I am wondering on what basis they diagnosed you with ms? Your symptoms are fairly non-specific neurological symptoms associated with a range of conditions; you don't describe having many of the standard ms sensory/movement symptoms; and you don't have any lesions on an mri. It certainly does sound pretty "benign"!

Don't know much about it myself yet but here's a link to a study of ms with details of the classification of 'benign'

http://www.Nationalmssociety.Org/research- 2004sept28.Asp

hope it helps

ste

I have been diagnosed with benign ms. I did some reading on it from the mayo clinic. It described my life with ms for the last 20 years. My last brain scan showed no lesions. Anyone else out there with b.M.S.?

Approximately 10-15% of those with ms have the benign form. This form of ms has rare, very mild attacks separated by long periods with no symptoms, does not worsen with time, and produces no permanent disability. As the defining characteristic of benign ms is the long term absence of symptoms, it can only be diagnosed after ten or more years.

The phrase “benign ms” is sometimes used inaccurately to describe a period of mild symptoms following diagnosis and subsequent disease activity may show that this period of no symptoms was instead a time of remission, and that the person actually has relapsing/remitting ms.

Benign ms tends to be associated with less severe symptoms at onset.
About 1.1 million people worldwide have multiple sclerosis, and the incidence appears to be increasing. Onset of symptoms typically occurs between the ages of 15 and 40 years, with a peak incidence in people in their 20s and 30s. Women are affected twice as often as men. Multiple sclerosis occurs worldwide but is most common in caucasian people of northern european origin. It is extremely rare among asians and africans.

Source: http://www.Remedyfind.Com/hc-ms-benign.Asp

additional resources:
http://www.Mstrust.Org.Uk/information/a2z/ types.Jsp
http://www.Mult-sclerosis.Org/news/nov2001 /medlinepredictingabenigncourseforms.Html
http://www.Guide4living.Com/multiple-scler osis/what-ms.Htm


all the best,

kathy browning
free autoimmune teleseminar every wednesday evening
http://www.Healthydivas.Com

My doctor believes I do have benign ms. I am thirty five. My ms we believe first began when I was twenty one. I was pregnant. My legs twitched so much during the pregnancy that they became permanantly tight for about a year. Finally it went away. I believed this was related to pregnancy and was so young I did not say anything. Then when I was thirty I began getting electric shocks down my body when I looked down and was unable to move my left arm. That was when I was diagnosed with lesions in my brain spinal cord. I began taking one of the abc drugs. I am thirty five now and other than some tiredness and fatigue, numbness, tingling and twitching once in a while which go away shortly, I have nothing and my MRI is unchanged, was told lesions have gotten smaller, one not even visible anymore. All total it has been about 14 yrs. I am healthy. I consider myself VERY lucky (knock on wood). My doctor seems amazed. I am amazed. I don't know what I do. I do smoke (bad), but I have always eaten very healthy and been active. I have eaten mostly fruits, vegetables and meat all my life because that is what I like to eat and am thin with athletic build. I do believe my meds have helped because once I stopped taking them and in about six months had the worse numbness I had had since age thirty, but went away a couple months after starting my meds again and not change on MRI. Some muscle atrophy because of injecting and I have been injecting the same med for five years, but worth it. Beginning to wonder where else to shoot myself though, it leaves big dents. I will take that, much better than the alternative. SO...I believe there is hope, but I know that the course is often out of our hands. I have just been lucky so far.