One of the most worrying aspects of multiple sclerosis is the awareness that it is going to cause, or least have the potential to cause, serious brain damage.
You may think that I am being overly melodramatic about a condition that is only an autoimmune disease.
If that is your opinion then i am afraid you are sadly mistaken. Any autoimmune disease has the potential to be life-limiting, is not life-threatening.
An autoimmune disease is a condition where the immune system attacks self. The auto in autoimmune comes from the Greek language and means self.
MS is recognised as a disease of the central nervous system (CNS), When you consider that every function of the human body is controlled by the CNS, you can see why MS has the potential to cause severe disability.
The website msrestart.com has a very detailed account of many of the multiple sclerosis symptoms.
The author can still remember, after receiving his diagnosis of multiple sclerosis, thinking that he could face living with a disability, provided it did not take his intellect.
But, as things have transpired, that is exactly what MS has done. And, as if to add insult to injury, as well as stealing his intellect, MS has stolen his mobility.
One of the first indicators that multiple sclerosis is a brain disease is the onset of brain fog. Mild brain fog just leaves you feeling a bit woolly-headed. In itself, it is not frightening or painful, until you realise what is really happening.
However, as the disease progresses, the brain fog intensifies. This can cause serious short-term memory loss and the inability to understand simple instructions.
And, if becoming absent-minded and simple-minded doesn’t cause you concern, how about discovering that your brain is shrinking!
Yes, in time, MS will atrophy your brain. When multiple sclerosis causes inflammation in your brain, it destroys the myelin protecting the nerves. If the myelin damage becomes permanent, the nerves die. This is not a good situation. Your brain comprises millions of nerves creating trillions of connections.
So, day after day, your brain is getting smaller. Normally, we have ample neural reserve but this spare brain potential is not limitless.
We have noticed that mshealthblog.com which used to be a good source of MS info, now appears to have rebranded to be a more general health website.
Of course, we should always rely on the official MS Society websites for reliable MS mews like this one https://www.ms-uk.org/MSnews