You close your eyes and
try to make out your grocery list or maybe sing Christmas carols while monkeys
with sticks beat out Beethoven’s Fifth on the metal cylinder you’re stuck
inside. You try really hard not to think
about the fact that the enclosure is only inches from your nose. The cool air they blow through the MRI
machine helps with the illusion, but only if you don’t open your eyes. Then your throat starts to tickle. The monkeys have now traded Beethoven for
their imitation of space invaders and you really need to cough. The tech told you to be as still as you can
so you try to stifle it. When it finally
emerges, you sound like you’ve got a serious case of bronchitis. You give in and squeeze the bulb they gave
you in case of emergency. “I’m sorry,”
you whisper between spasmodic coughing, “can you just give me a second?” The tech patiently waits until you’re done
and you wonder if you might have coughed hard enough to mess up the whole
test. Maybe they’ll call you in for a
re-test. The fun just goes on and on.
Can you tell I just
finished having an MRI? My neurologist
usually orders one every couple of years or so just as part of routine maintenance. Mine came back just fine. Teri, the absolutely wonderful doctors’
assistant, who by the way has the most comforting voice in the world, called to
tell me, “It’s all good, Melinda. Your
scan is stable. No change from last
time.” To that I gave a great big WHEW!. That meant the meds are still working and the
disease hasn’t progressed. HOORAY!
I don’t know what’s
worse, going through the actual MRI, or waiting for the results. In the time it takes for my doctor to get the
results, read them and get back to me, my imagination conjures up all sorts of
nasty stuff. Really, he sometimes has Teri
call me before the day is out. It’s
never more than a couple of days, but I can’t help it. I’ve been blessed with a great
imagination. Unfortunately, in this
case, it’s also a curse. This time it
took two days to get the word from my neurologist. In that time I had the following thoughts:
1. Did they discover a brain tumor while they
were searching for MS progress? Those
sinus headaches might not be sinus.
2. Did they find evidence of early onset Alzheimer’s
and they’re trying to come up with a way to tell me? After all, I have gone through several “senior
moments” lately.
3. Is the disease progressing? (This, unlike the others, is a realistic
fear.)
Fortunately, Teri’s
cheery voice informed me that I was good to go.
I love you, Teri.
So here’s the
thing. If I’m in good shape, brain-wise,
and my blood work came back with all good results, then why have I felt so
rotten all summer? All summer long, I’ve
had numbness of my throat, lips and tongue, extreme indigestion and serious
fatigue. Surely that means there’s
something happening with my MS.
After a few other tests
here’s what I’ve discovered. I have acid
reflux. Doesn’t sound like a big deal
except that there’s no condition that MS can’t jump on and make worse. Now that
we’ve started treating the acid reflux, I feel normal again.
So here’s the point of
the whole blog. ARE YOU LISTENING? Your
MS symptoms can flair up at any time, but when something else is wrong in your
body, MS can add to the problem, making it very hard to determine what’s going
on. Is it MS or something else? If you have something nasty happening, write
it down, keep a log or make real observations about what happens and then see
your regular doctor, and/or your neurologist.
Do your research, but don’t self-diagnose. Only you can feel what’s happening inside
your body, but sometimes only testing can determine what’s really
happening. Nobody wants to go through
these tests because of what they might reveal.
But do yourself a favor and check it out anyway. It’s better to know and take action that to
let the bad stuff take over.
Take care of yourself…so
you have time to live your life the right way.
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