Neuro note 5: Multiple Sclerosis

    Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is an autoimmune disease that is unpredictable and attacks the protective covering on our nerves known as the myelin sheath. When diagnosed with MS, the protective coating on the myelin sheath gets destroyed which leads to the body attacking itself and can even start affecting cognition. Since learning about this disease in our Neuro Aspects course, I read a blog about a woman named Meg Young, who was diagnosed with MS at the young age of twenty-four years old. In her blog, she recalls her journey from finding out what exactly MS is, her journey on actually getting the diagnosis, and her journey of adapting to her new lifestyle. I chose to read this blog to help deep dive further into my understanding of what exactly is MS and how it can affect someone who has it. Working as a Physical Therapy Technician prior to starting grad school, I came across a few patients who had MS but I never understood what exactly their symptoms were. After learning about the symptoms in class, I've learned that it affects both motor and sensory systems and can even lead to ocular (eye) pain. Another indicator of MS symptoms is Intentional (Action) Tremors, which happen when you are trying to do an action, such as reaching for something, and your hands begin to have a tremor.

    What stuck out to me while reading Meg's blog was the way she got treated when trying to get her diagnosis. MS usually occurs more in females than it does in males, which makes it harder to get a diagnosis as doctors tend to overlook symptoms women might feel and easily blame hormones. Meg saw a few doctors, but most overlooked her symptoms and misdiagnosed her until she finally got some brain scans done. The doctor that had to tell her about her diagnosis basically told her she had MS by putting on a film about people having MS but shown smiling and having fun. Meg was utterly confused and realized that this was how the doctor would be telling her her diagnosis of MS. She tried to hide her diagnosis of MS as she was embarrassed and didn't want to be seen as different, but once she started to tell her close friends and family, she felt a huge sense of support. At first, Meg was experiencing Relapsing-Remitting MS (RRMS), which means that her initial symptoms would get better and go away but would come back again unexpectedly. She experienced spasticity and her limbs would go rigid, spasms with her vocal cords, hand tremors, and much more. Once her symptoms got to a point where she was unable to go through with her main occupations, she had to quit her job and live with her mom as that was her main caretaker. 

    Meg now has Secondary Progressive MS (SPMS), which is very rare but means that it constantly changing and since it is unpredictable, she won't know when it will get worse again. One thing Meg mentioned in her blog was she physically does better when the doctors believe in her and care about her quality of care. It means more to her when the doctors are there for her and not just sending her away with prescriptions. She seems to flourish in that sense. This reminded me of the true meaning of occupational therapy as always look at our clients through a holistic lens and consider all aspects of them when it comes to treatment. Meg mentioned that she realized life was too short to be hiding in the dark about her diagnosis and instead wants to tell her story to give guidance to whoever is in the same boat as her, whether it be about how she's coping, learning about health insurance, disability, finding the right doctors, finding alternative treatments, and learning how to date with this chronic condition. The National Multiple Sclerosis Society has a link on its website to show different ways to cope with things related to one's occupation which I thought was very helpful, especially seeing how it ties in with occupations we consider as occupational therapists.

    I highly recommend someone to read this blog as it gives an insight into someone who has MS and goes into detail about their life prior to the diagnosis and after. I learned to appreciate Meg once I finished reading the blog and understood how hard it was for her to be vulnerable and open to talking about her diagnosis. 

Resources:

Beyond My Battle. (2021, March 11). Meg Young: Beyond my personal battle with multiple sclerosis. Beyond My Battle. https://www.beyondmybattle.org/blog/meg-young?gclid=CjwKCAjwu_mSBhAYEiwA5BBmf58J2T1auMX45YfqkWump16Zxbt3FtG_t9numIf7FunXWEb_12w9xRoC3qcQAvD_BwE