What is Multiple sclerosis
Definition of Multiple sclerosis (MS):
MS is an autoimmune disease that affects the brain and spinal cord (central nervous system). It is a potentially debilitating disease in which the body's immune system eats away at the protective sheath, myelin that covers your nerves. This process is known as demyelination. As a result, communication between your brain and the rest of your body is hindered. Ultimately, this may result in deterioration of the nerves themselves, a process that is not reversible. Although multiple sclerosis can occur at any age, it most often begins in people between the ages of 20 and 40. Women are more likely to develop Multiple Sclerosis then men.
Almost any neurological symptom can appear with the disease, and it often progresses to physical, cognitive disability, with neuropsychiatric effects. The most common symptoms of Multiple Sclerosis generally appear between the ages of 20 and 40. The onset of MS may be dramatic or so mild that a person doesn't even notice any symptoms until far later in the course of the disease. Over the course of the disease, some symptoms will come and go, while others may be more lasting.
Categories: About MS
Tags: Basic definition and forms of multiple sclerosis
I am now 66 and have had MS since I was 23. I have a short journal that I kept when I was bedfast for 6 months. Would you be interested in that? It is just ordinary things that happen to people. Just let me know if you are interested.
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Hello all. Our friend Todd was gracious enough to share a portion of his story with us. Please feel free to share your thoughts on it. Perhaps this is something we can all relate to.
The Tingle
I awoke several days in a row with a pain at the base of my neck and tingling sensations in my hands (sound familiar?). Of course I was a male in his 30's with that feeling of invincibility; I dismissed it as overworking. I will freely admit I was and still am a workaholic. It was not unusual for me to work 80-100 hours a week. I often wonder if that wasn't my trigger (doc says no). The pains and sensations would not go away so my very smart wife convinced me to go get it looked at. I begrudgingly arrived and waited what I thought was too long (he was worth it), now after about 15 minutes in his office he looked at me and suspected MS. What a shock! I thought I would hear about a pinched nerve and that I should get some rest. I was convinced as I left the office he was overreacting.
Crappy Morning
I awoke a mere 7 days later unable to walk straight and I threw up every time I made the attempt. My wife called me out of work, and then called an ambulance. I had never before called out of work (I'm a workaholic remember), so she knew something bad was going on. Smart woman because within a short period of time I could not walk at all and at about the 4 hour point most of my systems were beginning to shut down.
Scary Hospital Stay
They quickly admitted me to a room from ER. The docs started a battery of tests looking for things like cancer or brain tumors and other nasty stuff. They obviously knew something I didn't. I later learned that MS does not usually present like this. I was unlucky to have my first good sized lesion on a nerve center that sent crazy signals to all sorts of places in my body. I couldn't see, walk, eat or any number of bodily functions I would rather not mention. It was decided after my spinal scan that they said was lit up like a Christmas tree (that's the phrase that was bandied about) that I needed a spinal tap. Spinal taps are scary enough but I was rather run down, and I don't even remember the procedure.
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