My first MS flare-up

Yesterday in work, around 3.30pm, my left hand started to twitch uncontrollably. I was typing at the time and my hand kept flying off the keyboard, making it impossible to type. It was an odd feeling to not be able to control my arm and to watch it have a life of its own.

It wasn't scary - I knew the cause (although I Googled my symptoms, just to be sure) - but it was annoyingly inconvenient. I class myself as left-handed, although I'm not wholly left-handed and only use it for certain things, like writing and eating. I use my right for most other things, due to a childhood accident, where I had to learn to do things with my right hand and became predominantly right-handed. But, as I say, I still need to use my left hand for some things (like changing gears while driving), so this was very inconvenient.

As well as the jerky arm, I also started to feel dizzy, which made me feel nauseous. I couldn't wait to get out of work and was worried about the drive home, so I left early. As soon as I got home I got into my jammies and made myself something to eat. Thankfully I'd cooked earlier in the week, so dinner just required heating up in the microwave. Dishing up was an interesting task as, while the jerkiness had stopped by then, my arm felt weak and heavy, so I couldn't rely on it like I usually do. I had to do most things right-handed, which was awkward for me.

By 7pm I was shattered - I could barely keep my eyes open - and had a wee nap on the couch. I woke up at 9pm, just in time for Glee and managed to stay awake for that, but I couldn't keep my eyes open any longer and I had to go to bed. I had strange dreams and kept waking during the night, but didn't have any difficulty in getting back to sleep, as I was exhausted.

This morning my alarm woke me as usual at 7.30am. I switched it off and promptly fell asleep again. I finally woke again at 2.30pm, having missed most of the day and completely missed work. Oops. I switched on my mobile phone and there were missed message from work asking where I was. I had to phone in and explain what had happened. They know my situation, so they were very understanding.

This is my first attack since being diagnosed in February this year, and the hospital didn't give me very much information, so I didn't know what to expect. This took me completely by surprise, especially the tiredness. I'm still tired today; only 4 hours after waking I feel like I could sleep again. I don't know how long I should expect to feel like this or how long it will be until I have another attack. The hospital didn't seem too concerned and intimated that I wouldn't have another attack for a couple of years. How wrong were they(?)