Scots man tells how hot flush turned out to be early symptom of multiple sclerosis

dailyrecord.co.uk:

When Alan Kyle experienced a hot flush while working in Libya he had no idea it was an early symptom of multiple sclerosis.

Dad-of-three Alan, 49, had gone to the north African country to work as a consultant project manager. When he first started to suffer unusual heat sensations he suspected they might be related to the vaccinations he had been given for his regular trips abroad.

He was devastated to later be ­diagnosed with MS.Alan, who was given the shock news aged 35 and has now lived with the progressive, debilitating illness for 14 years, said: “In 2008, I was working in Libya and needed to get jags to go there.“I would work up to five days at a time, return home for a couple of weeks and then go back out to Libya.“One morning I woke up and my whole body – from the base of my neck to my toes – was red hot, like I was on fire.“I thought it was strange but dismissed it as a reaction to the jags I’d had a few days before.“When I came home from Libya, I took another similar attack.

I went to hospital. They immediately assumed I’d had a heart attack or a stroke. By that Christmas I’d been ­diagnosed with relapsing remitting MS.”Alan, of Glasgow, continued to live his life as fully as possible with the form of MS where he would experience flare-ups of the disease but have periods of recovery between flare-ups.Four years later, on Christmas Day, his condition dramatically worsened.Alan said: “In Christmas Day 2012, I got taken into hospital.“I sat down after my Christmas meal and I couldn’t get back up.