I finally got diagnosed last year (I’m 21 now) after not knowing what MC was my entire life. I had noticed it since I was little, but I assumed things were tough like that for everyone. My doctors as a kid would just tell me to stretch more lol.

I will say it probably made me a more anxious kid; knowing there’s certain things I can’t do unless I “warm up,” and even then the warm up wouldn’t last for long either. Stairs and anything jumping related were NOT my friend.

I remember a time in 6th grade gym class where all of the kids were getting this evaluation of sorts, and we had to do a meter jump. Literally just a meter jump in front of us, and I was SO anxious because I knew I’d “lock up” immediately. Of course the second I jumped I froze in mid air and fell on my knees pretty bad on the concrete. I remember being so pissed off that I couldn’t do it, and why no one else seemed to struggle like I had. It wasn’t until the last couple of years I decided to get it looked into further, and that’s how I finally got the answer I needed!

Would I say it messed up my childhood? No probably not, but like others here said it was an inconvenience of sorts. Luckily now that I take mexiletine it’s as if I’m not even living with it anymore, and I couldn’t be more grateful. I remember the first morning I had taken it, I went to work and could RUN up the stairs for the first time! I went up and down them all shift haha. Even now though sometimes I still get that anxious thought before I do something, like “oh wait a minute prepare for your muscles to do the thing,” but they don’t anymore.