Sorry you are struggling. It is often a long haul to get a dx of any type & ms is a dx of ruling out everything else it could possibly be.

It sounds like you are very self conscious of the foot drop & others noticing it too. Often we are more aware of it than it actually is too. It is a matter of accepting that this crap can happen sometimes & working out how to live with it.
If you are getting asked questions by others & want a generic type answer without saying ms or similar just say something like "I get foot/leg weakness sometimes & i never know when it is going to affect me. Very frustrating but I cant do much about it." I say things like that when I dont want to get into details to people.
I was on a cruise & some of the things people ask were so intrusive & confrontational it was a real wake up. I got fed up with it & just said that I have weakness in my legs & it makes it hard to walk. Didnt want to continually go into it esp as some people were not asking nicely.
A lot of people made comments about how nice it is to have a walker as always have a seat etc. This got me mad as I would love not to need it & I developed a response to the effect that "its not my choice & I would love to not need it & be able to walk without it" No one ever responded to that.

I'm sorry to say but from all the different nationalities on the ship (there were over 2500 people) the Americans were the one's that made the rudest comments & judgemental. For instance - If I was waiting for a lift they would push in front of me so that I couldn't get in the lift & they did the same to a lady on a scooter. It was a real shame to see that attitude.
I can now understand more how hard some of you find it to have any disabilities there. In Australia overall people are a bit more polite about it (not always) as there are a lot of people with walkers, scooters etc

Take care

I've been asked if I'm limping - people recognize that something is wrong but not sure what, and they are asking out of concern.

I haven't come out to everyone yet - don't want to be looked at differently, and the walking and lack of balance are my most visible symptoms. I just tell them I have dropped foot syndrome, that my right foot doesn't lift as high as it should, and that seems to satisfy everyone who has ever asked.

I'm taking Ampyra, which can take a long time to kick in, but when I added 500 mg magnesium daily I noticed a marked improvement in only three days. Neuro wants me to stay on both.

It is very hard for people who do not have it or know anything about it, to understand. Even the family! I have been having trouble with speech recently...kinda like a weird stutter sometimes. Since I'm still working a couple of days per week, when that happens, I just make fun of it so that my co workers don't look at me with that "I feel so sorry for you look". When I am asked questions, I just answer them. Humor is what helps me and makes people around me at ease so it's easier for me to explain to them, and henceforth, easier for them to understand. These symptoms are so annoying but don't let them get you down and most importantly, don't let people get you down! Love and Light!

before i got my canes i had drop foot bad in one foot and people would say thinks like "you have a limp today" and i'd go "yup" and leave it at that. if they really pressed i'd be like "it was hard to get across the parking lot today. "

I tend to give very vauge answers. But now that i have my canes people are alot nicer to me out in public. open doors for me , let me cut in line its been a realy eye opener that nice people out there exsist

but yes sometimes my friends and fam think i'm fakeing especially in the beginning when my drop foot would resolve itself for a little while and then come back

i understand

Jennilee - I feel like I could have written your post myself. Especially when you forgot your word....it gets so frustrating!
Most of the people at my work know my situation, but some don't. I've seen looks of concern when I'm limping, and people have asked if I'm okay. I don't know what to say either. I have actually asked people I know to kind of "let it slip" to others so I don't have to explain myself.
I also ran into a situation the other day with my disabled parking. The dad of my son's friend watched me park in handicappped and when I got out of my car, he said, "I better see you limping!" Really - how am I supposed to respond to that???? I just said, "It's valid, I promise." Which was really dumb, I know. But I just didn't know what to say. Ruined my whole day because I just wanted to cry.
And here I am going on and on. So my answer to you is - I really don't know how to deal with the questions. But I think we need to grow thicker skin to deal with the ignorant people out there, that's for sure.
Hugs to you!
Kristi

It can be difficult. I once had a co-worker who had a bad leg ask me if I was "making fun of her" because I was limping. ahh yeah right. she was the kind of person who seemed to think the world revolved around only her. Once I got a better sense of what was wrong with me and finally a diagnosis I found the truth was the best...i didn't go into much detail but found that people are uncomfortable enough to quite asking questions. people sure say some dumb shit so stopping their questions can be a good thing. As handicapped folks we do have some very real and enforcable rights, eventually I think most of us get a bit militant after being treated poorly for something none of us wants.
sorry to sound beligerant
take care of yourself
Anne