Hi there -- I guess I just need to talk
about this, and I don't want to share it
with anyone I know. In january I suddenly
realised there was something wrong with my
vision -- like looking through steam and I
was "missing" the colour red...Went off to
the hospital and i'm told it's optic
neuritis. This didn't seem too awful, but
now I find out that this means about a 50%
chance that I will go on to develop ms.
Unlike many people facing this diagnosis,
I am very aware of what this could mean.
My father had ms, probably very very
badly. Although it took a long time to
diagnose in those days, by the time he was
35 he had serious trouble walking, and he
was in a wheelchair at 40, and partly
incontinent. I wonder now if his paranoia
and aggressiveness might also have been
down to brain lesions.
But I had thought I was past the risk age
-- other people i've know with ms all
seemed to show symptons when quite young,
by about 20 or 25. I'm 40 now and have
never had any other symptom before.
I'm looking for reasons to be positive --
maybe this will be all i'll have: a little
blurriness in one eye and two different
ways of seeing colours, one bright and one
washed out. Has anyone else out there
started getting symptoms at a relatively
advanced age? What is the prognosis for
me? Is there anyone who can reassure me
that I won't end up like my father?
|
NicNat
New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 13 Feb 2004 Posts: 7 Location: Canada
Posted: 04-01-04 23:50pm
1) most common demographic is 20-40,
females
2) ms has been shown to be slightly more
common if a parent has it
3) your father's symptoms won't
necessarily be the same as yours-depends
where the plaques form in the brain
4) knowledge about ms and medications for
ms are much, much better these days. They
can do much more to improve your quality
of life than they probably did for your
father. Ms is not the discouraging
diagnosis it once was.
|
Bookjunky
New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 15 Apr 2004 Posts: 13 Location: Ohio
Posted: 04-15-04 15:48pm
It is not the end of the world. Many of
us with ms have lives with a degree of
contentment even 20 years later.
|
CarolynA
New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 29 Oct 2004 Posts: 1 Location: Sierras
Posted: 10-29-04 10:30am
I am on my second bout of optic neuritis.
I am 57 and had the 1st bout in 1968 -
yep, 30+ years ago! At that time I was
still in my teens and they had no idea
what the cause was. We did absolutely
nothing about it and in 3 or 4 months it
went away. Ten years later I got valley
fever & it kicked off an autoimmune
response. I spent a year in bed with
that combination! At that time I was
diagnosed as having sarcoid. I have been
"sick" off & on over the decades but I
literally run circles around all my
friends. Sure, I have bad spells & a
few odd symptoms , but it really isn't all
that bad. I just had my eye examined
again yesterday and the results of my mri
are back. No lesions. Again, we are
going to nothing & let it clear up on
it's own.
Here are some things i've learned about
optic neuritis and about being
autoimmune:
the 3 most common causes of optic neuritis
are lyme, sarcoid, & ms. But, it can
also come on for no visible reason, go
away, & never bother you again.
The "optic neuritis treatment trials" list
the results of 3 different courses of
treatment. It also gives statistics.
Check it out on google. My doctor &
I totally agree with the no treatment
option.
Nutrition, exercise, and a positive
outlook are the best things you can do for
yourself!!
Pamper yourself!
Ms, and all the other autoimmune diseases,
affect everyone differently. Just
because someone else has bad symptoms does
not mean that you will get the same
symptoms.
On days when you are feeling bad, have
brain fog, have lots of pain, or are
really clumsy, call "time out" and don't
feel guilty about it!
Above all, stay positive & stay busy!
Read up on optic neuritis. It almost
always goes totally away.
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