MS is a tragic disease that affects people between the ages of 21 and 50. Women are twice as likely than men to be diagnosed with the disorder. Approximately 2.5 million people worldwide have been diagnosed with the illness. The disease was first discovered or described in 1868 by French Neurologist Jean Martin-Charcot.

Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is an autoimmune disease that affects the nervous system. Our nerve cells are protected by a fatty structure known as myelin; myelin works as insulator for nerve signals throughout the body. When someone has MS, the myelin layer/sheath disintegrates, affecting many parts of the body.

When someone suffers from MS the main things, they experience a range of symptoms including bladder and bowel dysfunction. Memory and mood become affected, a cognitive decline is normal, one often loses their ability to talk and even move. More symptoms than these are not uncommon. Unfortunately, the devastating impacts affect an individual’s entire family as people often struggle to take care of themselves as the illness progresses.
 

Remember the time you were really drunk and no matter how hard you tried to walk you would just fall over? The same lack of control is experienced by an MS sufferer, basic tasks like walking and picking things up become very difficult and can be very dispiriting.
 

Tired all the time? MS suffers describe it as, feeling as though you have just ran a marathon and you can’t hold your legs up anymore, and as soon as you sit down, you slip right into a deep sleep.
 

When nerve signals are not working properly, we feel numbness, much like when we fall asleep on our arm. However, for the MS suffer, this feeling is felt everywhere, even on the body and face.
 

The hands, head and even body goes through bouts of shaking.
 

For many people. sexual problems start to occur, numbness from the disruption of nerve endings make intimacy a challenge. Patience and understanding are needed to make things easier.
 

Ringing and numb feelings around the ears can be confusing, often it feels as though water has been trapped inside the ear and is making irritating noises.
 

When one’s sense of wellbeing is shattered by this chronic illness, it becomes very difficult to remain the same emotionally grounded person that we once were. Irritability and becoming angry quicker is a common experience, after all living with the illness and losing control of one’s body is beyond frustrating. On the flip side many MS sufferers are known to laugh at random inappropriate times.
 

The itching never ends, its like there is an invisible mosquito constantly chipping away at us and all we can do is scratch to the point of no return.
 

One of the toughest things for MS suffers to face is speech problems. Being able to talk fluently without having to think too hard is something that many of us take for granted. When speech is affected, forming sentences becomes an incredible challenge. If you meet someone with MS, kick off the shoes and have a listen because the wisdom that lives inside an MS sufferer is beyond spiritual :P.
 

Headaches become a common ailment for MS suffers. Headaches can be caused for by different factors; not sleeping enough, side effects from medications, stress and infections.
 

All different kinds of seizures can affect people with MS. Some involve uncontrollable shaking movements; others can include moving in and out of consciousness without moving at all and others might experience the “drop attack” where the legs soften up and can’t support the body. There are also situations where someone will appear wide awake, but they are non-responsive and are experiencing a seizure.

 

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Beyond this, common symptoms include vision problems, temperature, swallowing problems and general pain throughout the body.
 
There is no known cure for the disease and often the prescribed medications carry a long list negative side effects. The illness tends to lower people’s life expectancy by 5-10 years. MS is a tough disease to live with, however, through understanding, support and proper care the burden can be lifted and we can move towards living a more fulfilled life.