Believ me, you are not rambling! Welcome, and feel free here to say whatever is
on your mind. Changes in your life, such as cathing, are more difficult that you
might think. I , too, find the urinary retention to be one of the most
frustrating problems. I have not yet gotten used to it, but I am told you do
eventually. I have a friend who has MS and has been cathing for years. I worked
with her for 5 years and never knew anything...and we are great friends. It is
just not an issue with her and that is my inspiration. Hang in there Jennifer,
it will get better!
Mykella
by way of TMA wrote:
> Hello, my name is Jennifer & I was recently diagnosed with transverse
> myelitis. This is all still new to me, so I may sound like I am rambling. My
> life since the start of 99' has been quite hectic. I worked full time &
> attended school full time. To say the very least, by March I was very run
> down. On March 8, I came down with a horrible stomach virus. I left for
> Florida on March 11 & was sick for my 4 day stay. When I returned home I felt
> fine. For the next 4 days I suffered from horrible headaches. By Saturday,
> March 19, I woke up with a horrible pain in my neck and back. As the day
> progressed, I started to experience numbess & weakness in my torso and legs.
> By that night, I was so terrified I went to the ER. After numerous CT's of my
> brain and back, they found nothing & sent me home. The next day, I was
> rapidly getting weaker and was incontinent. I went to my PCP who admitted me
> to the hospital. This was March 22. I stayed there until April 1 when they
> moved me to Kessler Institute(This is the best place for rehab!!!!!) During
> my hospital stay, I went through numerous MRI's, bloodwork & 2 spinal taps.
> They found nothing! They were treating me with VERY high doses of steroids(to
> date, I am still tapering them), & treating me for Herpes & Lyme - it took 3
> weeks for them to get the results that they were negative & treated me as a
> precaution. When I was admitted to Kessler, I was only able to wiggle my
> toes. I had strange sensation in from T12 down. At Kessler, I made progress
> daily. Due to insurance reasons, I was discharged on April 30 with Loftstrand
> crutches. Right now, I am undergoing physical therapy 3x's a week & currently
> walk without anything( I look funny because I have not regained all of my
> balance). Currently, I am seeing quite a few doctors. I have regained bowel
> control - with the help of Colace. I was able to urinate, but the sensation
> was not "normal" & I was going to the bathroom every hour. Since this is no
> way to live life, I was put on Ditripan. I am now back to cathing every 4-6
> hours. I have my first urology appt this week. I have very strange sensation
> on my back and legs. I am going for my second series of MRI's this week (the
> 1st set showed a herniated disk at T12). I am concerned that this could
> eventually be diagnosed as MS. My psyiatrist has tried numerous times to
> convince me that the chances are slim, I am still not convinced. I still can
> not tell temperature on my legs & water makes them go nuts! I have pain in my
> middle & lower back which the doctors attribute to my "learning how to walk
> all over again". It has not been 2 full months since I got sick, but it
> feels like an eternity. I am currently waiting to see if my reflexes have
> returned to drive again & I wish I could pee on my own! I feel very lucky
> compared to some of the stories I have read. I am very sorry that I have
> rambled on & on. If anyone has any advice, it is greatly appreciated!
>
> Thank You All for you stories( I feel much better)
> Jen