Multiple Sclerosis?

Question

Who here has MS- it's not a great thing is it!

Answer 1

I worked for a very sweet gentleman on volantary basis for a period of one year,a illness that has no cure ( at this moment )and no reason as to how and why you get it.it reduces the muscle movements and effects you very strongly mentally,my personal advice is that you should take everyday as it comes and that way life goes along,its not easy to think that you are going to end up in a wheel chair or an invalid forever but thats life.

Answer 2

MS - like any chronic illness/condition - isnot a "great thing" to have; on the otherhand, if the person who has the chronic illness/condition CHOOSES to learn to manage the symptoms, she/he can acquire a good quality of life!

I've had MS for over 45 years. It was misdiagnosed for most of those years; then, it became a "diagnosis of exclusion" - they couldn't find anything else to "call it"!! Finally, in 1997, after my MRI and spinal tap, I received the clinical diagnosis of MS.

OK: here are some facts about MS.

1) MS is an autoimmune disease where one's own immune system attacks the mylin sheath of the nerves, causing resulting "symptoms" in the part of the body "serviced" by those nerves.

2) There are 4 basic types of MS. The first 2 are what most people have, and is called Relapsing/Remitting (R/R) MS - in either the benign or more aggressive state. In this type of MS, the person will have what are called "exacerbations" - read attacks - and then be "ok" for extended periods of time. In most cases, an MRI and/or a spinal tap will show the lesions on the brain or spinal column; then, the doctors can aggressively treat the symptoms with medications like steriods and what we call the "ABC drugs" (Avonex, Beteserone, and Copaxine). The ABC drugs are shots of what is basically interferon.

If caught early enough, these medical interventions have shown EXCELLENT progress in stopping the rate of progress of this disease.

Interestingly enough, many people can experience one or two exacerbations and then go for decades with none!!!

3) The last two types are more difficult: primary progressive (PP) and secondary progressive. In secondary progressive (SP), you have people like me who started out with R/R, and then "progressed" into SP.

In the case of PP or SP, the exacerbations are frequent, and become actual symptoms that do not go into remission like they did in R/R. Symptoms are like your friend's problems with sight and hearing.

The ABC drugs and some others are being used to treat the PP type of MS; there are no current effective treatments to "stop the progression" of SP; we can only "manage the symptoms".

For more information about the specific symptoms of MS, you can use any Internet search engine and plug in the words MS symptoms. You'll find TONS of information.

For information from someone who has the disease, please check out my website: http://www.disabilitykey.com. I have 2 blogs there, each containing tons of information. AND, I'm an expert on applying for, and attaining disability insurances!! It is my passion and mission to assist others with disabilities.

The absolute most important thing impacting how MS effects someone is their attitude. If you take the attitude that MS is a chronic condition and that you can maximize your quality of life by learning all you can about your condition and your symptoms, and by working with your health care team to "manage" your symptoms, than you are already far ahead of others. My website provides tons of info about Chronic disease self management.

Finally, if you join the local chapter of the National MS Assn., you'll find lots of assistance and the help of others "like you".

Answer 3

Please get a book called Betrayal of the Brain-there is help

Answer 4

my mom does

Answer 5

not me.....