before. In fact I went blind in that eye by the next day. I underwent a brain MRI, extensive blood- and visual fields testing and was prescribed high doses of prednisone. No lesions were found on the MRI so the diagnosis I received was post-infectious optic neuritis. It took two months before my vision returned.

Fast forward to 2005. My left hand and forearm had became numb and tingly after a minor swimming mishap. I mentioned this during a routine doctor's visit but shrugged it off as a possible pinched nerve. My doctor wanted me to "keep an eye on it" and when the numbness grew up my arm and over my left shoulder, I called her. She ordered MRI of my cervical spine (neck) and when the radiology report came back the following morning, she referred me to a neurologist.

One of the differential diagnoses listed in the radiology report was multiple sclerosis. That is when I knew, most likely, that I would receive this diagnosis. The testing began all over again: neurological exam, blood tests, MRIs of brain and cervical spine (with
and without Gadolinium contrast), evoked potentials, and a lumbar puncture. Although lesions were found in my neck , I had to wait until a follow-up MRI showed new lesions to receive the official diagnosis: multiple sclerosis.