Follow-up Dr. Appointment

The weather ended up not being as bad as predicted so my appointment wasn't cancelled and apparently God does want me to get treatment for this (see previous post)! 

Richard went with me to my appointment with Dr. Stephenson and right off the bat, she told him that she has diagnosed me with Relapsing Remitting Multiple Sclerosis based on the clinical data, my documented episodes, and the MRI results.  She then showed us pics of my MRI and explained the different lesions, including Dawson's finger lesions, which were all indicative of MS.  Dr. Stephenson said that my complaint of cognitive issues is very common with where my lesions are located.  At that point I asked her how many lesions I have and she started counting. "1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9...you know I usually don't count these but you have multiple lesions." Okay, so I know I have at least 9 lesions and apparently multiple more because there were spots on the other pics. 

I asked Dr. Stephenson about the neurological test results and she said that I missed a couple of questions on the memory portion of the test and that I had "jumpy" reflexes in my knees and that overall I did well.

Dr. Stephenson ordered a CMP blood test, which is a comprehensive metabolic panel of 14 blood tests that evaluate organ function and is scheduling a VEP (Visual Evoked Potential) test, which evaluates the visual pathways in a person's brain. During the test, I'll have to watch a video monitor with a moving pattern.  Watching the moving pattern produces electrical activity in a person's brain that is measured by several electrodes attached to a person's head. 

I questioned if Vitamin D could be used independently as a form of treatment and Dr. Stephenson said that no, it is used in conjunction with the available drugs. 

We went over the different medications available for MS and Richard and I decided to start with the Copaxone, which will have to be injected daily.  Copaxone is one of the CRAB drugs (Copaxone, Rebit, Avonex, and Betaseron) used to treat MS, however it is the only one that is not an interferon.  Copaxone is a synthetic compound made up of amino acids, which are thought to keep the body's T cells from attacking the myelin-covered nerves. Copaxone is the only drug that doesn't have flu like symptoms as a side effect and even though I would love not to inject daily, I really don't want to be sick every week.  If injecting daily is a problem or it just doesn't work for me, we'll try Avonex next.  In with the prescription, I will have a nurse from Shared Solutions come out and teach me how to auto-inject and answer any questions.

Dr. Stephenson would like for me to return in 2 months so that we can see how I'm doing with the injections and to touch base regarding the results of my VEP test.  After that, I will see her twice a year with annual MRI's unless I have a flare-up or an issue that I need to see her about.

Wow that was a lot of typing!  I just hope I noted everything so I can reference it next time I'm sitting in Dr. Stephenson's office.  This blog is so handy that way because I can access it on my phone and ask questions that I've noted on here!!!