My mom might have MS?

Question

My mom is getting an MRI on her brain because the doctors think she might have multiple sclorosis. What exactly is it. I havent heard much and dont know much treatment of it. Im only 15.

Answer 1

I feel bad for your mom and you if she does have MS.

What is multiple sclerosis?

Multiple sclerosis (MS) was first described in Holland by a 14th century physician. It is a disease in which the nerves of the central nervous system (brain and spinal cord) degenerate. Myelin, which provides a covering or insulation for nerves, improves the conduction of impulses along the nerves and also is important for maintaining the health of the nerves. In MS, inflammation causes the myelin to degenerate and eventually disappear. Consequently, the electrical impulses that travel along the nerves decelerate. Late in the disease, the nerves themselves are damaged. As more and more nerves are affected, a patient experiences a progressive interference with functions that are controlled by the nervous system such as vision, speech, walking, writing, and memory.

About 250,000 to 350,000 people in the U.S. have MS. Usually, a patient is diagnosed with MS between 20 and 40 years of age, but MS has been diagnosed as early as age 15 and as late as age 60. MS is twice as likely to occur in Caucasians as in any other group. Women are twice as likely as men are to be affected by MS earlier in life. Later in life, the incidence of the disease in men and women is almost equal.

Go the below site to obtain more infomration about this debilitating disease:

Multiple Sclerosis - Complete medical information regarding this degeneration of the central nervous system on ...
Learn the specifics of multiple sclerosis including the description, causes, ... Protein Test Could Spot Multiple Sclerosis Early. Science Could Point to MS ...www.medicinenet.com/multiple_sclerosis/article.htm - 42k - Cached - More from this site - Save

However, keep your fingers crossed and your hopes high. she might not have MS. Wait till you have the results of these tests.I'm sure the doctors will do multiple tests before coming to a final diagnosis.


Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic, potentially debilitating disease that affects your central nervous system, which is made up of your brain and spinal cord. Multiple sclerosis is widely believed to be an autoimmune disease, a condition in which your immune system attacks components of your body as if they're foreign.

In multiple sclerosis, the body mistakenly directs antibodies and white blood cells against proteins in the myelin sheath, a fatty substance that insulates nerve fibers in your brain and spinal cord. This results in inflammation and injury to the sheath and ultimately to the nerves that it surrounds. The result may be multiple areas of scarring (sclerosis). Eventually, this damage can slow or block the nerve signals that control muscle coordination, strength, sensation and vision.

Multiple sclerosis affects an estimated 300,000 people in the United States and probably more than 1 million people around the world — including twice as many women as men. Most people experience their first signs or symptoms between ages 20 and 40.

Multiple sclerosis is unpredictable and varies in severity. In some people, multiple sclerosis is a mild illness, but it can lead to permanent disability in others. Treatments can modify the course of the disease and relieve symptoms.

Multiple sclerosis - MayoClinic.com
Multiple sclerosis (MS) — Comprehensive overview covers symptoms, causes, ... In multiple sclerosis, the body mistakenly directs antibodies and white blood ...
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Answer 2

MS is a very strange condition. The cause is unknown, and people's symptoms vary. It is caused by deposits (plaque) in the outer layer of nerve fibers. This layer is called the myelin sheath. Nerve impulses are electro-chemical impulses, and the nerves act like wires. The myelin is the insulation on the nerves. Multiple sclerosis means there are multiple places where the myelin has been replaced by deposits of calcium or something other than myelin. This condition causes nerve impulses to short circuit, so maybe cold water will feel like a burn, or maybe sometimes nothing happens when you try to move your arm.

The specific things that go wrong depend on where the plaques are located, how big they are, and how many. With most MS patients, the symptoms come and go, sometimes with very long periods between events, sometimes not. Some people also have a form where things gradually worsen, but most people have a mostly normal life with periods of time where they tire easily or have flare-ups of some weird problem.

You can read more at this link:

Answer 3

Multiple sclerosis happens when your immune system attacks the myelin coating on your nerves. That coating is a little like the plastic coating on electrical wires. It's necessary for nerve transmissions to work well, to avoid a 'short circuit'.

Demyelination (loss of the myelin coating) can cause paralysis, weakness, and sometimes aphasia (loss of the ability to speak) deafness or blindness. Most of the time, the person has an 'episode', and the functions will comme back, at least partially.

I personnaly know a young woman (about 30) with MS since early twenties whom has had only one episode so far (half her face got paralysed, but she recovered). She is taking an experimental drug (interleukin) which she must inject everyday, and is living a relatively normal life.

Some people also swear only by the bee venom treatment, which they take... by voluntarily getting stung by bees every day. But this is still experimental, and must be done under supervision, since bee venom is toxic, and a person can develop a very severe allergic reaction over time.

Answer 4

That's not a totally unrational fear. There is a genetic susceptibility for MS -- which means you're more likely to get it than is someone whose mother does not have it. BUT, it's not a genetic disease -- there's no predetermination that you WILL get it. So, it's a reasonable worry. But also wasted worry. MS is not a preventable disease. There's nothing you can do now to avoid getting the disease. Early detection is key to treatment, so you are right in going for an MRI. If the doctor didn't say the results showed MS, then you do not have it. You'll probably repeat the MRI in five years or so, and at regular intervals throughout your life. In between times, live your life. None of us can predict how long we have. We just have to enjoy the moment.

Answer 5

each one of your nerves is coated with a special kind of fat that helps insulate the cell, and speed up transmission of the electrical impulses that are carried by it. With MS, the body starts to eat away that fat.
Treatment depends on which type of MS she has, and where the MS is occuring.
Good Luck

Answer 6

mom ms

Answer 7

it is a disease where the body attacks its nerves. There are fairly good treatments now, but it makes voluntary movements of the body difficult and jerky

Answer 8

Its kinda like athrities but you get paralzid. sorry to hear about it.

Answer 9

Hi Jackie

Here are some answers on the issue. Ideas to heal on the bottom.

Causes of Multiple Sclerosis
Although conventional medicine claims that multiple sclerosis is caused by demyelination (the breakdown of the myelin sheath caused by the buildup of plaques), holistic health practitioners maintain that there are many other potential causes, as well. This view is strengthened by the fact that major symptoms of MS can be present even when there is little myelin damage; and, in some cases, major dymelination only produces minor symptoms. What follows is an overview of the other most common potential causes of MS.

Candidiasis: Candidiasis, also known as candida, is caused by systemic overgrowth of a type of yeast, Candidiasis albicans, beyond its normal location in the lower intestinal tract.

Dental Amalgam Fillings: Dental amalgam fillings contain mercury, a highly toxic substance that can be leeched out from fillings in the form of mercury vapors that settle in the body`s tissues and organs.

Electromagnetic Fields: Electromagnetic fields (EMFs) are generated when electric currents flow through wire coils.

Poor Diet: Since 1950, when Roy Swank, MD, of Oregon Health Sciences University, first discovered that MS patients had higher than normal concentrations of saturated fat intake from the foods they ate.

Environmental Toxins: Environmental toxins can cause or exacerbate MS in a variety of ways, including impairing and interrupting the body's metabolic processes.

Food Allergies and Sensitivities: People with multiple sclerosis often suffer from food allergies or sensitivities, which can greatly exacerbate their MS symptoms. The most common foods that trigger food allergies and sensitivities include coffee and caffeine products, corn, dairy products, food additives and preservatives, fungi such as mushrooms, gluten (a food ingredient in barley, oats, rye, spelt, and wheat), ketchup, milk, sugar, vinegar, wheat, and wine. However, any food can potentially act as an allergy trigger.

Genetic Predisposition: MS is not considered a hereditary disease.

Infections: Infection can greatly exacerbate MS symptoms

"Leaky Gut" Syndrome: "leaky gut" syndrome is caused by food allergies and/or candidiasis causing a breach in the intestinal wall, allowing toxins to flood into the bloodstream.

Nutritional Deficiencies: Even when MS patients follow a healthy, balanced diet, they can often be deficient in vital nutrients because they have difficulty assimilating them. The most common nutrient deficiencies in MS patients are vitamin B1, vitamin B6, vitamin B12, biotin, folic acid, magnesium, manganese, selenium, and zinc, along with various amino acids and essential fatty acids.

Stress and Trauma: Many cases of MS are often initially triggered by prolonged emotional stress or physical trauma. Moreover, the initial symptoms of MS will often first manifest at the part of the body that suffered an injury.

Quick Action Plan for Miltiple Sclerosis


1. A healthy diet is essential for dealing successfully with MS. Emphasize a diet that is low in saturated fats and abundant in essential fatty acids. Eat plenty of fresh, organic fruits and vegetables, oily fish, free-range poultry, and olive, flaxseed, safflower, and sunflower oils. Organic nuts and seeds, millet, mung beans, and mung bean sprouts are also recommended.

2. Avoid alcohol, chocolate, dairy products, eggs, fast and commercially prepared foods, fermented foods, hydrogenated oils and solid fats, margarine, red meats, salt, shellfish, sugar, and yeast, as well as hydrolyzed vegetable proteins and food additives and preservatives.

3. For additional benefit, supplement with four to ten teaspoons of unsaturated oils each day.

4. Recommended nutritional supplements for MS include B complex vitamins, vitamin B2, vitamin B3, vitamin B6, vitamin B12, beta carotene and other carotenoids, bioflavonoids, vitamin C, vitamin D, vitamin E, calcium AEP, magnesium, selenium, and zinc.

5. Other useful supplements include alpha lipoic acid, CoQ10, DMSO, MSM, and the amino acids carnitine, choline, cysteine, glutathione, and methionine.

6. Test for and eliminate all foods and environmental factors that can cause allergies and sensitivities.

7. To reduce the burden of toxins in your body, consider a program of detoxification therapy, ideally under the supervision of your physician.

8. If you have mercury-containing dental amalgam fillings, have them removed and replaced with new fillings made from materials with which you are biocompatible.

9. Avoid exposure to unhealthy electromagnetic fields (EMFs) caused by electricity flowing through the coils of electrical wires and common home and office appliances and equipment, as well as cell phones and many types of motors. To protect yourself from unhealthy EMFs, consider wearing a Teslar watch and receiving weak pulsed magnet therapy.

10. Be sure to minimize your stress levels using mind/body medicine techniques such as biofeedback, guided imagery and visualization, hypnosis, meditation, and relaxation exercises such as deep breathing.

11. A restful nap each day can also help reduce your MS symptoms.

12. Regularly engage in an exercise program of gentle aerobics or walking to keep your muscles toned and supple.

13. To increase oxygenation of tissues and to stimulate the repair of myelin, consider hyperbaric

Best of health to you and your mom.