Anyone know anything about Multiple Sclerosis?

[allthatisman]

Sadly, my wife's cousin(with whom we are very close...) was just diagnosed with MS. She is 34 and just had her second child about 18 months ago. I really don't know much about the disease and what it's like to live with long and short term. Anyone have any experiences with it? I am trying to ease my wife's worries, but I really don't know what to say...

 

[dullard]

I know a little about it. I watched a person slowly get worse with MS. It isn't as bad as it might sound at first. Sure, it is a life-changing disease. But, it does its destruction very slowly. Your wife's cousin will likely have many, many years without any significant issues.

To keep you as up to date as possible, read this study released 3 days ago: http://www.nationalmssociety.org/news/news-detail/index.aspx?nid=2958

 

[allthatisman]

I know a little about it. I watched a person slowly get worse with MS. It isn't as bad as it might sound at first. Sure, it is a life-changing disease. But, it does its destruction very slowly. Your wife's cousin will likely have many, many years without any significant issues.

To keep you as up to date as possible, read this study released 3 days ago: http://www.nationalmssociety.org/news/news-detail/index.aspx?nid=2958

I appreciate the link... I will give that a good read!

 

[Soundmanred]

One of my best friends has MS. They gave her a 10 year outlook three years ago, now she'll be lucky to be functioning in another year. She is falling apart more each day and it's very hard to watch. She gave birth to her daughter abut a month before she found out.

 

[D1gger]

I have a good friend and an employee who both have MS. My friend is falling apart daily and it is extremely sad to see someone who I used to love to golf with who now has a hard time getting out of his chair and walking across the room.

My employee was diagnosed only a year ago, and doesn't show many signs yet, but I know her and her family are extremely concerned about the prognosis. She is only about 30 years old and has 2 young kids.

 

[UnatcoAgent]

A friend of mine was diagnosed a year ago and is doing quite well. She is on Rebif I believe.

As with any neurological disease, some have it worse than others. You're better to have been diagnosed today than 30 years ago, that much is for sure.

 

[UnatcoAgent]

Sadly, my wife's cousin(with whom we are very close...) was just diagnosed with MS. She is 34 and just had her second child about 18 months ago. I really don't know much about the disease and what it's like to live with long and short term. Anyone have any experiences with it? I am trying to ease my wife's worries, but I really don't know what to say...

Do you have any idea what her symptoms were? Was there something dramatic that happened or was it a gradual progression that made her seek help?

 

[ElFenix]

news late last year:
http://www.nhs.uk/news/2009/11November/Pages/MS-and-blood-flow-from-the-brain.aspx

 

[MartyMcFly3]

I only know a little bit from one of my bosses. His wife has it. I don't know much, but I know that at times half her body is paralyzed and she has to be helped out of bed/around the house. Other times she's functional. She basically has to have someone around her 24/7 though from what I have gathered with brief conversations with my boss about it.

 

[UnatcoAgent]

I should also mention that my girlfriend's grandfather had it. He was functioning fine until his late 70's when he had pneumonia and didn't survive.

 

[rockyct]

My mom was diagnosed with it in 1996 and she can still walk without a cane. She's been taking a weekly shot and that has kept her to only two or three relapses during that period. She was 45 when she was diagnosed with it. From what I've heard, the younger you are when you get diagnosed, the faster it progresses. To be frank, it's not a good sign she's only 34 but drugs can definitely extend the time before requiring a wheelchair. My mom will probably start to need a cane within the next few years as she has to be more and more careful when she walks now so that she doesn't trip. One encouraging report I've heard, is that MS is basically iron poisoning in the brain from blocked blood vessels and that you can stop the MS progression by unblocking the veins: http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20091120/W5_liberation_091121/20091121?s_name=W5

 

[SunSamurai]

Hopefully she has the manageable kind.

 

[Mike Gayner]

If Jed Bartlet can become president with MS, I wouldn't rule anything out.

 

[WelshBloke]

My sister in law was diagnosed with it just after xmas.

My father in law was diagnosed with muscular dystrophy on xmas eve.

It been a bit emotional around these parts recently.

 

[Mo0o]

There's a few different kinds that attack the body at different rates. If you want to read up on it, I would start here: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/multiple-sclerosis/DS00188

I would stay away from forums or first hand accounts, those tend to give you a skewed perspective.

 

[jme5343]

My wife was diagnosed in 2005. Horrible day, but I'll never forget what she said as we were pulling away from the Dr's office (we already had a pretty good idea before we went) and she said she was just glad that it wasn't cancer. She has a very positive outlook and does an every-other-day shot. She's had no mentionable complications since then and we feel very blessed that it's the relapsing remitting kind. There was some permanent nerve damage done before the diagnosis, but it could be so much worse.

All that being said, there's a lot being done as far as fund raising and research. Things are definitely looking up.