What Is MS?
In case you’re like me when I was diagnosed and don’t know what MS is - it’s an autoimmune disease where your immune system is triggered and incorrectly attacks your brain and spinal cord. The attack causes inflammation which turns the insulated and healthy nerves into fried wires that can’t transmit info.
For example, I’ve had inflammation in my optic nerve, which prevented the nerve from functioning properly and affected my eyesight.
Inflammation can be treated with infusions of high doses of steroids, but there is no guarantee that normal functioning will fully return.
There is no way to predict what parts of the brain and spinal cord the immune system will attack, so literally anything could be affected by MS. It commonly causes weakness and numbness, fatigue, vision problems, tremors, electric shock sensations, bowel + bladder issues, and cognitive changes, to name a few.
There are a few different kinds of MS - I have Relapsing Remitting MS (RRMS), which means there are periods of remission when I live with my “normal” MS symptoms daily. Then there are periods of relapses, aka when the immune system is attacking your nervous system and causing damage to the nerves. This attack results in the worsening of current symptoms or new symptoms arising on top of that.
MS is commonly referred to as the ‘snowflake’ disease because no two cases are the same. Your brain and spinal cord affect A LOT (obviously), so the effects of damage vary greatly from person to person.
Not only that, but the symptoms that one experiences may be visible OR invisible to others, which offers another layer of complexity in the MS experience.
There is no cure - the goal of treatment is to minimize the amount of relapses in order to preserve one’s ability to function.
When I was first diagnosed there were only 4 disease modifying treatments (DMTs) available and they were all injections. Now, just 15 years later, there are over 15 DMTs including oral meds, injections and infusions for RRMS. It’s amazing to see the advancements over the years as awareness spreads and research continues, it makes me very curious (and hopeful) for the future.
Obvious Disclaimer: That’s a very brief and surface level explanation of MS. In no way is this meant to be comprehensive. :)
BTW to all my chronic illness warriors -
As you know MS is a chronic illness, meaning it permeates into your life, relationships, body, mind in ways that are unimaginable. To be blunt, it forever changes everything. But the key to thriving with a chronic illness is remembering…change isn’t a bad thing. After all it’s the one constant in life.
Bonus! YOU have the POWER to decide what the fuck you want to do when change inevitably comes around.
