This is my story with MS.  It took a good while before anyone even believed that there was something wrong with my walking.  The muscles in my left leg would tense up after my routine workout that I did at that time.  And I would also get a weird buzzing/vibrating sensation in that leg and when I bent my head down.  I was 20 years old.  Being that I was that young I just thought that maybe it was a pulled hamstring so I let it go for about 6 months.  At that point is when I initially spoke to my doctor about it.  I was given some muscle relaxers and went on my merry way.  At first this sounded like it was just my leg muscles maybe acting up because of my workout.  I laid off of them for a while.  Still, even after taking the muscle relaxers and stopping my workouts, my left leg was growing fatigued more and more quickly everyday.  At this point I was a little concerned, but not much.

    Over the course of the next 4-5 months I spoke to my primary physician several times about this.  Eventually my doctor thought I was a hypochondriac and told me so.  I then just gave it up.  I thought you know maybe he is right.  By this point I had x-rays of my legs, both of them, showing that there was nothing wrong with my bones and such.  I also had blood tests, all of which came back with a clean bill of health.

    During the following next 6 months I just ignored it, believing myself that it was mental maybe.  I was working in a mailroom moving heavy boxes of mail.  Because of the exhausting work that I was doing my leg got that weird feeling again more and more.  Eventually the leg would get so fatigued that the muscles in it would just go limp.  I would try stretching it and exercising it again.  Nothing worked and I could feel that it was getting worse.  I was unsure as to what to do.  My concern was growing now rapidly.  While all of this was happening I had spoke to my mother and father about this.  They too did not believe me.

    I had to do something.  I decided that now would be a good time to go back to my doctor again about this.  He referred me to a neurologist.  The neurologist gave me a test where he stuck metal probes into both of my legs testing there reaction to electric stimulus.  That was not fun.  He sent his report and nothing came of it from my doctor.  I asked him about it and he said it came back fie.  I just had degenerative disk disease which affect almost 90% of the human population.  Basically is it caused by old age.  Once again I did not touch base again with my doctor for another couple of months.

    Of course my leg was worsening now and I was becoming more and more afraid of what may be causing it.  I went back to my doctor again and told him that I did not believe everything was ok with me.  I asked him again about the report and apparently something didn't come back as normal as I was first told.  He then sent me to a physical therapist.

    While under the care of the physical therapist he did a test with my legs.  He had me walk back and forth until I thought my leg was starting to weaken.  It didn't take long.  He then asked me to flex up and down on the balls of my feet.  He noticed as I was doing this that my left calf was not contracting and flexing at all as compared to my right calf.  He knew that there was probably nothing that he could do.

    Back to the doctor.  This time I requested a referral to see another neurologist and a copy of the  report of the test the other neurologist had done.  I was scared and pissed off at the same time.  Not a good feeling.  My doctor gave me the referral but not before saying to me "I do not think that it will do any good, but I will give it to you.  It just maybe all in your head.  Regrettably that was the consensus by him, my parents, almost everyone with the exception of 1 friend. 

    This time my neurologist sent me for an MRI.  It did not show anything so I went back to him and he scheduled a spinal tap procedure.  He said that if there was something wrong that this should find it.  A couple of weeks later, with my friend, I went to the hospital to have this done.  Not fun.  Not fun.  It is the most uncomfortable procedure known to man and it doesn't tickle even with localize anesthesia.

    The results of the test would not be back for another couple of weeks.  However, I did change jobs shortly before this procedure and was not willing enough to take the entire week off.  Thinking that I was working now in computers that I was safe.  Boy, was I wrong.  I was warned that some people get spinal migraines shortly after having a spinal tap done.  Wouldn't ya know it I was one of those people.  Now, if you ever had a migraine headache you know how bad that it can be.  Now imagine that every time you stood up you got a migraine and every time you laid down it went away.  I missed the entire week any way. 

    A week after coming back to work, I suddenly starting having blurry vision in my left eye and nothing came back from the spinal tap.  I was convinced that mentally I was losing it, that I was a "Hypo".  I made an appointment to seek professional mental health on the same day.  I went home, woke up, and I was blind in my left eye.  I mean white blind.  All I could see was white.  No shadows, no colors, nothing.  I thought that I was dieing and no one was willing to believe that there was something seriously wrong with me.  I told my father that very same morning that I could not see out of my left I.  He was mad at me and told me that I need to go to work and seek some help.  Now, don't get me wrong I loved my father deeply, but I hated the fact that not even he was on my side.  I asked myself on the way to work, why should he.  Why should anyone believe that something is wrong.  No test that I had taken proved any thing and I was blind in my eye.

    I was not convinced any longer that I was mental.  I left work almost immediately as when I came.  I left in a hurry giving little detail to any one.  I felt as thought my life was on the line and that if I didn't do something soon I would not be around any more.  I made any appointment to see my doctor.  I never got to see my doctor because the head doctor came to see me when I told me blindness story to the receptionist.  I was sent immediately to see an opto-neurologist.  After a couple of eye tests he determined that I had Optic Neuritis.  Which is a common side effect of some one that has MS.  However, you can get Optic Neuritis (inflammation of the optic nerve) from nothing at all.  You do not necessarily have MS if you have this.  However, because of the "weakness" in my left leg the doctor concluded that it might be MS.  He sent me back to my neurologist that same day.

    I had another spinal tap.  Just as terrible as before.  This time they tested for MS in my spinal fluid.  After a couple of weeks, the diagnosis was positive.  I had MS.  I later change personal physicians and found out that my parents were just in denial.  They did not want to believe their son had a "terrible disease" like my mom calls it.  My family was not too unfamiliar with MS because my grand mother on my Mom's side has MS.

    Over, the course of the next year, I found out all I could about MS, myself, and how it feels to be misunderstood and discriminated against.  In the end I learned more about myself and everyone who really cared about me.  I was also engaged during that year and in the same year became "dis-engaged".  The greatest thing of all is that I started Avonex treatment and meant someone who could very well be the one, definitely not the X.  So, as you can see nothing is always all roses but I did learn a lot.  Now life is good and I do what I can to fight this thing called MS.  No, not everything in Galletta's world is perfect or right but I do the things that make me happy.  Most importantly my disability has strengthened my relationships with my family, friends, and most especially the love of my life for the past 3 years, my girlfriend, Jenny.  Moral of this story is quite simple, NEVER GIVE UP!

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