Multiple Sclerosis

Nurses Disabilities

Published

After spending 25 minutes scanning through the messages to find others diagnosed with MS I decided that maybe it would be best to start a new thread specifically for those with the condition so we can find each other.

I was diagnosed with MS back in May of 1996. I was 40 years old, had three kids ages 16, 14 and 12 and had just graduated from nursing school. I took the NCLEX two weeks after being diagnosed. As I took the exam I wondered why I was bothering.....

But now I KNOW why! I went into remission where I stayed until recently. Fortunately prior to having my latest exacerbation I had completed my MSN and was employed as a Perinatal Educator. I don't have to do a lot of bedside nursing but I do spend a lot of time using the computer which can be hard due to the residual nerve damage from my latest bout of optic neuritis.

I am single now and almost 51 years old and worried about how I will manage to continue to support myself until l can retire. Who knows when that will be because, foolishly, I thought I would still be married and would be sharing the retirement burden with my husband. Sigh.

Anyway, I was just interested in talking with others with this disease, to see how you are doing and how you are managing.

Thanks for listening to anyone who had the interest to read to the end of my post!

Karen

Your story sounds so familiar. My MS symptoms started in 2000 as I look back. I was first diagnosed with carpal tunnel, then a pinched nerve in my neck, then sciatica from my three C-sections and finally MS in July of 2007. It was a stunning blow as a mother of three and a wife. Then I had to regroup for me and my children. I started Rebif the next month and had been taking it fine until I noticed bruises on my legs (not the injection sites) and severe depression. With children we have to acknowledge this diagnosis and keep going to the best of our abilities. I now have mobility problems and hopefully will be starting PT soon. I am a case manager for home health but am currently seeking a job that requires little to no physical activity for me. The field visits and the long drives are too much for me. Keep your head up and pray.

I take Rebif and it leaves me red spots, sometimes I have side effects which is awful. Depression is common with multiple sclerosis and the meds can also make it worse. I was taking celexz, which was prescribed Aug 06 after my diagnosis. I fell so far down then it hit me what was going on and the major life changes. I had so much pain and depression that eventually I started emotionally changes. I would take meds all the time, pain meds/anxiety medication/sleep aids, I just stayed in my room, in my bed for a while. May 07 came and I did break down, I overdosed and was sent to mental health hospital for 8 days.

Be very careful with medications, be cautious about side effects.

Thanks for the reply Jules! I actually went to my NP today, and she said that there were no lesions on my MRI. I know that's not conclusive evidence of not having MS, but it's improbable now. We still don't know why my foot is numb, but they did a ton of lab work today (including B12, Lyme, Guillian Barre, EBV and a CMP and other stuff). They're going to copy me with results, so I can at least look up what they mean if it takes a little longer to get an appointment. I also scheduled an EMG and got a referral to a neurologist, but i have to wait for their scheduling person to contact me. I guess my mother has had a few episodes of random facial and extremity numbness, and she was never able to get a dx - the symptoms always resolved on their own though. Maybe there's just some type of tendency for nerve problems that runs in my family? I'm going to try to power through clinicals next week, and hopefully I'll eventually start to get some feeling back...thank you though.

Sorry about you having to deal with those health issues. other tests that can determine if it is MS or maybe something else is a lumbar puncture. Also what all had a MRI? MRI has to be with contrast and lesions can pop up anywhere. My first MRI in May 06 turned out the be ok.....but by Aug 06.. BTW insurance is also a pain, individual plans will be turned down due to MS. Getting a good neuro is the key!!!

Thanks so much dijmart and robinbird for your replies about Copaxone. I guess I am just going to have to get used to it! I definitely learned that it is better at room temp than straight out of the fridge but it still hurts quite a bit. Oh well, I guess I just have to grin and bear it!

Yes, room temp is best. I am on Rebif, which can be left out of fridge for one month. I always take ibuprofen to help reduce side effcts. Heat is also helpful. I give manually, it allows me to control giving. OK, I have to give it slow or the med will hurt/sting, guess because I am a big baby when dealing with these injections.

How is everybody? I have moved from Florida back to CT because I now have two new grandbabies! Problem is the stress of a new job, uncertain living situation etc. is making living with MS a bit more challenging lately. I am sure once things settle down things will get better but for now I just have to hold one of my beautiful grandsons to feel stronger!

I was just wondering how the others on this board with MS are doing?

Specializes in oncology, end-of-life, hospice, CAM.

I was diagnosed with MS the March before I began my ADN program in 1982. I do not know what it is like to be a nurse without a chronic illness. I have always worried about my future. Will I be a good student? Will I be able to graduate? Will I find a job? Will I be able to work as an RN? Be a good mom to my kids? Remain married? Be able to pay my bills? Live in a decent home?

I have managed bit by bit over the years - sometimes only by the slimmest of margins. I have learned that the real hard parts of life just always seem to work out. If you look at where you are and where you have been, you've undoubtedly done well for yourself. And the chances are pretty good, that, despite your MS, you'll continue to do so.

This past spring, April 2008, I finally had to leave nursing behind. I continue to worry about my future - will I be able to accept this loss with grace? Pay my bills? Be a good mom, grandma, and wife? Stay in my home? Keep contractures and decubiti at bay?

Despite my worries, I am looking forward to my future. I am pretty sure that I will continue to hang in there and manage bit by bit. Having MS has made me a very determined woman. I bet you can make the same claim!

Cynthia

Hi all. I was diagnosed with MS in 1998. I have been taking Avonex and have been very lucky. A good Neurologist is very important. Also, join your local MS Chapter. My MS Chapter has been excellent and provided me with so much information. I just switched careers and graduated from an accelerated program with my BSN. I don't have a position as of yet, but while in clinicals, I was lucky and suffered few problems. My biggest problems with the MS have been the fatigue and heat. While some things can be challenging, I do not look at it as having a disability. I will work with the abilities that I have and make the best of it. Kudos to all who work in nursing and have a chronic disease. For all those who have problems taking their injections, my solution to this problem has been to ice the area before the injection, then I don't feel it. I have found this effective as I have been doing it for many years. I wish long happy careers to all those suffering with any chronic disease.:up:

I posted earlier this year about my diagnosis. Since then I have move from the warm and sunny south to the northeast in search of cooler weather that will make my MS symptoms more bearable.

I started working in the OR of a large hospital several months ago. Things were going just peachy until I relapsed last week, complete with balance and gait issues. I'm still having spastic gait issues with my left leg and feeling horribly guilty that I'm not at work right now.

Logically, I know that if I saw someone near my sterile field walking the way I am I would shoo them away and would not let them carry or open anything sterile. The other part of me feels guilty that I've had to take 2 weeks off from work because my legs don't work right.

I have this underlying fear that the OR environment is going to result in repeated exacerbations because of the stress. (Even though I love it, over all). Not to mention how my orientation process is going to work out since I'm missing 2 full weeks. (I'm hoping my gait will get better and I can go back to work in 2 weeks).

I hate these unexpected surprises.

My plan was to go on and finish my bachelor's and obtain a Masters so I can eventually teach, but the future seems so uncertain that I'm playing with the idea of getting an accounting degree. At least I know that I'd be able to sit at a desk and type all day.

Specializes in Med Surg, Nursing Education.

Hello, I have an mri of the brain on tuesday.And I am scared to death! I have been having the funkiest symptoms for the last month (looking back I have had some before, but attributed it to different things). It all started with the balls of my feet buzzing like a cell phone intermittently. Then burning down my Right arm and leg, from there it has been a different problem every day. The burning is on both sides, upper and lower, different times. One day my left thumb will hurt like heck, the next day it will be my right foot. The fingers of both hands are always numb and tingly. Pain up and down the entire spine, different days, different places. sometimes not at all. My right leg is always affected one way or the other. And I am a bit unsteady when I am standing, and if I walk without concentrating. Also, over the last 4 years I have been having problems with reading. The words just kind of jump everywhere. Also (symptom?) I frequently switch intended words for something completely different. My kids think it is kind of funny, I will say "put the milk in the dishwasher" instead of the refrigerator.

So that being said I do have a MRI of the brain on Tuesday, and I see a Neurologist in 3 1/2 weeks. But I am freaking out a bit. I am planning to start clinical in the fall, and I have to work full time while I do it. I just need to finish my RN before I get something like this! ( I am an LPN now) I also just bought a new house. My income is not optional.

So if anyone has some suggestions, some encouragement, some prayers, Please send them my way. I know it is not official, but it is all I can think of.

Thank you,

Sharon

Specializes in Med-Surg, Peds, Renal.

Hello,

You

Specializes in Med-Surg, Peds, Renal.

Hello, you will be in my prayers, I had my second MRI on 10/10/08 i'm coming up on my 1 year anniversary of my dx. Since then I have completed my BSN, started a new job that I love and plan to go back to school to get my MSN. Some days I get ****** because I can't do all I want, but I'm not gonna let this beat me. I had symtoms for years but put it off as being clumsy, since I had been my whole life?? The falling, the dancing vibrating feet, the numbness in my lips when I would have a drink; crazy things that were over looked. Of course when you mention it to someone they thing you're a hypochondriac( I'm sure that's not how you spell this). But I'm glad I know what's wrong with me now, so we can fix it. I beleive a cure is right around the corner. Keep your head up, take your time, everything will be fine. As for the kids laughing when you mix things up, mine do the same thing and we just all laugh about it now, at first, it was a little scary for them, but now they help me when I need help, and everything is business as usual. Good luck and God Bless.

Specializes in Med Surg, Nursing Education.

Thank you, I am just a bit overwhelmed. I keep thinking that I am fine, then I stumble a bit, then I wonder if I am stumbling because I am paying too close attention to it. I am so hopeful that I will be able to go back to work soon, and that the doctor I see will not make me get a spinal tap!!! (wishful thinking i know) Thanks so much for your prayers. I know that no matter what God has this. I have been praying over the last 4 months that if there was a way for me to be home on weekends with my boys, please provide it. ( I work every weekend) But this was not quite what I was thinking! ;)

Specializes in Oncology, NZursing Home, Community Healt.
Thank you, I am just a bit overwhelmed. I keep thinking that I am fine, then I stumble a bit, then I wonder if I am stumbling because I am paying too close attention to it. I am so hopeful that I will be able to go back to work soon, and that the doctor I see will not make me get a spinal tap!!! (wishful thinking i know) Thanks so much for your prayers. I know that no matter what God has this. I have been praying over the last 4 months that if there was a way for me to be home on weekends with my boys, please provide it. ( I work every weekend) But this was not quite what I was thinking! ;)

I always feel guilty in that there are many things that MS has rendered me scared to do. My children are 13, 5 and 3, so they are pretty young. I try to do as much as I can on my own, which seems to anger my 13 year old. I have explained to him that I would like for him to let me do as much as I can on my own. As a child my self, Iknow that no child wants to see their mother as a dependant, but I feel that that is what I have become. I am now on disability, don't make as much money as used to and feel like a failure because I can not do as much for my children as I used to. I am an MSN and can't really find anything that is not too physical for me. My walking is terrible most of the times and I am now getting a wheelchair to be able to do things for myself and my children. At the same time, I am now able to spend more time being mommy, as I am home every evening and weekends now. I guess in some ways MS has been a curse and a blessing.

+ Add a Comment