Question about multiple sclerosis

[Arugula Latte]

It seems I know an inordinate number of people (mostly acquaintances or friends of friends) who have M.S., ranging from the very mild, rarely occurring flare-up kind to the rapidly progressing, very degenerative kind.

I know M.S. is classified as a chronic disease, but sometimes I'll read something where a person is said to have "died of complications" from M.S. What does that mean? Do they get so many plaque lesions on their brain or spinal cords that it shuts down their system? Or ... ?

Sorry for the downer question, but I'm very interested in this disease and hoping fervently for a cure. Thanks.

[daa]

1. I had a neighbor

who had it and she had bad days and could not get out of bed for days. And then you have people like Neil Cavuto who seems to be doing well considering cancer and MS.

[CO Liberal]

In Cavuto's Case...

...the diseases have apparently affected his ability to reason. Why else would he take a job at Faux News????

[Misunderestimator]

2. My mother died of M.S.

You're right that there is a wide range in how people are afflicted by the disease. My mother was diagnosed when she was 35 (and I was 3)... in a wheelchair by the time she was 40, and she passed away at about 57, after having been bedridden for 10 years. We met others, through a Multiple Sclerosis support group, who lived years and years with only a slight imbalance or sight problem.

I also had a teacher in college who had it. She was fine but she had to use crutches.

I'm not sure if my mother died because of what M.S. did to her body and mind, or because of the treatment of the disease. She was on valium and prednisone as long as I can remember.

I think that M.S. is really a catch-all term for what they cannot classify more clearly, like Lou Gehrig's disease, which is a close relative.

[Arugula Latte]

3. Right. Those neurological conditions are so hard to pinpoint sometimes.

I'm very sorry about your mother. That must have been very, very hard on you as a child (as well as now).

[Misunderestimator]

4. It was a challenge...

... but, whatever doesn't kill you makes you stronger, eh? She's been gone a while now, so the grief has passed for the most part. It was definitely hardest on her.

[Kat45]

5. There are different forms of the disease

There is relapsing-remitting, with flare-ups followed by remission, which can last a long time. Some people have it quite mild, and are pretty much back to normal when in remission. (Although there are plaques caused by the disease, they may not be affecting the person at the time.) Then there's chronic-progressive, whch is the type that quickly gets worse and worse. Some folks are barely affected; others get quite debilitated; a lot are somwhere in between. I've never heard it presented as causing death so I really don't know about that.

I have it, fortunately the relapsing-remitting form, only affecting me intermittently. But I have had a horrible exacerbation, and others when I had blurred or double vision. I've met other folks in the same situation. But I know another woman with the progressive form; she still works full time but now needs a cane and walks very slowly.

If you want to find more info, check out the website of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. You can learn a lot through them:
http://www.nmss.org/

[dixielib]

6. Died from complications means

died from pneumonia secondary to poor breathing caused by MS, or a severe urinary tract infection because of a catheter necessary because of MS, or renal failure secondary to chronic urinary tract infections. I think you get the drift of what I am saying. Alot of neurological diseases lead to secondary diseases that can cause death.

[Misunderestimator]

7. I agree with that...

Fortunately, my mother went in her sleep. She did have a catheter for many, many years.

[morningglory]

8. I heard on the internet that artificial sweeteners can cause MS

I heard on the internet that artificial sweeteners can cause MS. A woman I work with said her mother just was diagnosed with MS. I asked her if she had a history of using artificial sweeteners, like aspertame, and she said that her mother had gone to a hospital-sponsored diet/nutrition study, where they were served meals with aspertame in every dish! Then one day she was leaving the hospital and collapsed in the parking lot. This co-worker stated that she can not use them. She gets headaches. Interesting. I never heard of anyone having MS in my entire life until about 20 years ago, and now it seems quite common.

[crimson333]

9. I have never used artificial sweetners

and I have had M.S. for 18 years. Don't ever believe anything you read on the internet:D