Thank you for your posting, specifically for mentioning that sometimes a person can have two different diagnosis, and that they need to be taken into consideration by the specialists dealing with each specific one. I have had five back surgeries, including an anterior/posterior fusion, and now have a rod and screws in my lumbar spine. After living with chronic pain and problems with my back for over 40 years I was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis. I am now an enigma, neurologists that work with spinal problems don't want to hear about MS. The MS specialists say that while I have lesions on my brain and the symptoms that an MS patient would have as a result of these lesions, including double vision, muscle weakness and numbness in my legs, bladder issues, and fatigue which is compounded by obstructive sleep apnea, I do not walk like a classic MS patient and my symptoms could very well be a result of all my spine problems. I am beginning to feel like I did when I was 13 when an orthopedist told me women couldn't handle stress so they develop back pains and headaches. I didn't think I was stressed, and obviously neither did he a year later when he did the first of many surgeries.
I have told two neurologists lately that I didn't want to have MS, but I would like to know what is causing my body to behave the way it is, and if it isn't MS then perhaps it is something that can be treated or possibly even cured. It was recommended that I see another neurologist for a consultation.
I realize that doctors need to specialize, I just wish it wasn't at the cost of seeing a whole person rather than just the part of the body they specialize in.
Thank you for allowing me the opportunity to be heard on this important subject.
Denise Coleman
Thank you for your posting, specifically for mentioning that sometimes a person can have two different diagnosis, and that they need to be taken into consideration by the specialists dealing with each specific one. I have had five back surgeries, including an anterior/posterior fusion, and now have a rod and screws in my lumbar spine. After living with chronic pain and problems with my back for over 40 years I was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis. I am now an enigma, neurologists that work with spinal problems don't want to hear about MS. The MS specialists say that while I have lesions on my brain and the symptoms that an MS patient would have as a result of these lesions, including double vision, muscle weakness and numbness in my legs, bladder issues, and fatigue which is compounded by obstructive sleep apnea, I do not walk like a classic MS patient and my symptoms could very well be a result of all my spine problems. I am beginning to feel like I did when I was 13 when an orthopedist told me women couldn't handle stress so they develop back pains and headaches. I didn't think I was stressed, and obviously neither did he a year later when he did the first of many surgeries.
I have told two neurologists lately that I didn't want to have MS, but I would like to know what is causing my body to behave the way it is, and if it isn't MS then perhaps it is something that can be treated or possibly even cured. It was recommended that I see another neurologist for a consultation.
I realize that doctors need to specialize, I just wish it wasn't at the cost of seeing a whole person rather than just the part of the body they specialize in.
Thank you for allowing me the opportunity to be heard on this important subject.
Denise Coleman