My wife is currently going through a bunch of tests to explain MS like symptoms. Though both her brain and spine MRI, as well as her evoked potential tests have come back normal, the doctor has not yet ruled out MS. At this point, we are basically coming to terms with the reality of an eventual MS DX. She has many of the classic symptoms from numbness to speech problems. The symptoms were negated during the pregnancy, which is another sign that it may be MS. We will eventually figure this out - more testing on the way- but my question to those of you have being facing life with MS is how do you do it? Are you able to leave a full, albeit affected life, in spite of MS? My wife is only 28 - so I am hopefull that this will be figured out in our lifetime, but I was looking for some input on coming to terms with this.
I'm 30, was diagnosed late last year. Like your wife I'd been dealing with tons of symtpoms off and on over the years. Technically I retired at 28. I'm going to sound like a cliche, but life is what you make of it. As long as you both accept whatever limitations she has and work with them instead of against them life is full of promise. Might not be the same promise as yesterday, but its still a promise
I hope so too. There are some new medications out there that are helping out quite a few people with MS . I would suggest that you take a look at the National MS Society web page, look at the medications - get some questions together for your wife's doctor. also there is a new med called tysabri (they have a website as well) that has shown some very interesting encouraging results to reduce the number of attacks. Eat right and exercise. . drink water. Also it might be a good idea for your wife to keep a journal of her symptoms - just for reference for her doctor. also there are lots of other things that can cause MS like symptoms ie lymes, B12 def, etc. .
I was diagnosed 4 years ago, when I was 16. I don't find my life has changed that much, besides the fact that my limits are lower than what they were and that I need much more sleep. The first lesson I learned was that I can't control everything. It was a blessing in itself because many people don't learn that until they are much older. I have found myself to be much less stressed and that I've stopped worrying about the small stuff.
As for living a full life, I do. This varies from person to person as each person has different symptoms and their MS progresses differently. Personally, I taught skiing for years despite my symptoms, I work out about 10 hours a week, I'm a cheerleader for my university football team, I dance, I swim, I do board diving... It generally takes me longer to learn things plus I need more food, water and breaks than the average person, but I don't preset limits for myself. I'm careful not to overdo it, but I'm not going to keep myself from doing what I want just because I have a disease.
