Rose Ann's Multiple Sclerosis Page

About Me:

I was a volunteer advocate with the Minnesota Association for Children with learning Disabilities for 5 years.  I helped the parents of children with many different special needs during those years.  I never would have guessed that I too would have Special needs in my life some day.  In 1991 I was diagnosed with MS. I have always said I was very lucky to be diagnosed later in my life.  I was 43.  I experienced periods of dizziness and extreme fatigue for about 4 years before but they would come and go.  

I don't do anything that I have to be on my feet for longer that 30 minutes at a time.  I have to be able to sit down and rest then I can get up and go again.  I am very heat sensitive so if it is above 70^o I have to be careful.  How much I move around.  I get extremely weak quickly in the heat.  I also can't get to cold I don't shiver like normal people.  I will start to shake uncontrollably.  I can't carry anything and go up or down stairs.  I have to watch the satires to keep my balance.  I can't work above my head or bend over and do much without loosing my balance.  My fine motor skills have deteriorated quite a bit and I can't do anything repetitive for very long.  Like if I sweep the floor I have to rest before I mop.  That about sums it up in other words I can still do stuff but it takes me a lot longer.   I try not to make plans for like next week to go shopping with a friend.  I never know from one morning to the next how I will be feeling.

Today I thank god every day I get up and everything is still working. maybe not as good as it used to but still working. I am a firm believer in positive thinking helping to keep me going. there are good days and bad but health people have a little of both too.

About MS:  

Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is an illness diagnosed in over 350,000 persons in the United States today. What is known about MS is that it is signified by more than one (multiple) areas of inflammation and scarring of the myelin in the brain and spinal cord. Myelin is the tissue that covers and protects our nerve fibers. When this occurs, nerve "communication" is disrupted. Thus, a person with MS experiences varying degrees of neurological impairment depending on the location and extent of the scarring.  The cause of multiple sclerosis is not yet known. However, it is increasingly thought that a virus may provoke the illness, but researchers still question this idea. Genes and an imbalance in the immune system may also influence an individual to the illness.

There is no one group of people who "get" MS. Considered a lifelong disorder, trends show that MS often strikes between the ages of 30 and 50, and mostly women. For unexplained reasons, MS is most commonly found in Canada, the United States, South America, and Europe.  MS is not considered a fatal, contagious or directly hereditary illness, although a susceptibility to MS may be inherited. 

Symptoms include fatigue, which can be overwhelming though a person may appear well. In addition, loss of coordination, muscle weakness, spasticity, numbness, slurred speech, and visual difficulties often occur. Most acute symptoms, but least occurring, may be paralysis, muscle cramps, bladder or bowel problems and sexual dysfunction. Only 25% to 30% of persons with MS become disabled to the point where they may need a wheelchair. Memory problems are fairly common among people with MS. Memory and reasoning problems may affect between two thirds and three fourths of those diagnosed with MS to varying degrees. However, one should consider other issues that may lead to memory problems such as depression, other illnesses, and normal absent-mindedness. 

MS LINKS:
Multiple Sclerosis Foundation
Multiple Sclerosis Association of America
Multiple Sclerosis World
Doctor's Guide to Multiple Sclerosis
International MS Support Foundation  
MS Warrior
Association of spousal caregivers
Ask The Experts! 
Pharmaceutical Information Network
Help for people who have difficulty paying for medications. 
The Swank Diet for MS 
USDA's Food & Nutrition Research Briefs
MS Education Network
MS Foundation Research Page