Mal's Gherkin Pram: What IS MS?

What IS "MS"?

"What is MS?"

► An Illustrated View of Multiple Sclerosis

► Please watch this - thanks.

► (Here's the other clip they are referring to: https://youtu.be/tLhutilgq8A )

This YouTube series is great as well!:
► "Animated MS Symptoms - ShiftMS"

MS is a nervous system disease, where my own immune system attacks the protective covering ("myelin") of tiny parts of my spinal cord (ie." Demyelinating disease"). The name "Multiple Sclerosis" refers to scars - in particular in the white matter of the brain and spinal cord. Mine are mainly in my neck, and tiny fragments in the brain (seeing my MRI scan results was amazing!) The resulting 'scaring' disrupts the way my nerves work, sending confusing messages - in my case, numbness/pins-and-needles to my hands (among other things - and possibly other parts of my body from time to time).

It's like the protective coating ("sheath") around little parts of my spinal cord (in my neck) have come away slightly, sending some of the nerve messages to my hands/fingers (and other things) astray.

My relapsing-remitting MS ('RRMS') is characterized by unpredictable relapses followed by periods of months to years of relative quiet (remission) with no new signs of disease activity.

It's similar (but not related to) what has been happening in my bowel: as an auto-immune disease of unknown/non-contagious origin, it's like the fluid around my spine slowly started attacking the spinal nerve.

Yes... my exact set of conditions are quite rare! Trust me! D'oh!

With MS, everyone is affected differently.

It's not known was causes MS.

There isn't currently a cure for MS, but it is possible to manage it with various treatments that can reduce symptoms, relapses and the diseases' progression, with the help of my neurologist & associated health team. (Oh... lots of Vitamin D helps, too!)

MS won't necessarily affect the length of my life, but it will affect aspects of the quality of my life.

All of this is quite frustrating for me, as I was always quite well health-wise overall, until my mid-40's! (I'm 57 now). I guess the 'joys' of a lifetime lived with stress, anxiety, and depression has caught up with my physical health!