Please give me info on this disease?!
Question: My 25 year old sister is at the hospital right now. She went to the emergency room because her face was swollen drastically on one side. The doctor just diagnosed her today with multiple sclerosis. She is being assigned a room right now. I am watching her kids. How bad of news is diagnosis? Please give me any info you have on this disease. Thank you very much.
Answers: My 25 year old sister is at the hospital right now. She went to the emergency room because her face was swollen drastically on one side. The doctor just diagnosed her today with multiple sclerosis. She is being assigned a room right now. I am watching her kids. How bad of news is diagnosis? Please give me any info you have on this disease. Thank you very much.
Your sister will need a lot of support ( esp. emotional) from family and friends. Here is a bit of info. Anything you are not sure about please email me. I was devastated when I got my diagnosis but my family was there to support me. Be strong for her.
MS is a disease of the central nervous system ( brain and spinal cord) it is thought to be autoimmune.
Multiple Sclerosis Symptom Facts
The symptoms of Multiple Sclerosis may be mild or severe, chronic (long-term) or of short duration; may be transient (appear and disappear very quickly)
Symptoms and signs may disappear or may fluctuate in character and intensity
The sometimes bizarre and transient nature of symptoms may be mistaken for a psychiatric condition
Approx. 40% of Multiple Sclerosis patients have Relapsing-Remitting Multiple Sclerosis (RRMS)
Approx. 20% of Multiple Sclerosis patients will initially be diagnosed as having Benign Multiple Sclerosis
Less than 5% - 10% of patients actually have benign Multiple Sclerosis
55% of patients with Multiple Sclerosis will develop optic neuritis at some time or other during their lifetime. 45% of patients do not
Approximately 5% - 10% of Multiple Sclerosis patients experience trigeminal neuralgia (tic delaroux) at some stage during the course of the disease
Only 15% of patients with Multiple Sclerosis will have optic neuritis as a first symptom. 85% will present to their physician with a different symptom
Between 20% - 40% of women with Multiple Sclerosis have a relapse within the 3 months post partum (after giving birth)
Complete or partial remission of symptoms will occur in approx 70% of patients, particularly during the early stages of the disease
Males have a higher tendency to develop Primary Progressive Multiple Sclerosis (PPMS)
Females tend to experience more relapses than men
5% of Multiple Sclerosis patients exhibit an inappropriate euphoria
Approx 50% of patients with Multiple Sclerosis experience cognitive impairment such as difficulty with concentration, attention, memory and poor judgment
Approx 50% of Multiple Sclerosis patients will suffer some form of mental disturbance such as depression, mild dementia or organic psychosis
2/3 of patients with Multiple Sclerosis will develop disturbance of sphincter control at some stage during the course of the disease
The major bowel complaint is constipation although fecal incontinence may occur occasionally in some patients
Depression is common and unrelated to cognitive impairment although it may worsen existing cognitive difficulties
Approx 10% of patients with Multiple Sclerosis will suffer severe psychotic disorders such as Manic Depression (Bipolar Disorder) and paranoia
In approx 80% of Multiple Sclerosis sufferers, heat will cause a temporary worsening of symptoms (Uhthoff's Phenomenon). The heat source may be externally produced, for example, a hot bath; or the result of physical exertion. Removal of the heat source / cooling normally, though not always, eliminates the problem, although this can take from a few minutes to several hours.
60% of neurological signs experienced during hyperthermia (i.e. Uhthoff's phenomenon) are new to the patient.
Some heat sensitive patients find a cool bath or swimming temporarily relieves some symptoms
Relapsing-remitting Multiple Sclerosis patients develop, on average, 20 new lesions per year and will have between 1