DEAR DR. GOTT:
I am a 14-year-old boy with both parents affected by two different and very rare illnesses. First, my 39-year-old father has had tingling and numbness in his legs for a year. This month he was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis or MS. He can barely walk now.
Then my mother had two weeks of non-stop agonizing migraines. She had an MRI that showed an unknown type of growth in her brain causing double vision and the smelling of things that weren’t there. The growth is twice the size of a golf ball and doomed to kill her without surgery. She’s scheduled for an operation in two days.
The point of this letter is not for your help or anyone’s sympathy. It is to tell people that things aren’t always what they seem. Those readers with constant migraines should see a doctor. Don’t attempt to cover up the pain, get checked out. If pain killers don’t work, try an anti-inflammatory. And see a doctor. What’s keeping my mother pain-free isn’t pain killers. It’s medications to keep the swelling of the growth down.
Please, please print this.
DEAR READER:
You are very articulate for your age. I’m quite impressed with your knowledge and common sense view of two complex situations that never should befall a family the age of yours.
MS is a neurological disease that affects the nervous system and regulates an individual’s ability to move, speak, see, and hear. It often begins with weakness in one limb, pins-and-needles sensations, blurred vision, or difficulties with speech. It may take years for the diagnosis to be confirmed. Even then doctors do not know how symptoms will advance and whether progressive disability will result.
Patients should eat a well-balanced, nutritious diet and get adequate rest. Physical and emotional stress or fatigue should be avoided. It is critical to exercise regularly to keep muscles functioning properly. The disease is non-contagious and non-hereditary. It cannot be cured or prevented but exercise, counseling, psychotherapy, self-care, and medication can be of assistance, allowing patients to remain as independent as possible.
Headaches are not generally related to a serious condition, such as your mother experienced. In fact, only about 1% of all headaches are caused by a serious condition such as tumor, stroke or meningitis.
The classic ocular migraine often begins with a warning sign or aura, accompanied with flashing lights, colors or temporary loss of peripheral vision. Pain can occur on one or both sides of the head. Common migraines generally begin more slowly, last longer and are not preceded by an aura.
Fortunately, your mother had an MRI and the tumor was found. I hope the surgical results were extremely favorable and your family life can settle down. Let me know what happens.
To give you related information, I am sending you a copy of my Health Report “Headaches”. Other readers who would like a copy should send a self-addressed, stamped, number 10 envelope and $2 to Newsletter, PO Box 167, Wickliffe, OH 44092. Be sure to mention the title.
About Dr. Gott