How long can a person live a relatively comfortable live with Multiple Sclerosis!

Wow. All cases are different, but I have had MS since 1997, no treatment at all until 2009. During that time, I met and married my husband, had two kids, maintained full-time employment, and have what anybody would consider a "normal" life. You can go your whole life and never have any more than minor problems, or you can deteriorate rapidly. That is one of the suckiest parts of MS is the not knowing. That was very hard for me in the beginning. I was sure I would be in a wheelchair in five years, but you know what? 14 years have gone by and nothing has changed. Though I do have slower days, blurry vision occasionally, weak knees sometimes, I am still "fine". I truly hope your friend will be too.

Every case of MS is different and unique. However, lots of us live relatively normal lives. There are a total of 60 different symptoms that someone with the disease can potentially experience, and there are different types of the disease. Because MS involves the the central nervous system (brain and spinal cord), cognition, perception, the emotions and motor movement can be affected.

The majority of us get the relapsing/remitting form of the disease meaning that it comes and goes. Exacerbations or flare-ups can comes weeks, months, years or decades apart.

Out of the 20+ year that I have had this disease, about five or six months were rough. During that time I was blind or partially blind in my left eye and could not walk or speak well. My ability to think and remember were also severely impaired. I then returned to normal and no one even believed that I had been that ill.

About 15% of us get a very progressive form of the disease. While there is no cure, MS is not fatal. It is possible to live a very productive life while having this disease. And most of us do not wind up in wheel chairs which is so often what the general public believes.

Tell her it is far from the end of the world if she does have MS. There is lots of life after diagnosis. She probably has a very unrealistic perception of the disease. According to neurologists, the two complaints that MS patients most often mention are fatigue and loss of short term memory.

If you would like reliable information about the disease, you might want to go to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society at http://www.nmss.org

That depends on the type of MS and of course even that will vary from person to person.
I have it and have had it for 20 years or so.
I'm quite happy with my body and expect to die from old age and not MS.
My body is not perfect but it never was:-)
I can no longer walk but I live an independent life.
Tell your friend to try not to find out too much about the disease before she knows for sure she has it.
Otherwise she might spend a lot of time and worry for nothing.
IF she does have it her doctor will be able to answer her questions.
I understand her fears but even if she tested positive this is not a death sentence.

Hi, I think you should tell your friend that she is not going to die from MS.

There is a lot of misunderstanding and misinformation about the illness so as a person living with MS for the past 14 years, my advice is to:

1. Get a confirm diagnosis (a neurologist with MS experience)

2. Learn about MS (http://www.ms-multiple-sclerosis-symptoms.com) is a good place to start

20+ years ago there was very little doctors or medicine could do for folks with MS. Today is a total different story. Tell your friend that she's going to be OK.

www.ms-multiple-sclerosis-symptoms.com