My Story

I started having problems with pain and vision lost in my right eye in the 1990. Because i had a previous eye injury when i was 13 and then had a lense implant in 1986 i first thought was that the symptons that i experience was due to this. I also had another blow to right eye by a falling object in 1990.
After weeks of suffering i finally went to see the optometrist that did the lense implant. By that time i could only see very large object in front of me and had severe pain in my right eye. After about six month of injections behind and inside the eye nothing improved. Finally the descision was taken to numb the optict nerve with a alcohol injection behind the eye. This led to nearly total vision lost but the pain was gone. I thought that this was the last of my problems but i was sadly mistaken.
There were no more symtoms for about two years and every thing was fine.
Early in 1993 a new problem arose. It started with a constant pain in the right side of my face and lower jaw. After seeing a doctor i was referred to a neurolegist and was diagosed with right side trigeminal neralgia, in other words a non specific pain in the facial nerves. They send me to a pain specialist in Cape town to see if this will help. Eventually they did a steroid injection into the nerve at the point where the nerve exit the brian. This did not help. Eventually i was given heavy drugs to take daily to help cope with the pain. After about three to four months this pain symtoms disapeared totally and my life was back to normal. The only effects left over was a numbness in the right side of the face and tung.
Four months later i started having panic attacks and was hyperventilating with out any reason. This landed me up at psychologist.I was put on some anti depressant and this seem to help. There was no mental issues that caused these attacks. Eventually this also dissapeared with time and i was on my way to complete health again. Ha-Ha!!
Two months later while driving home one night and noticed that my left eye was giving problems and suddenly my vision totally drop. I landed up in the emergency room and was refered to a huge medical hospital. The next morning i had about 20% vision left.They ran some test including a visual impulse test (VEP). This shown a great delay in the nerve timing to my brian and was put onto a steriod drip for five days. The first MRI scanners was being tested at that stage but was not yet fully in operation at that stage.
After some further sensory tested i was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis. After about three weeks in hospital my vision improved slightly but not enough to be able to work again and there for i was placed on permanent disability. My panic attacks also returned for no obvious reason. In the next year i slowly regained the sight in my left eye and was able to work part time. Eventualy after about three years i returned to work permanantly.
Apart from a slight relapse in vision late in 1998 wich was treated with a steriod drip for three days. I was able to lead a normal life again.
Late in 2006 i noticed that i was not feeling myself and described it to being over work. I changed jobs in Jan 2007 but i was still not feeling well. Early in Jan i started having severe spasm im my chest and had several visits to ER. I was given some injection and sent home with. They diagnised me with non specific panic attacks. The pains in the chest area did not improve att all. I went to a specialist who did diagnosed me with a ulcer in the stomach and acid burn damaged to the throat.
I knew that i have got a acid problem for years caused by incorrect diet. I was not convinced that this was the problem that i am having trouble breathing when i have chest pains. I also asked all the doctors if the MS is not the cause of my problems and they said they dont think so. After some more visits to the ER the problems just got worse. My right hand started losing feeling and had a tremble at times.
The they tested me for a possible stroke and heart problems. This was ruled out. I also developed a slight limp when i walked especially after a long day at work. I also had the neralgia in my eyes and right side of the face was very painfull. Eventually my left eye started losing vision again. I was again sent to a neuroligist and was sent for a MRI scan wich indicated that there where white spots of flare-ups in the brain and the spine. Further test also indicated a loss of sensation and visual response to the brain.
Finally i was diagnised with relapsing MS and was recieving the right treatment for the disease. But it came at a price. My right side of my body is numb and i have lost about 70% of my vision.I have no proper control over the right side of my body. The chest pains is associated with spasm in the mid-rif and short rib muscles this i now know to be the "Ms Hug". I am currently again disabled and eventually decided that i will have to stop work in 2009.
I there for decided to start a web page to help other people with the same problems and hope that i could built up a world wide data base of MS sufferers
I hope that my story will help others
Brian Groenenstein