[Scroll to bottom for update on results]
- This is me waiting on the sun deck at Virginia Mason’s Lindemann Pavilion just prior to this morning’s procedure
Just got out. So weird to go from hygienic tomb to bright midday sunshine.
This was a long session, about an hour for both spine and brain, first “twofer” since this all started in 2013. Thankfully only an hour this time, compared to that first time when I did about 2.25 hours because one session was done with a contrast dye injection.
They put me back in the old MRI lab today. Not a great machine like the big beauty in Radiology with its pretty colored walls and open space. But I did all right, thought mostly about my novel and tried diligently not to move though I still had twitchy muscles that I don’t have control over (especially in my diaphragm area).
I’ll get my readout in 2 hours.
I keep just telling myself “all those recent symptoms are just normal,” or “time to drink more water, that’s the real problem” or “it’s just aging.”
Huh. A week ago I would have struggled to read what I am writing right now…
Look for an update later tonight to see if I’m just gaslighting myself!
PS I realllllly don’t want to go back on DMTs. I dropped my MS med (Tecfidera) three years ago because of side effects. Pandemic kept me off DMTs because they basically destroy your immune response, not a good thing to do to yourself while a deadly contagion is killing people all around you.
If I’m in a new flare/relapse, there will likely be talk of a new DMT. Tec has a new cousin with fewer side effects… but ugh, I don’t want to go through all the hoops with insurance again… it’s a frickin’ nightmare/full/time job.
So let’s hope for the best, shall we?
UPDATE (September 26, 2022 at 9:10pm):
True or false: “All those recent symptoms are just normal.” (T)
True or false: “Time to drink more water, that’s the real problem.” (F; the real problem is that I have MS and I can drink all the water in the world and, while it might make me feel better, it doesn’t change the fact that I have irreversible brain damage caused by having MS, and not caused by not drinking enough water.)
True or false: “It’s just aging.” (T & F; aging contributes, but the symptoms aren’t normal for everybody else.)
GOOD NEWS: NNDA! (No new disease activity!)
What the MRI found: NNDA … but also clear evidence of spinal arthritis and two key places where I will likely need surgery due to degenerated discs etc. The numbness is NOT from MS progression. So that is good news. Meanwhile, the spinal issues are not good news but do, at least, explain these latest symptoms.
Bottom line: No need to start any DMTs… BEST NEWS OF ALL!