Here's Johnny - MS (sens)

Yes, it is a horrible illness that my Gran had and my SIL has.

I wasn't aware of the programme tonight though.

Katybell - there are hitchers who have MS - I'm quite upset reading your short post as the issue is close to my heart atm (lthough I know your intention won't have been to upset) could you perhaps put more information into the thread title i.e MS related (sens)

Thanks, how do i do that?

x

Sorry Maxi xx

You should have the option to edit topic in your original post.

Thanks x

No worries Katybell, as I said you weren't to know. I only clicked on your post as I thought you were away to say that the film The Shining was on ?

What channel was the programme on? Wouldn't mind seeing if I can catch it on iplayer or the like.

? Maxi , I think it was on more 4

I wish I had seen this programme as I would like to know more about MS. My MIL is supposed to have it, and was diagnosed about 20 years ago. However I thought it was a muscle wasting disease which means its progressive, she should be getting worse shouldnt she?

She has some kind of mental unbalance which puts this diagnosis into question for H and I.

Excuse my ignorance but would someone mind explaining this illness in a bit more detail to me, and if necessary correct me on the above assumptions.

?

It's not a muscle wasting disease as I understand it, it affects the nervous system. There are two forms of it, or so I've been told; a fast one which is the type where the sufferer might very soon be in a wheelchair or whatever, and a much slower type. This is the sort my mum has, and has had for 35 years now. She's still mobile, was able to work until she retired at 60 and the only outward signs are that she's sometimes clumsy with her hands and often walks with a stick. It's also intensely painful for her quite a lot of the time. It is possible to have MS and not look ill or disabled for many years.

Thanks PL, it might be similar to what your Mum has, as I know she has problem with her hands and feet and has had operations. I've never known her to use a stick though.

Thanks

It's the nervous system relative of the auto-immune system lupus.

I'm sorry about your Auntie Katy. ? Your gran/sil too Maxi and your mum PL. x

My dad has progressive degenerative MS which means that he is trouble with his mobility and is reliant on a mobility scooter (he can't stand wheelchairs). He has had this for about the last 10 years but was only fully diagnosed around 7 years ago. He did get worse fairly gradually until late 2003 when he had a virus which knocked him for six and he really lost the ability to walk any further than a couple of yards at the time. This was when he was retired on medical grounds. Since then he's been more or less the same and has reached somesort of plateau.

A couple of weeks ago he fell off his scooter and broken his left leg which put him in hospital for about a week, now he's back home and doing physio every day to try and regain the limited about of mobility that he had before. We're all hoping that this accident is not about to signal another spell of progression for the illness so far things seem to be okay.

? for everyone else out there whose family and friends are or have been affected by MS

The problem with MS is that is hard to diagnose, treat etc as it affects every person differently, and that affect can change from relapse to relapse

I was diagnosed at 19, am now 27 when i had my 2 children the symptoms all but disappeared and things were great. Now 12 months after the birth of my daughter I am relapsing and suffering again. Its a odd disease and is so unpredictable, I can be fine one minute and unable to feel or move my arm/leg the next. Right now I am supposed to be doing my Uni coursework but cant as I cannot hold the pen. I get angry as I know many sufferers do with the fact I am 27 and somedays feel 90.

Havent seen this programme but will definately look out for it again, thanks for bringing it to my attention

I think you're probably thinking of MD (muscular dystrophy). A friend of mine has this and has been wheelchair bound as long as I've known him (since I was 12 and he was 7). They told his parents he wouldn't see his 18th birthday, but to date he's still going, although he does need assistance with his breathing now. He's now 23.

? to all those suffering, or have family/friends with MS. Thank you for the kind words and informative posts.

No I'm not, I'm just being a bit ignorant. Its MS she keeps saying she has but H & I, especially H doubts her. I've seen her medicine cupboard and its full of tablets, I also know she goes to the hospital regularly. I just thought that as she has had it for so long that at some stage it will become so bad that she cant drive/have long haul holidays for a month at a time etc etc.

It really is an illness that affects every sufferer differently which is part of the horriblness about it. You never know how you're going to end up.

My gran's symptoms were so bad that she was unable to move at all by herself and had to be fed using a stoma the day before she died whereas I know people who have had the illness longer than she did who simply walk with a stick. If you have progressive MS then you only know that you will degenerate to a degree but not how much or when.

My MIL was diagnosed with MS 2 years ago, but they suspect she's had it for at least 7 years, maybe longer. She has gone downhill, a bit. She also has good days, and bad days. They don't know exactly how bad her condition is until she has another bad flare up, and they can do more tests.

The father of an ex of mine was diagnosed in 1995, and to date, still hasn't had many flare ups.

To clarify, I wasn't suggesting that your MIL has MD, not MS. I was suggesting that when you were thinking of a muscle wasting disease, perhaps MD was the one you were thinking of.

MS sufferers don't necessarily need medication or hospital checks so that may be for something entirely different. Just because she's not wasting away before your eyes doesn't mean she hasn't got MS.