Can i live normally with ms

In addition to taking medication to control your MS symptoms, you may want to consider complementary and alternative treatments. Acupuncture may provide relief for some MS-related symptoms, including pain, spasticity, numbness and tingling, bladder problems, and depression, and a few small studies suggest that it may help with fatigue, pain, mood, and quality of life, per the NMSS.

Reviews of published studies have mostly shown that synthetic cannabinoids have a positive effect on pain and spasticity. Many people with MS also use massage to prevent or relieve spasticity, pain, poor circulation, and pressure sores, notes the NMSS. You may be concerned that telling your employer that you have MS could affect your job security, employment options, and career path. Before disclosing the disease at your workplace, learn about your rights under the Americans With Disabilities Act.

But you are not obligated to share news of your MS diagnosis with everyone in your life. Instead, pick the people who will be most supportive and helpful as you learn to live with the disease. If you're struggling with depression or other mood changes, ask your doctor for a referral to a mental health professional who understands the challenges you are facing with MS and can help.

Although there currently is no cure for MS, newer treatments can slow the progression of the disease, improving your quality of life and helping to prevent disability. But treating these complications can greatly reduce the risk of a shortened lifespan.

Apart from cases of severe MS, which are rare, the prognosis for longevity is generally good. Prognosis is affected by the type of MS. Primary progressive MS PPMS is characterized by a steady decline in function without significant relapses or remissions. Every case is different, so there may be some periods of inactive decline.

But the steady progression continues. For the relapsing forms of MS , there are several guidelines that may help predict prognosis. People with MS tend to do better if they experience:. But since the disease varies so much from person to person, it can be difficult for doctors to predict whether their condition will worsen or improve. According to the NMSS, around two-thirds of people with MS are able to walk without a wheelchair 2 decades after their diagnosis.

Some people will need a cane or a walker to remain ambulatory. Others use an electric scooter or wheelchair to help them cope with fatigue or balance difficulties. The severity of the disease varies widely from person to person. It made me feel like I could help my body continue to do as much as possible for as long as possible. Tolson is the first to admit that MS can shift the physical and emotional dynamics between partners. You have tingling and numbness in your legs and in your arms and just being brushed by somebody may feel awful," she explains.

Joining separate support groups helped Tolson and her husband by allowing them to vent about her condition without taking any frustration out on each other: "I don't try to pretend what it's like being in his shoes, because I don't know what it's like to be worried all the time that the person you love is going to get worse.

Tolson's main concern is "staying as great as I am right now," she says. The former Rockette was back on stage two years ago for an alumni performance, and she's been teaching dance on the weekends ever since retiring from Radio City in Fourteen years ago, Bryant began to experience vision loss and eye pain, which "felt like someone was squeezing my eyeball with a wrench," he says.

He saw an eye specialist but was told that everything was fine. Another year passed before Bryant visited a neurologist who informed him that he had optic neuritis, inflammation of the bundle of nerve fibers that transmits visual information from the eye to the brain. For many people, it is the first indication of MS.

All I remember is walking away thinking, MS is the disease that puts you in a wheelchair ," he says. Bryant went through a difficult relapse in that landed him in the hospital. I felt extreme tingling throughout my body, and I couldn't stop throwing up. I went to rehab and pretty much had to learn how to walk again.

The more the team knows, the more they can help you. There's no special diet that's been proven to slow the progression of MS, but a generally healthy, balanced diet can help you manage specific problems such as fatigue and constipation. It can also reduce your risk of other health problems, such as heart disease.

Regular activity and exercise is important for both general health and fitness. Research has shown specific benefits of exercise for people with MS, including reduced fatigue and improved strength, mobility, and bowel and bladder function. Smoking is associated with an increased risk of a wide range of health conditions, and may also increase the speed at which MS gets worse.

Find out more about stopping smoking. If you have significant disability related to MS, you'll usually be encouraged to get a flu jab each autumn. But vaccines that contain live organisms, such as the BCG TB vaccine and one form of the shingles vaccine , may not be suitable if you're having treatment with some but not all of the disease-modifying therapies.

These treatments can weaken your immune system, which means live vaccines may not work or could make you ill. Coming to terms with a long-term condition like MS can put a strain on you, your family and your friends.

It can be difficult to talk to people about your condition, even if they're close to you. Dealing with the deterioration of symptoms, such as tremors and increasing difficulty with movement, can make people with MS very frustrated and depressed. Inevitably, their spouse, partner or carer will feel anxious or frustrated as well.

Be honest about how you feel, and let your family and friends know what they can do to help. Don't feel shy about telling them that you need some time to yourself, if that's what you want.