Hey Dvmtobe
I understand u'r wanting to look away from this and try to ignore, but u really already have for several years now and for u'r own sake, and, yes, for the sake of u'r son and family, u shouldn't any longer. I'm much like u in that i always attended to my children's needs and put mine aside until/unless they got bad enuf to require attention. Mine did and u'rs have too.
ON can be a stand alone condition. It can be caused by ms or by viral infections, fungal infections, glaucoma, encephalomyelitis and other autoimmune diseases. If u have other symptoms of ms and positive tests pointing towards ms, then usually ON is seen as part of the ms symptom set and aids in diagnosing ms. Yes, u should do all the research u can pertaining to u'r symptoms and be as aware as possible as u go thru the testing and possible dx process. Don't feel bad at all asking questions! We are all in various stages of dx or treatment of ms. Not everyone here will find they have ms and even if they do it may take quite some time to find that dx. We're all in different conditions as well. Some of us have very prevalent symptoms and even then they wax and wane. Others here (like myself) have mostly good days and some bad. Whether we're worse or better, we're all here for two reasons...to seek help and to give help. Ask all u want and need...we'll be happy to help and along the way we all learn more.
Some advice given me when i first came to this board is to keep a journal. Write down u'r symptoms and the way they feel to u. Don't get too lengthy, but enuf info that it makes sense. If u can, go back as u did in u'r original post and give some history on how and when this all began. That way u'll have the info in place and even if u forget along they way u can go back to u'r notes and recall. Believe me, it's very easy to forget...even if the symptom just started...once u get in the docs office and feel that sense of urgency that most people get...that need to hurry up because he's a busy man!...u'll forget it all! The journal, test result copies and even copies of doc notes whom u've seen along the way can be invaluable to u should u need to see another doc or just to know what's going on with u'rself.
I'm glad u'r here and are seeking help. This isn't an easy thing to do. Knowing what to expect or what questions to ask isn't something that comes naturally and u may need help with that. We'll be here. Draw on u'r knowledge of animals and support u'rself with that as well, but nothing replaces contact with others who are in the same place and understand what u'r going thru. Take care and i hope very much to hear u'r taking care of u'r health.
rhonda
Post Edited (rhondab) : 11/30/2006 10:30:58 AM (GMT-7)