Attendance Record for this MS forum!

[Lulu54]

Hello all,
We have had such an influx of new members recently, which is great.  And then we have a lot of members who seem to have been here from the beginning of this forum.  Of course there are the  rest of us who fill in the middle.

I'm interested in learning how long you have been using MedHelp's MS forum and what you think is the main reason you visit here regularly.

If you remember, it might also be interesting to learn how you found this site among all of them out there on the web.  

Please select one of these choices and then add your comments in a separate post.    Thanks, Lu

I have been a community member of MedHelp's MS forum for:

[Lulu54]

I have been here since Aug. 08, and just barely creeped into the 6-12 month category.

I originally came here for information, but have stayed for the sense of community.

A dear heart sister friend in England found this site for me when they first mentioned MS as a possibility - she searched the web and decided this was one place I should look.  

Lu

[Karen99]

Main reason to visit:  Learn from others and share what I know or experience.
How I found this MedHelp site:  Was looking up another topic while googling and found this MS Community.

[keddy1221]

I have been lurking for about 5 months...I found this website when I began experiencing vertigo and numbness in hands and feet.  Of course at first I was terrified at the possibility of having MS, but once I began reading this forum, I felt peace, because I knew I wasn't alone in what I was going through.  I also have learned SO MUCH from this forum.  Although I've not been diagnosed, I appreciate the fact that the undiagnosed are welcome here.  Thank you for your support, you have helped me so much.

Kelly

[meg321]

About 6 mo for me too, since Sept 08...i kept coming back for information and actually just what i would hope to get from a support group..support !!  Its the best and friendliest i have seen and you really feel like of you care for real.

hugs, meg

[essdipity]

I wrote at length in Quix's welcome thread why I like this forum. I think it's interesting and positive that although that thread is quite old by forum standards, I still feel the same way. This is my one stop shoppping for info and support.

ess

[essdipity]

PS  I've been here since October of '07.

ess

[doni54]

Been here since July 07, and love this forum.  I found that many of my symptoms pointed to MS, and luckily I ended up at this wonderful forum.  Don't know what I would have done or where I would be today if not for everyone here.

Still undx, but have faith that someday I will have my answers

doni

[syndismilez]

Been here since sometime late 07.
Not Dx'd but I get comfort and a not so alone feeling when I visit :)
Love you all!!!
Cyn

[Wobbly]

been here middle of 07... lots of friends here to chat with and vent when needed...also get alot of information...

take care everyone
wobbly
undx

[LATW]

started here May 07  Diagnosed Feb 08

[Quixotic1]

I was originally on the General Neurology Forum and slipped over here when they formed the MS Forum in March of 2007 (same month as my formal diagnosis)

I stay because it is truly my home on the internet!  You all make me feel alive and purposeful and part of a community.

Quix

[Quixotic1]

This is a good place to add some statistics I've picked up recently.

Since the opening of this forum exactly two years ago, we have had just over 1000 actually "Join" the forum.  I think that is amazing, expecially since no one has to join to participate.  

We had close to 150 speak up on the threads which asked for people who have been diagnosed and which are still in Limboland.

We often have over 100 posts a day.

Our most common Health Page has been viewed more than 8000 times.

Although the moon is one third the size of the earth, it's farther away.

Quix

[PastorDan]

Guess I'm still a newbie; I joined at the end of January, so it's been perhaps 5 weeks or so (?).  Waiting for dx, of course, time stands still, so I feel like I've been here, learning and sensing the concern and care of others, for a very long time.

How did I get here?  I have no idea, really.  I think I started plugging the symptoms I was experiencing into Google to see what I could come up with.  This was after negative results from audiologist, ophthalmologist, CT scan, and carotid ultrasound.  Somehow it brought me here, and as time passes, I see more of myself in the descriptions others have shared of their symptomology, and in the information I've read from other sources on this disease.

Why do I stay?  Why wouldn't anyone want to stay with such a great bunch of people?

[saveone]

12/08

Was told MRI was indicative of MS.  Began surfing for info.  Found this site, I have tried others, but this one is home.

[Lulu54]

I guess part of my interest in this is wondering about the staying power of this resource.  Does it just serve a short term purpose of getting a dx and adjusting to the idea of having MS,  or is it good for the long haul?

Thanks all,
LauraLu

[deborah0904]

I guess I've been a member for about a year but haven't been a regular visitor until lately, when I got my dx.  I like to see what others are experiencing to compare with myself, etc.  I use it to validate that I'm really not going crazy, that the symptoms really are real.

[Rena705]

My first post was Nov. 16, 2007 and this forum has been not only good for the help I get for myself but it has also been therapeutic because I have been able to help others.  Although I am not on the forum as much as I used to be, I will still answer some questions with a personal message which seems to work well for me.  I am planning on lurking and also getting involved for a long time to come as there are soooo many that need a helping hand including myself!

[ChunkyMonkeysMommy]

I found and joined this forum in January, when it was confirmed that I was in another relapse. I think I was just googling copaxone and it led me to a post here. Since then, I've learned so much and it has helped me to feel like I'M NOT CRAZY. Being able to read posts from others and say to yourself "ME TOO!!" is really comforting. It helps to know that what I'm experiencing is part of the disease and I can have a better idea of what to expect.

P.S. You've all been great and although I don't always get to respond to everything that I may like to (due to the little monkey in my profile picture, lol) I thank you all for giving me a place to retreat to and feel somewhat normal. :)

[Sunnytoday]

I've been here since April, 2008.

At first, I came becuase I thougtht i was going crazy... I found this forum by googling tingling due to heat intolerance.

I stayed becuase people actually took the time to msg. me and leave me notes and let me know i mattered, and to leave more than just advice on medical questions, but to ask how i was personally doing. Then I decided to try to welcome others so that they would also stay too, I want to give back to the forum.

And as life went up and down this year i knew that i could yell for help and someone would try to pick up the pieces, here it is more than just a place to come and ask a question once a year and leave, it is a place where you are known and loved.  :)

~Sunnytoday~

[shoshin]

I joined in November 2007 after I was dx'd. Between when the neuro started talking about MS (Sept.) and dx, I spent a lot of time looking for info on the web and lurked on this forum as well as some others. Anyway, I waited until I was dx'd to join I guess because I wanted to be sure.

I guess I keep coming back to the forum for the new information I get, for the things I learn from other people's experiences and for the supportive and understanding community of other people who understand where I'm coming from.

About whether the forum has staying power, I suspect most of the people who stick with it after dx have ongoing problems. If you got dx'd, started on DMDs, and the MS wasn't really interfering with your life, you probably wouldn't need this forum so much.

sho

[doublevision1]

I've been here since January 2008, about 3 months after my dx.  I stumbled across the forum when I was looking for an expert neurology website to answer my questions about the severe diplopia I was experiencing.  When I posted here, I thought I was posing my question to a neurologist; the responses I got were from binkswife and Zulma (gooddays) who told me about their similar experiences with diplopia.  I had never participated in an online forum but immediately was hooked.  I had so many questions after recently being diagnosed, and realized there were so many people here who could help because of their personal experience and knowledge of MS.  The good people of this forum have helped me in so many ways, in the early days following my dx and continuing so even today, as I face a possible change in my dx.   I’ll always be grateful for the support I have received here.

[gooddays]

Have been since December 07.

Do not post much, but always read it.  I read to keep updated on how everyone is doing.

I was searching my symptoms and found it, but I had been dxd before finding the forum  

Zulma

[doublevision1]

There you are!  As I said above, you're one of the first people here to help me out.  I've always appreciated that.  Nice to see you are still here from time to time.  Hope you are doing OK these days.

[Lulu54]

DV,
Isn't it funny how we remember "our first?"  Ha ha

My first welcome to this site was from none other than little miss sunshine - sunnytoday.  She hooked me immediately.  

This is not my first health forum though - after my heart attack I found the womenheart group on a competitor's website which I'm not supposed to mention here.  Those women got me through that trauma with education, grace and humor.  I still post there as well, but not as much as here.  In fact, a number of my heart sisters lurk here just to find out what I'm up too - isn't that right girls?  (yep, I know you're there!)