I am 18 now, and about 4 years ago I had
what seems to me like an ms attack. I
was in the middle of taking a test and my
vision started to blur. It continued to
worsen until it was almost impossible to
see the words on the page. I pressed on
and continued taking the test. As my
vision worsened it also became harder for
me to think and focus. Towards the end I
just had to try and finish the test as
fast as I could guessing on answers
because it had become impossible for me to
take the test normally. Additionally my
motor coordination worsened and it became
hard for me to write and move my hands.
After the test when I tried to talk to
people I could barely form my words and I
slurred my speech. Although to me this
felt like an attack, it only lasted about
2 hours or so which seems below normal for
an attack as I have heard that attacks
usually persist for days or even weeks.
Since that day I have had about five or
six similar attacks. In some of the
more recent ones I have also developed
numbness all around my body. This is my
main concern with this post. I am
wondering if this really qualifies as an
attack or if it something completely
different. Until I recently began
thinking about ms, I hadnt noticed the
connection to some of my symptoms I have
begun to develop. For the past year or
so I have had persistant fatigue. From
the time I wake up in the morning to the
time I am going to bed I am tired almost
to the point of falling asleep. Also my
short term memory has seemed to worsen.
I often think to do something but then
immediately forget it, knowing that I had
intended to do something. This happens
around 7 or 8 times a day on average.
School has become tough for me because I
also find it very hard to focus. I will
be listening to a teacher talk and be
interested in what they are saying, but I
just seem to drift off. I am almost in
some sort of trance and I wake up from it
a couple minutes later not knowing what it
was the teacher had been talking about for
the last couple minutes. This has
become a normal occurance and happens at
least a couple times in all of my classes.
This also happens when I am talking to
other people. Also, when I am beginning
to find it hard to talk to people because
I think of something to say but then
immediately forget what I was going to
say.
I have some off days where I find it
harder to type and write than usual and
also occasionally have the day where I
feel completely hopeless and depressed.
I also have problems with coordination,
but this is likely unrelated because I
have always had them since I was little.
Any insight into what is really going on
with me would be much appreciated. I
realize that this is no substitute for
seeing my doctor and I plan on bringing
this information to him as soon as
possible.
