Usually, the body’s immune system is ready to defend your body against anything foreign that can cause illness.
But if a person is dealing with multiple sclerosis, better known by the initials MS, then that same immune system will actually damage and destroy the protective insulation that surrounds the body’s nerve cells in the brain and down the spinal cord.
This deterioration eventually leads to issues with bodily functions, motor skills, and other physical issues because the brain’s communication with the nerves throughout the body is disrupted.
This attack on the nerves takes several forms, leading to permanent damage that is often impossible to heal.
The name comes from the term sclerae, which is more commonly called plaque and lesions. Sclerae are damaged and look like scars along the white matter of the brain and spinal cord.
It is a very common condition compared to other autoimmune disorders, which refer to whenever the body’s immune system attacks anything that is actually supposed to be there, whether it is the membranes of certain organs or the protective layer around nerve cells.
Discovered in the late 1860s by French neurologist Jean-Martin Charcot, more than two million people throughout the world will actually be officially diagnosed with MS.
The condition can occur at any time between age 20 and age 50, with women more than twice as likely to develop MS as men.
There are four different types of MS:
Relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS)
This is where the attacks progressively worsen within the ability to mentally function, with a number of episodes that are followed up by small periods of remission where the symptoms will improve either partially or completely. This is usually the type of MS that most people are first diagnosed with.
Secondary-progressive MS (SPMS)
The next step from the RRM is when the attacks become more consistent, which can happen either with or without an episode.
Primary-progressive MS (PPMS)
The inability to function mentally starts to get a lot worse, and this will develop more over time and can often include small improvements in between episodes. There is quite a minority of MS patients given this diagnosis – about 10 percent, to be exact.
Progressive-relapsing MS (PRMS)
The least likely of the four types that people will have is when attacks grow more progressively and may have limited to no recovery after each episode and will continue to worsen without allowing the body any remission to have any chance to recover.
Symptoms of MS
The earliest symptoms of MS usually start to show up between the age of 20 and 40, and they will improve before returning before another episode or attack.
Some will come and go before and after, or some will stick around for a longer period of time.
It will be important to keep a journal of these symptoms so that you report to your doctor to get a more accurate diagnosis – whether it is determining which type of MS you have or if it is another condition.
Early MS signs include blurry or double vision, which can accompany losing one’s ability to balance and not having the same coordinator.
There are also people with MS who are found to have problems being able to think clearly or feeling numbing, tingly, or weakening sensations in different parts of the body.
As MS continues to develop within a person, they may progressively feel as if there are sharp objects – i.e., pins and needles – that can cause the above-mentioned sensations, plus burning, tearing, or stabbing.
Another common sign of having MS is feeling dizzy or experiencing vertigo, where you might feel like everything in your surroundings is spinning around you. This can also lead to difficulty walking.
There are also a large majority of MS patients who will find that they have to urinate at a much more frequent rate than before, or they might have trouble with urinating.
In addition to the bladder issues, there might be a number of bowel issues that pop up, like constipation. Many MS patients have also found that they are fatigued a lot easier, both physically and mentally, a lot faster – no matter how much sleep or rest they get every night.
Despite the millions of people in the world who are diagnosed with some form of MS, no two cases have the exact same signs and symptoms – just like no two snowflakes are 100 percent alike.
That’s because some of these symptoms can last for a few weeks or months while others can last for a lifetime.
How to diagnose MS
Before making the diagnosis official, a doctor must look for any evidence of the telltale damage on the brain, spinal cord or the various nerves that are all part of the central nervous system.
This damage must prove that it is at least one month apart. The doctors also have to make sure they have explored all other possible conditions that feature the same signs and symptoms.
What’s interesting is that a doctor will have the patient undergo a number of tests that can judge a person’s mental and physical functionality, as well as their emotional state of mind. This testing may also include evaluating a person’s overall medical history and neurological examination in an effort to cover all of the bases.
At the same time, a number of additional tests are performed to seek more evidence in support of an MS diagnosis.
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)
This is one of the least invasive ways for a physician to get a good look at your central nervous system without any type of surgery.
Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF)
This clear liquid surrounds the brain and spinal cord, providing a cushion within the skull. MS patients usually have elevated antibodies.
Evokes potentials (EP)
These tests look at the amount of electric activity when your brain is sending a response signal and whether it has been slowed down due to a condition known as demyelination.
The various treatment options for MS
The first thing you need to understand about having MS is that there has yet to be a cure found, even though this disease has been known for more than 150 years.
While scientists are still looking for what could be a more permanent solution to MS, there have been a number of treatments developed in an effort to finding a way to slow down how often the symptoms pop up so that patients can better handle the condition.
For episodes:
Corticosteroids
These prescriptions are designed to help reduce some of the swelling within the nerves. While this can help alleviate some pain, some negative side effects include an inability to sleep, a rise in blood pressure, changes in mood, and retaining more blood.
Plasmapheresis
Also known as a plasma exchange, this procedure removes the liquid portion of your blood while the remaining blood cells are combined with proteins before being injected back into the bloodstream. It is usually done if the prescription above is not providing the desired results.
When it comes to the four different stages of MS, there are a number of treatments that have been developed by modern medicine regarding the symptoms that affect patients:
Beta interferons
This type of medication is actually one of the most common prescriptions written by doctors in an effort to help with this form of MS by injection through the skin or into the specific muscle in an effort to quickly reduce or eliminate how often and how severe your episodes are.
Like many treatments, there are some side effects that include developing signs of the flu. This treatment requires frequent blood tests to see if there is any potential liver damage or if the body is starting to develop antibodies that can neutralize what the medicine can do.
Copaxone
A more simple term for glatiramer acetate, this is one of several treatments that attempt to block the attacks on myelin—the coating around the nerve cells.
Like the beta interferons, this requires injection through the skin and may lead to some form of irritation or reaction to where the needle is injected.
Dimethyl fumarate
Taken twice daily orally, this medicine is formulated to help decrease the number of MS episodes. However, it does increase the chance of feeling flushed, having loose stools, nausea, and a lowered amount of white blood cells in the body.
Fingolimod
This MS prescription will be taken once daily to reduce the frequency of episodes. It is important to ensure regular heart rate checks every six hours since the heartbeat has slowed after the initial dosage. One may also have increased blood pressure, headaches, and distorted vision.
Teriflunomide
Similar to fingolimod, this is taken in an effort to decrease how often the episodes take place during the day. However, the side effects can include liver damage and loss of hair. You should avoid taking this medicine if you are a woman carrying a child in pregnancy.
Natalizumab
Formulated to help prevent any cells from the immune system from traveling the bloodstream to the various parts of the central nervous system and causing damage.
It is often used primarily for those with a more severe version of MS and a secondary option for other forms. The negatives of this medicine have been known to cause an infection in the brain that can progress into a form of leukoencephalopathy.
Mitoxantrone
This type of drug is meant to suppress the effects of the immune system from attacking the nerve cells, but it is extremely likely to cause damage to the heart as you continue to use this treatment option.
Because of this, only the most severe cases of MS are usually given this prescription by doctors and must include the patient being submitted to a special program for monitoring for the safety of the MS patient.
There are a number of treatment options that are used to help with the symptoms of MS:
Physical therapy
You can either meet with a skilled professional, which is highly recommended or start learning the best types of stretching and strength-training exercises to do at the gym or at home.
If you go to a certified therapist, you will find that they have a number of machines and pieces of equipment that can help make the therapy sessions easier so that you can learn to do essential daily tasks without too much adversity.
For those who are dealing with leg issues—i.e., weakening sensations—therapy is beneficial when combined with using mobility aids at home.
Muscle relaxants
Because the body’s muscles endure so many different types of sensations during an episode—i.e., tingling, stabbing, and itching—these can help whenever a person is dealing with a spasm.
Additionally, there are a number of alternative and natural ways of treating MS, which is often preferred by many patients who are seeking relief from the pains and fatigue they are dealing with.
Similar to the benefits of physical therapy, many people want to use things like exercise to help naturally relieve the symptoms – just as much as using acupuncture, meditation, or yoga, which have also been known for other conditions.
In fact, any form of natural relaxation activity can help with the pains and aches associated with MS episodes.
A number of scientific clinical trials have found that these can sometimes be more effective ways of managing the issues related to MS.
There have even been a number of studies from the American Academy of Neurology that medical marijuana taken orally is a way of naturally reliving those pains and muscle spasms. Other forms of this herbal treatment are still being studied.
In addition to this herb, other herbal supplements that have been found to work include Gingko biloba.
The best ways to cope with MS
One of the best things you can do is to start doing some research and learn more about MS because that will allow you to know and understand what is happening inside your body – which can help alleviate some fears you might have.
You also need to ensure that the diagnosis is 100 percent certain and that your physician has performed the proper testing to ensure that no other condition is causing your issues.
Part of learning and understanding everything about the MS condition is learning that the symptoms can happen at any time and anywhere.
That unpredictability can be a scary thought at first, but at least you can start learning to be prepared ahead of time so that you won’t be scared too much later on.
You will also want to make sure you start one of the above-mentioned treatment options right away and stay on track without missing any appointments or sessions – otherwise, you will have a progressively worse case of MS before you know it.
You will also want to make sure you are writing in a journal about your symptoms that pop up—the when and where, as well as what you were doing before the episode started.
Keeping track through this journal will actually allow you to be able to find out what might be a trigger so that you can avoid doing the same things constantly so you have less of a chance of enduring an MS episode.
While there are a number of treatment methods, it might be best to focus on alternative treatments that focus more on natural medicine and less on synthetic chemicals.
A number of patients have found that these methods provide more relief from their aches and pains.
The most important thing to remember is that you can never give up hope because while there is no cure for MS yet, much scientific research is still focused on developing new and effective ways to help people.
Several treatments are currently being reviewed through clinical trials, and maybe one day, someone will find an answer to MS.
Resources to consider
http://www.nationalmssociety.org/
http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/multiple-sclerosis/