What will happen to me? All I can think of is a wheelchair.

MS varies considerably from person to person.  At the time of diagnosis, it is impossible for your doctor to predict what course the disease might take and how you will be affected in the next five or ten years.  Fortunately, there are specific treatments for relapsing-remitting MS, and some may be helpful for people with secondary-progressive MS who are still having relapses.  In addition, much can be done to treat particular symptoms as they arise.

During an attack (relapse or exacerbation) of MS, the myelin becomes inflamed, and nerve impulses are slowed or stopped.  This causes symptoms such as lack of coordination, weakness, tingling, impaired sensation, fatigue, double vision or bladder problems.  If the inflammation is severe, the myelin may actually be damaged.  However, during periods of remission, myelin repair may occur naturally.  Sometimes severe or prolonged inflammation causes scar tissue to form on the myelin which prevents the nerve fibre from functioning properly.  If the myelin becomes inflamed, but no scar tissue is formed, your symptoms may disappear and you may recover completely.  In many people, inflammation and recovery can go on for years.

Because multiple sclerosis varies so much, no one can predict what will happen in the future.  But do remember, MS is not a fatal disease for the majority of people with MS, and disability is not inevitable.  One study showed that life expectancy is reduced in people with MS by no more than 15 percent.  The study, which followed a number of people for 25 years, also indicated that after that period of time, two-thirds were still ambulatory (able to walk with or without the use of walking aids).  Another study found that disability due to MS develops at a much slower rate than generally believed.  For example, it took 15 years, following onset of MS, for 50 percent of those in the study to need a cane to walk a distance of half a block.

"I use a wheelchair when I have great distances to go such as in a shopping plaza or museum instead of using my canes.  It conserves my energy and gives me more strength to last longer during the day."

Remember that a cane or a wheelchair is an aid to getting around better, not a personal defeat.  And you may need the aid only temporarily until the attack eases, and the disease goes into remission.

Courtesy of Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada