When you get an illness like bronchitis or the flu, you know you'll be feeling better and functioning normally within a week or so. A chronic illness, like multiple sclerosis, is different. It may never go away and can disrupt your lifestyle in many ways. But, by keeping a positive attitude, you should be better able to cope with the changes.
How Can I Maintain a Positive Attitude With Multiple Sclerosis?
Multiple sclerosis should not define who you are. You are the same person you were before you were diagnosed -- you just have a heavier load to bear. The best thing you can do is to learn how to make your life better. Here are some tips:
Get help if you need it. The most important step you can take is to seek help as soon as you feel less able to cope. Taking action early will enable you to understand and deal with the many effects of MS. Learning to manage stress will help you maintain a positive physical, emotional, and spiritual outlook on life. A mental health care provider can design a treatment plan to meet your specific needs. Strategies can be designed to help you regain a sense of control over your life and improve your quality of life. At times, if depression is present, medications may be ordered to help lift your mood.
Find a support group. Support groups can be a very useful sharing experience. They provide an environment where you can learn new ways of dealing with your illness. You may want to share approaches you have discovered with others. You will also gain strength in knowing that you are not facing hardships alone.
Consider counseling. Sometimes, people have problems that are better addressed in a one-on-one atmosphere. By participating in individual counseling, you may be able to more effectively express sensitive or private feelings you have about your illness and its impact on your life and relationships.
Take care of yourself. Eat healthy, exercise, learn techniques to help you deal with stress better, and get enough rest.
Keep a diary. Write down your experiences, symptoms, and feelings. Not only will this be a valuable tool for your doctor, but it will also help you learn to express yourself.
Take control. There is often such a sense of uncertainty with MS that it may help to take control of the things in your life that you can control. You should also consider some of your life-planning issues, such as finances, work, adapting your home, and other practical issues. Be proactive in your health, get educated, and ask questions.
"Life Hacks" are a popular trend sweeping the internet, so I decided to make a list of my own life hacks for people with MS. These are tips, tricks, and products specifically intended to make life a…
Embryonic Stem Cells Offer Treatment Promise for Multiple Sclerosis
Read the full article Embryonic Stem Cells Offer Treatment Promise for Multiple Sclerosis at NeuroscienceNews.com.
Scientists in the University of Connecticut’s Technology Incubation Program have identified a novel approach to treating multiple sclerosis (MS) using human embryonic stem cells, offering a promising new therapy for more than 2.3 million people suffering from the debilitating disease.
The research is in Stem Cell Reports. (full access paywall)
Research: “Human ESC-Derived MSCs Outperform Bone Marrow MSCs in the Treatment of an EAE Model of Multiple Sclerosis” by Xiaofang Wang, Erin A. Kimbrel, Kumiko Ijichi, Debayon Paul, Adam S. Lazorchak, Jianlin Chu, Nicholas A. Kouris, Gregory J. Yavanian, Shi-Jiang Lu, Joel S. Pachter, Stephen J. Crocker, Robert Lanza, and Ren-He Xu in Stem Cell Reports. doi:10.1016/j.stemcr.2014.04.020
Image: The researchers compared eight lines of adult bone marrow stem cells to four lines of human embryonic stem cells. The image shows Human embryonic stem cells. A: Stem cell colonies that are not yet differentiated. B: Nerve cells, an example of a cell type after differentiation.This image is not connected to the research and is for illustrative purposes only. Credit Nissim Benvenisty/Russo E/PLOS ONE.
Supporting Your Family Member or Friends with Multiple Sclerosis
Understanding MS and Symptoms
MS is a disease that affects the body’s central nervous system (brain, spinal cord, optic nerves). MS can affect the way a person walks, talks, sees and thinks. No two people experience the same combination or severity of symptoms. The best way to find out what your loved one is experiencing is to ask them directly.
Common Symptoms of MS
• Fatigue or tiredness
• Blurry vision
• Numbness or weakness in the limbs
• Loss of balance
• Dizziness
• Memory loss
• Slurred speech
• Loss of bladder control
Learning they have MS can be an especially emotional time for your loved one. Feelings of fear, grieving, guilt and even clinical depression are not uncommon in someone dealing with a chronic illness. It’s important to be patient and compassionate and to provide a safe environment where they can talk openly about what they are experiencing.
Best Ways to Support A Person with MS
Do your own research. The more you know about MS, the more you can help your loved one. Look at MS organization Web sites, or browse the health section at your local bookstore.
Talk to others. There are a lot of people who have been in your situation and have experience with supporting loved ones with MS. Talking to these people - including doctors, members of your local MS patient groups, other families or online support groups – may provide valuable advice on how to give your loved one the support they need.
Ask your loved one with MS to tell you what they need. Each person has different needs, and these may change day to day. The best way to make sure you are giving the right support is to ask for guidance and direction from the person you want to help.
Continue to include them in social activities. You may need to tailor activities to meet their physical needs, but making your loved one feel included is important to their happiness and well-being.
Don’t pity your loved one with MS. Feeling sorry for your loved one won’t help the situation. Staying positive is a better way to show them that you care.
Self-Management: Taking Charge of Your Multiple Sclerosis
As a chronic condition, treatment of multiple sclerosis often includes several healthcare providers involved in the medical decisions and direction of your healthcare planning. This system of professionals providing testing, diagnoses, and treatment options is considered the medical management model of chronic disease management.
While medical management is an important piece of maintaining good health when living with this condition, the impacts of MS symptoms are not limited to your twice-a-year visits to your neurologist. You experience the symptoms of MS everyday, and, as such, your symptoms require management everyday.
Self-management is a philosophy of chronic disease management that acknowledges that living with MS is an ongoing experience. And it has been found to be an empowering strategy to improve health and reduce negative impacts of symptoms for people living with many different types of chronic disease ranging from diabetes and heart disease to HIV.
This insider’s perspective puts you in the best position to make decisions about which medical and non-medical strategies you use to manage your MS. You are also in the best position to reduce negative impacts that your MS symptoms have that prevent you from living your life the way you want.
Putting Your Knowledge to Work
The question is, how do you translate your expert knowledge of your MS experience into positive life changes? Self-management training programs are currently being conducted through some research universities and health clinics across the country to teach this approach to people living with chronic diseases. This training involves a combination of education and skill-building opportunities to give individuals the tools they need to manage their symptoms. As a result, they can then participate more fully in life activities that are meaningful to them.
Maximizing Your Skills
Self-management encourages you to look at your well-being with a holistic, proactive approach. As an effective self-manager, you learn to go beyond a putting-out-the-fire approach of treating MS symptoms and their effects after they cause distress. With skills and practice, you will be able to anticipate common disruptions that symptoms cause in your life and be able to take preventative steps to reduce or eliminate the negative impacts those disruptions might cause. As a result, you will enjoy many benefits.
Research has shown that people who are self-managers have more confidence in their ability to address problems such as pain, fatigue, and depression. They are able to better communicate their needs to get improved support from others and strengthen relationships. There is also evidence that feeling more in control of symptom management improves pain, mood, psychological functioning, and daily functioning.
Getting with the Program
Self-management programs may differ somewhat in the specific skills taught, depending on the disease and symptoms needing to be managed. Yet all of the programs are about being an informed healthcare consumer who knows about your own condition and treatment options. In addition to the skills listed above, self-management programs may also include instruction in decision making, resource utilization, and individualizing skills.
Just kidding, but if I don’t prepare for this dash I will die.
So anyone who knows me will know I have MS, and it’s pretty lame (pun!) and if you know me well enough you’ll know that not only am I not fitness savvy at all but I sort of hate it. I’d never been to a gym before a month ago and...
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