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382218 tn?1341181487

HORRIBLE, strange night last night

Met up with friends for dinner at a great little French restaurant I love, everything was fine, then suddenly part way through the meal I realize I'm straining my eyes to keep vision from going double.  I suddenly felt extremely exhausted, and realized I wasn't able to follow the conversation.  I heard myself say something and I guess it made sense because no one seemed to think it odd, but I realized I didn't know what it had to do with the conversation and it was really disconcerting.  

We had plans after dinner to go see Bill Maher for whom we had tickets, I excused myself after we ate and said I just needed to rest my eyes in the car for a few minutes before we headed to the theater.  The walk from the restaurant to the car parked across the street seemed to take forever and I felt intoxicated and very self conscious of how I must look.  A few minutes later they were done and when my husband got in the car I told him I had to go home.  I guess my speech was a little slurred and he suggested going to the hospital but I knew I just needed to lie down.  As I searched for my friend's cell number in my phone to tell them we wouldn't be meeting them I had a hard time focusing and kept losing my train of thought and forgetting what I was looking for in my phone.  I barely remember the drive home.  

I  slept from 8pm to 11am.  I feel better today, my vision is fine, I'm clear headed but drained, and disconcerted by the whole thing.  When my husband came in to check on me this morning, I started to cry which I didn't expect to happen!  

Very strange episode, maybe a mild relapse, I don't know.  I was well rested, been staying inside with the AC blasting, no change in meds, and I'd only had one drink with dinner.  The physical/vision stuff is annoying but the mental stuff made me feel very vulnerable and was kind of scary, I guess that's why I'm emotional about it this morning.  Stupid bull$hit disease.
11 Responses
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987762 tn?1671273328
COMMUNITY LEADER
It sounds very similar to what i deal with when i'm relapsing or when i've pushed my self beyond my limit. I first started the stutter/slurring back in 09 but along the way it changed from being just during relapses to being my everyday, though during relapses getting anything out of my mouth can be harder than it usually is.

The level of communication is one of my relapse signs, the other is the fatigue goes south and doesn't let up, even when i'm limper than a limp noodle and i'm doing nothing more than breathing lol my brain function is totally out to lunch. I sure look drunk, sound drunk and walk like a drunk string puppet and if i'm remembering the intoxicated feeling right (been decades lol) then i'd say yep I feel sort of drunk too and for me thats just how it is when i'm relapsing.

Have you considered a pseudo relapse due to the heat and all the hours of activity you were doing prior, its good to get it checked out but i'm just thinking if its all sx's you have already, then a pseudo is possible too.

Just a thought and i'm glad to hear your coming good!

Cheers..........JJ  
Helpful - 0
382218 tn?1341181487
Thanks everyone. I'm feeling back to my normal since yesterday.  Sunday I was still off kilter, mainly emotionally.   I did not get around to calling the MS clinic yet but I will tomorrow.  I have my first appt with my new GP on Aug 7 so will discuss this weird episode with him then, and also an appt with my naturopath on Thurs of this week so will get her thoughts.  

I do agree in hindsight it's possible this could have been a TIA, it's so hard to discern in the moment since not thinking clearly was part of the problem, and because all of the other symptoms (double vision, feeling intoxicated, slurred speech, etc) are symptoms I have had during a relapse. If this happens again before I see my GP I will likely go to the ER just in case. When my husband asked at the time if I was sure I wasn't having a stroke, I thought I was sure, because I've never considered that a stroke is something that could happen to me, but then again I once thought the same thing about MS.

Appreciate all your input and will let you know what the docs say.
Helpful - 0
572651 tn?1530999357
Carrie, you weren't underplaying this at all - it just is so easy to assume everything wrong with us is related to our MS.  You are new around here and probably don't know that I have had a heart attack, and we recently lost a dear person, twopack Mary, from this forum to a heart attack as well.

When it comes to symptoms like these that DV had and they come on quickly and aren't part of a usual pattern, it is always best to err on the side of caution and have it checked.  I may over react every time I read problems like these, but I would rather you all be safe than sorry.

DV - how are you today?

hugs, Laura
Helpful - 0
5112396 tn?1378017983
Just wanted to chime in with some support, DV. That does sound really upsetting. I can understand you just wanting to get back home and get rest. That would have been me in that situation too. But I hope that should I be in the same situation, the words of the others will ring in my head. I think they're onto something re: a 'let's make sure' visit to the professionals. I truly hope you feel better today.
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
You should be checked by Dr but I do have this happen when over stimulated. If there's too much conversation, bright lights such as in Walmart, I get hot or excited this has happened. It might simply have been that but err on the side of caution and run it by a Dr. Good luck!
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Wow, sorry to under react to your episode.  I didn't mean to underplay it at all.  I'm so new to this, I didn't know what to do the other day when it happened to me and assumed it was a normal, crappy, MS heat flare thing.  I really didn't mean to downgrade what happened to you.  I hope you are ok, really!  Hugs!
Helpful - 0
1831849 tn?1383228392
DV- I'm with Lulu on this. When I'm really tired my nystagmus kicks in and I have to work at not seeing double. This is a predictable, recreatable scenario. Your cognition issues took your episode into uncharted territory. Next time see a doc :-)
Kyle
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Holy Crap on a cracker! That's scary!

I agree with Lulu and next time go to the ER, just to be on the safe side. I would follow up with your doctor.  Hopefully it is nothing serious.

What did you do earlier in the day? I'm wondering if maybe you overdid it for the day (think: spoon theory).

I hope that you see your doctor soon, and I'm glad that you are feeling better.

Helpful - 0
572651 tn?1530999357
DV - please don't ever go sleep this type of episode off, again.  It may have been a stroke or some other non-MS event and it is pure silliness to take chances. Since this is something that doesn't fit into your MS pattern, please check in with one of your medical providers.

I say this because one of my sisters (age 55) has had multiple strokes recently, but she didn't know they were happening until recently when she started with symptoms such as yours.  They always went away in a short bit like you describe, but the MRI clearly shows these events.

Remember, not everything is MS.  I know you were looking forward to Bill Maher - I hope you can catch his show next time.

hugs, L

Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
I'm so sorry!  I had a sort of similar experience about a week and a half ago.  I went to visit a friend I hadn't seen for awhile and I started feeling really spazzy like you described.  I was embarrassed because my friend got worried and I was worried I wouldn't be able to drive myself home.  This totally stinks, I'm sorry it happened to you too.  Just wanted you to know you're not alone and I know how it feels.  

I'm sorry you had to miss your show and a night out too.
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
I am so sorry you are going thru this. This is how every day for 2 months has been for me - I don't know if I have ms but it has been mentioned to me by 4 different people and I believe that's worth looking into. I hope that things get Bette for you and I'm sorry again :(
Helpful - 0
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