hi. i was just wondering if anyone could help me. my mum got diagnosed with ms when i was six moths old and now she's been told by the doctors than shes not got long and to be honest even though i know what my mums been through i still dont actually know what ms is.... could someone please help me.

thank you.

jo

As far as I know, MS is not a fatal disease, and most MS patients have a "near normal" life expectency. Might your mother have other medical issues along with the MS?

Hi,
Sorry to hear about your mother. Like Marion, I wonder if your mother has other health problems complicating things.

MS is not usually fatal, but it can be, especially when organs are involved. Usually it's medical complications as a result of MS that shortens one's life.

Rather than repeat information that is readily accessible via the Internet, I would encourage you to do some simple searches to find out the basics of MS.

Again, sorry about your mom. I wish you all peace during this difficult time.

Regards,
Julie

hi. she doesn't have any other medical problems that i know of. she is on about 17 different tablets a day though. aswell as having a feeding tube fitted through her stomach. has this happened to anyone else or is it just the type of ms she has?
(secondary progressive.)

I have secondary progressive......and do expect to have a normal long life and other than vitamins, I don't take any other tablets. The meds are administered by injection. Check out the pill bottles and see what she's taking.

I would check out her meds, too. 17 is a lot and one has to wonder if there are some drug interactions going on. Does she get them all from the same pharmacy? Have the pharmacist carefully look at the big picture if you can.

Yes, I've heard of people with MS on a feeding tube because they can't swallow. MS affects people so differently. Secondary progressive in one person might look very different in another. There are so many variables in MS.

It's very hard for me to say this (isn't denial a great coping mechanism?), but I believe my daughter's life will be shortened by her MS. She's already had a heart attack and needs to have a colostomy and she's only 25. She, too, can't swallow at times and loses a scary amount of weight when that happens.

But the future is not in our hands. We must enjoy each day right now. I hope that even with your mother's declining condition you are getting to enjoy her company every day.

Take care,
Julie

i would but unfortunately she put me into care two years ago, she felt she was being a bad mother beacause i was taking the time off to look after her.

hi iml8.
how long have you had s.p? i'll check to see but she doesn't keep them in the bottles coz she can't take them herself. she has a live in carer who does it for her.

I've been sp for a year.............

Please check the meds...............17 is a lot!!!!

My father has had MS for a long time and he was recently given six months to live. He keeps getting pnemonia because he has trouble swallowing and the food gets in his lungs. His hospice nurse told me that he also had a very weak imune system and that if he were to get even a regular cold, he would die from it. In most cases MS does not effect life expectancy, but in some instances it can be fatal.