RR and SP
Is SP always inevitable? I am a worrier of things anyway. I was recently reading all these posts of MSrs who after 20/30 years of RR, transitioned to SP. it sounded grim as if inevitable. I have had MS for 20 years and just now went on Copaxone. But I gotta tell you I have never taken care of my MS all these years and it shows on my MRI. I had no idea all the activity that was happening. I must say I am not feeling the best and I keep reminding myself that maybe the Copaxone is not necessarily meant to make me feel better but maybe it will help behind the scenes. I’m not sure if I’ll ever feel better I am so exhausted and I feel maybe in some form of denial as I haven’t changed my lifestyle as I should. I just wondered about the SP inevitability, how common is it? Is there ever a time that chances of that drop?
@angieh , there's not a clear answer to your question. It is hoped that, with the efficacy of current Disease Modifying Therapies (DMTs), transition to Secondary Progressive MS (SPMS) may be postponed indefinitely. Our brains seem to have a certain amount of reserve to recover from relapses. But, when this reserve is exhausted, then we seem to become SPMS. You can read all about SPMS here :- https://support.mstrust.org.uk/file/store-pdfs/Secondary_Progressive_MS_2017.pdf
Hi @angieh I was diagnosed with SPMS a year ago, my SPMS was deemed as Rapid SPMS as a lot of my symptoms all started to hit me all at once, mobility / balance being the primary issue. As I also have Type 1 Diabetes to contend with, had it since age 11, looks like I may have seen some instances or symptoms of MS as Diabetic Hypo attacks. So, looks like I had RRMS without knowing it, for years. From what I understand, RRMS leads to SPMS, it's all about time and treatment. It may take years and years for SPMS to show up. The point of Treatments are to slow down the disease, so some people may never experience SPMS... lucky buggers.