A Journey Through Life with Multiple Sclerosis

The Disease

"What is Multiple Sclerosis, anyway?"

Multiple=many Sclerosis=Scarring

In simple terms, in multiple sclerosis, the immune system turns against itself. The central nervous system, which is made up of the brain and spinal cord, is the affected area. Each nerve cell is coated with what is called a myelin sheath. Think of it in this way. Compare the nerves and the transmission of nerve impulses to an electric cord.

The cord is coated so that the electricity will follow only the paths it is supposed to follow. What happens if you have a damaged cord? You don't use it or you replace it because if the wires inside that cord are layed bare the electricity will not follow the path of the cord and the discharge of electricity occurs in places other than intended.

Think of the covering of the electric cord as myelin and the wire inside the cord as your nerve cells, carrying impulses (as the electric cord carries electricity) to your body.

When myelin is inflammed or destroyed, as is the case in multiple sclerosis, the nerve impulses also go haywire.

Since there are billions of nerve cells in your body, that's a lot of different symtoms that can occur and a lot of areas that can be affected. Depending on which nerves are affected you will see different symptoms - different areas of the body affected.

Although Multiple Sclerosis is not hereditary, there is a slightly higher incidence among family members.

The cause remains unknown today.

One of the reasons MS is so hard to diagnose is the miriad of symptoms the patient presents with. Some people only have very slight and occasional symptoms and are diagnosed almost by accident. MS is so different for each individual yet alike in so many ways.

The most frequent and one of the earliest of all symptoms is fatigue. The initial symptom of MS is often blurred or double vision, red-green color distortion, or even blindness in one eye cause by inflammation of the optic nerve (optic neuritis).

Other symptoms include muscle weakness, stiffness, numbness, tingling, problems with coordination. Bladder and bowel problems (either a leaking or loss or retention), sexual disfunction, inability to judge temperature (leading to burns) or to feel surface touch or pain, dizziness and speech impairment may also be seen. Difficulty swallowing or breathing may occur in more advanced cases. Muscle spasms and cramps are often very painful and can impair the use of the legs for walking or the use of the arms. Tremors in the hands, called "intention tremors". They are called this because they are most noticeable when an intended movement is made, such as to pick up a glass.. an active use of the arm and hand. Because of this, the tremors will increase greatly in those affected by stretching the arm and picking up something.

Pain. It was once thought (and some doctors will still tell you) that "there is no pain with MS". This could not be farther from the truth. While some people never experience pain, the majority I have met and spoken with do experience pain.

Pain in the back when standing or walking, accompanied by a heavy feeling of being pulled down.. pain in the legs from walking or in the arms from use. Pain can be anywhere. Pain can be from muscle spasms, from the actual demyelination of the nerve cells, from spasms of the urethra - basically from any structure controlled by the central nervous system... that doesn't leave much out.

I can wake up in the morning and find my eyeglasses in the freezer after hours of searching. I forget the birth dates of my children. I often forget what I am trying to say or can't find a work I am looking for in the middle of a sentence. All this can be contributed to MS. I try to remember to carry a portable mini tape player so I don't forget things. At this point it I have learned, with my family, to laugh at these forgetful moments.

The one problem I could not deal with was the irritability, the mood swings. I found myself snapping at my children for no reason.. crying at sentimental commercials on television.

There are some medications that will help the mood swings. I have found Prozac to be the one that gives me back me, emotionally. Others have used Zoloft or Paxil with good results. Discuss this with your doctor to see which may be best for you.