What is Multiple Sclerosis and how it affects me

Good day fellow Steemians. Today I would like to discuss my health or lack thereof.

Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is a neurological condition that affects your nerves. It's caused when your immune system isn’t working properly. If you think of nerves as wires that carry signals, the Myelin sheath is the insulator. In MS this insulator is damaged and the signals are slowed or blocked. MS is different for everyone in that it can affect you in different ways in different parts of the body. I jokingly refer to MS as Microsoft - if you think of the brain as a computer my operating system doesn't send the correct commands to the right part of the system, causing multiple errors along the way.

In 2007 I was finally given a diagnosis of Multiple Sclerosis having suffered since around 1999. It began with me feeling overly tired but, as I was working 6 12-hour nightshifts a week at first I thought this was to blame. Then I started suffering with dizzy spells and, even if seated, felt as though I would pass out at any time. I visited my doctor and he recommended I take a week off work to rest and he scheduled some tests with my local hospital.

A few months passed and an appointment finally came for me to go into hospital. I was given a lumbar puncture - where a needle is inserted into the base of the spine in order to drain some spinal fluid for tests - not the most pleasant of experiences. I also had the first of what has since turned out to be many MRI scans.

I had to wait a month or so for a consultation with my neurologist where he gave me the news that I had 'probable' MS - there were indicators such as my symptoms, lesions on my brain and an unclear result of my lumbar puncture. This left me in limbo for several years as I didn't have a definite diagnosis. It could be MS, but it could be many other things too. I tried to put it in the back of my mind and to get on with life - I was married at the time with 2 young sons - but there was always a little niggle, something not quite right.

Slowly my health deteriorated and so did my marriage, causing us to split and eventually divorce. My health was worse than ever and I had to give up work. The stress during this part of my life made my symptoms worse - a common thing with MS: if you let it get you down it WILL drag you down FAST. A common symptom with MS sufferers is depression, which feeds the never ending cycle of tiredness and stress which makes your health worse - making you more depressed.

In 2007 I was finally told yes, you do have Multiple Sclerosis as during the course of the past 8 years my MRI scans showed further lesions and I showed signs of relapsing and remitting: most people with MS have a relapsing remitting disease course whereby periods of new symptoms develop over days or weeks and usually improve partially or completely. These relapses are followed by quiet periods of disease remission that can last months or years. It's like living on a roller coaster - you never know from one week to the next how you will be physically. As time has worn on my lows are getting longer and my highs are getting lower and shorter.

Nowadays I struggle to walk, I have nerve pain almost constantly and my left side is considerably weaker than my right. I cannot tolerate heat - it makes my symptoms worse: good job I live in England where we don't often have hot weather. I struggle to get a full night's sleep, never able to replenish my energy levels so I am in a constant state of weakness and tiredness. Luckily I now how a great partner who tends to my every need. She an I have had 2 lovely children together and they all keep me grounded and give me my reason to carry on.

Thank you if you managed to reach the end of this post :-)