My story……or at least my version of it. I used to be a jogger . A 5k almost every morning and 20 miles on the weekend. Then work got busier and busier and my running schedule lighter and lighter until I had stopped running entirely . My bad. A few years later I was at work on a Sunday (putting in 50- 60+ hours a week) and felt extraordinary numbness in my right leg. So much that it freaked me out. I called a friend and she said "Michael, You don't move any more. Get up and take a walk" and I did. I walked as far and as long as I could until I could not take another step – 17 minutes. I called the doctor Monday, saw him Wednesday. He said I need to see a neurologist and got me in to see one that day! The neuro said I needed an MRI which I had on Friday and I saw the neuro again the following Monday. That's when I got my diagnosis and also was told "and you have probably had it for five or ten years."
Is that the whole story? No, just the beginning. But it was quick and for that I am truly grateful.
Hi Michael,
You are lucky - your diagnosis sounds so quick. Thank you for sharing your story.
That numbness! I thought I could still walk whether I did not feel my knee or leg, but it only worked for less than 20 minutes. Bummer. I never ran like you did - just a short stint at jogging, then settled for walking. I started a routine of walking five miles a day with my boys in tow. That stopped with my knee numbness because the boys were too young to go home and get the car. Oh well.
Of course that's not the whole story. You'll get to it piece by piece.
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Hi Vicki,
I learned something new, not just about your story which is wonderful of you to share, but about the typical 40 years (versus your 15 years) that it takes for a RRMS patient to transition to SPMS. I've read other stories where by the time someone was diagnosed that they (and their doctor) thought that they had already transitioned into SPMS. It's such a confusing matter, really.
At the time of my diagnosis, I didn't recover 100% from relapses. In fact, I don't think that any MS deficiencies (temporary, during a relapse) have returned to baseline since 2000. It's enought to not allow me to forget that I have MS at any given moment, but not enough to show as overt progression. I'm lucky.
Hi Lisa,
I don't think there is such a thing as typical when talking about the length of time it takes RRMS to become SPMS. This is, after all, MS. With all of the problems diagnosing and the time that it takes, it is probably not unusual to get a definite with SPMS.
I remember when you told me you thought you may be experiencing sme progression, but now that you say you didn't completely remit, that makes sense. I told you then not to worry, and I'll say it again. Don't worry. You are lucky. Many people with SPMS are fine, too.