Fatigue is a major component of MS. MS-related fatigue is debilitating. Fatigue interferes with daily life, 75% to 95% of people with MS experience fatigue. MS fatigue occurs daily and worsens as the day progresses and is greatly heightened by heat. It cause changes in strength, mobility, and function because it often interferes with physical activity.
Fatigue in multiple sclerosis is unique in that it interferes with all aspects of daily living. All people have felt fatigue as a normal consequence of physical or mental exertion and emotional stress. This type of fatigue is restored completely with rest and / or sleep. Not so with MS-related fatigue. Fatigue is the most common symptom or complaint of those people with MS.
MS-related fatigue is defined as a lack of physical and / or mental energy that is perceived by the individual or caregiver to interfere with usual or desired activities.
Ms-related fatigue is so overwhelming that it prevents those of us affected with it from carrying on with our desired lifestyle. We have the desire to do more, but are totally and frustratingly unable to. I experience mental fatigue daily, as well as almost constant physical fatigue.
When fatigue was an all-consuming symptom in my life: before Copaxone.
I had so many great plans for what I wanted to do but I was unable to maintain the level of cognitive ability and physical activity that I had in the past. I had few recognizable physical limitations or disabilities. But, I knew that I was not the same person that I was before I had MS. I did not have the energy that I so desperately wanted to have. I was unable to perform all of the daily tasks that I would have so loved to perform. It is very discouraging and frustrating. Family and friends thought I should be have been able to do what everyone else my age did, but I absolutely couldn’t. I hated it!
I had some good days where I thought, “This is what it is like to be normal, oh wow! I want this all the time.” Unfortunately, my good days were few and far between.
Research indicates that fatigue develops independently of many other aspects of MS. It can affect individuals with any type of MS.