Iv had MS symptoms for a year. Having lumbar puncture to confirm diagnosis. My vision and balance became affected very suddenly a few weeks and has worsened rather than improved leaving me with double vision along with lots of other annoying symptoms. Anyone had this and know anything that helps or miracle drugs? I have no idea how long this lasts which is making me miserable. Just curious how long this has lasted for others?
hello nn196411
You are going through a very stressful time.
My GP was a great help and prescribed Citalopram, a mild anti depressant which took the edge off.
So anything that helps in managing stress is great.
Since learning how to meditate that helps the most.
Breathworks Mindfulness Meditation is available online, worth a shot because there will be lots more stress to come.
Hopefully once your diagnosis is confirmed, you will be able to start on a treatment which will reduce the impact of your symptoms.
Good Luck, Be strong. Be Safe.
Look at your diet and lifestyle and see if it can be made more healthy - plenty of vegetables, herbs and spices, including onion family, crucifers eg wild rocket, mustards, tatsoi, watercress, various berries - red, purple, blue ones are usually high in antioxidants and flavonoids. It is very easy when you are fatigued and feeling low or anxious to go for unhealthy comfort foods or fast foods, so try not to drift down that road.
And as Carole said, try to reduce stress levels. Make time for doing things you enjoy doing, to keep your spirits up. Make sure you give yourself a good nights sleep every night. Gentle exercise - just what you feel comfortable with - don’t over exert, you don’t want to up fatigue levels, when you’ve got an exacerbation of symptoms.
Think ‘well-being’ rather than ‘magic bullet’. Look into alpha lipoic acid. A very useful antioxidant. According to trials in 2017 for people with SPMS it reduced the rate of brain atrophy, at a comparable rate that was achieved with Ocrelizumab in people with PPMS. In MS, like in so many other chronic illnesses, oxidative stress at the cellular level, is one of the main mechanisms driving the disease, and is accompanied by mitochondrial dysfunction again at cellular level. So reducing oxidative stress and helping the mitochondria ( the powerhouses of our cells) function better is a rational strategy, and plenty of recent evidence / research to support that approach. There are a number of other supplements as well as lipoic acid that may be beneficial - so do look into supplements generally that help against oxidative stress and support mitochondrial function. It is actually what athletes do to as part of their nutrition and supplement programme, to make sure that their bodies are functioning at their optimum. We’re not wanting the gold medals though, just want to give our brain and body the best fighting chance. We’re like the old classic car, the athletes like the formula 1 car. We both need high quality servicing and the right fuel!
It can take weeks to months to resolve or partly resolve. Fingers crossed you’ll get back pretty much to normal. If you start to see any gradual improvement, make a good mental note, as that will help you through it.
Hey hey so I’ve had many symptoms over the past 3 years however they’ve always been spaced out and mri was clear and lumbar puncture was invalid … past 10 days I’ve had all my usual symptoms close together today In AE they confirmed they will be investigating me for RRMS! Seeing it on paper scared me a little I’m booked in for another mri, lumbar puncture & also a nerve test?
Can someone enlighten me on RRMS! I don’t want to ask google id much rather ask people living with it or like me under investigation
thanks.
xxx
Hello Tamtam
Have a look at https://mstrust.org.uk/about-ms/what-ms/types-ms You are right not to randomly google MS. You can trust the MS Trust, who have hundreds of pages on different aspects of MS. Or you can use this site, see the box marked ‘About MS’. Both sites are trustworthy.
Best of luck
Sue