A question about disability..
Right, a bit of an insensitive question and I am sorry to ask this but curiosity has got the better of me.
I got diagnosed in March 2012 with highly active RRMS and got put straight on Tysabri. I'm certain my first relapse was Spring 2010.
As far as walking etc goes, you would never know anything was wrong with me right now. When people find out about my diagnosis they are deeply shocked.
I know its different for everyone but I think about it a lot and I just want some sort of idea...
How much time passed for you from diagnosis to wheelchair?
I know treatments are getting developed all the time and it will surely change the disease course for future suffers, I'm just curious.
I guess I'm trying to picture my life in the future.
Hiya Moshy. Not everyone ends up in a wheelchair. At diagnosis (2 yrs ago) my MS support worker gave a small percentage of people with MS end up needing wheelchairs, but it tends to be in the later years (50+). As you know, everyone's symptoms are different. Some people have more sensory issues and never suffer with their legs.
My first episode was 1985/6. I had some bad relapses late 90's and early '00's. I acquired my wheelchair in 2011. It sits in the garage or in the car most of the time, as I manage with my two sticks (the first acquired late 90s, the second, 2008/9. But, that's just my progression. MS is a manageable condition. If I'd known then what I know now, I'd probably be in a better situation. In a way, it's probably better to develop MS now, although ideally it would be better to avoid it all together! :)