Hi I’m hoping anyone out here can help me with this or give any advice. I’m currently going through the process of being diagnosed with MS but I’ve been told by the hospital I’m with, are 95% sure it’s ms I’m just waiting result’s for a spinal thing. Apologies for not using any smart terms I’m only 14 and don’t really understand a-lot medically wise. I’m hoping anyone can give me tips or advice with how they coped with the news I feel so lonely and like any dreams I had or even going to school are out of my control and I’m not sure how to feel better in such a dark time when my hole life feels so unpredictable and my body feels so different ,drained and fuzzy 24/7 now. I just feel so alone and I’m angry at myself for this happening 
Hi CC 14
Right now, it feels like everything you wanted from life has been snatched away, you need time to grieve for what might have been, this is natural and there is no right or wrong way to feel, there is no time limit - no “you can feel this way for 3 days then get on with life”, only you get to decide when you are ready to re-group and decide on how to go forward.
When you are ready, you can take a look at all those things you wanted to do and see if they can still be achieved, perhaps not in the exact way you had dreamed, but with some adaption a lot will still be possible for you.
The first thing to do is actually a don’t - Don’t go to Doctor Google! Googling symptoms and/or MS usually brings up lots of negative stuff which really doesn’t help.
You’re dealing with a lot right now, school, exams, teenage hormonal changes, and potentially MS thrown in to the mix - its no wonder you are feeling drained. There are things you can do to get some control back.
Try to eat healthily - believe me, that can be tricky regardless of age, but it does help a bit, and make sure you are drinking enough water to stay hydrated.
Develop a good sleep pattern/routine; go to bed at the same time and get up at the same time (even at weekends and during the holidays); try to get about 8 hours sleep - as a teenager, you actually need a lot of sleep to help your brain manage everything.
Ask your Doctor / Parent(s) about taking a Vitamin D3 supplement, you should be able to get this on prescription - it might help with the fuzziness.
I have had MS symptoms on and off since I was 15, but they were always explained away as something else, “being a teenager”, “studying too hard/late”, “too many late nights at the pub”, “being clumsy”. I was diagnosed last year at the age of 55.
I have had, and continue to have a relatively full on life; I’ve done most of things I had dreamed of doing, got a motorcycle licence, worked on a number of different career fronts, travel a lot, have been to many gigs and concerts, surfed, still to Taekwon-do, climbed mountains - I haven’t climbed Everest, but that’s only because I know I get altitude sickness so it wouldn’t have happened MS or not.
The thing is, when you are ready, you will be able to figure out how to get the things you want to do done.
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Hi CC. A diagnosis of MS is hard for anyone to take in and I really do feel for you at having to deal with one at a young age. However! Please, please don’t despair.
I’m sort of at the other end of my life and was diagnosed in my mid 50s. Perhaps like you I thought that was the end of my life. I saw myself having to give up on everything and being confined to a wheelchair. The short story is that 17 years later I’m still walking, still generally enjoying life, still do new things and so on. So please CC, and I really do feel for you, but don’t despair and most definitely don’t give up on your dreams - ever! I shan’t lie so yes you might find that your dreams are a little harder to achieve (and if they included breaking marathon running records then you might need to lower your sights 
). You might have read that new MS treatments are always being looked into and that is certainly true that even over the last 10 years or so.
How did I deal with the diagnosis? When back home I just sort of froze and sat in the dark for ages. From then on hospital procedures sort of took over. I think I was in a bit of a daze for quite a while but I was put on a Disease Modifying Treatment ( a weekly injection for me but since then a whole range of other options have been developed)had meetings with an MS Nurse and slowly over the next couple of months my mind sort of adjusted to having MS.
I didn’t have to give up work , in fact didn’t have to give up much at all and really my life didn’t change much. Seventeen years on I can’t walk for more than say 15-20 minutes and hot weather is difficult to deal with - but that’s sort of it !
Take heart in what TheresaB says as well. And do eat a good diet! Seriously - I know everyone says ‘eat a healthy diet’ but it could make a big difference if you have MS.
If you have any questions about my experience then please don’t hesitate at all to ask
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Thank you this has made me feel better I’m trying my best to stay positive and look forward to going back to school whenever I can return as I’m still recovering from an attack :,) thank you for telling me about the vitamins I’ll make sure to have a word with my doctor about them!
Thank you so much! This had made me feel a lot more better and I do agree things may be harder I’m going to try and think positive and push through seeing how much you and others were able to accomplish!
If it is possible and not too much of a bother could you give me some tips with healthy diets? I’m struggling to find out what foods could be really good for me and how to mange/get into one 
Hi CC.
I tend to follow advice on diet - and things like Mindfulness and exercise- suggested by Overcoming MS ( the suggestions are for things you can do to help your body and brain in reducing the impact of MS . Things you can do ‘in addition to whatever medical Treatment you are given). The suggestions were put together by a Professor of Medicine at an Australian University who has MS himself). There is an OMS website where you can find all the suggestions including on diet.
I find that following the general diet guidelines quite easy. Basically: cut right down on saturated fats ( animal fats including eg milk - i now use oat or soya milk , cream etc - and cheese - which is a slight shame as I used to like ‘strong’ cheeses but Oh Well)
Increase unsaturated fats- eat more fish including ‘oily’ fish ( salmon, sardines, mackerel etc) and if you can, I also take a couple of desert spoons of flax seed oil each day ( it tastes OK, not great but OK)
Eat a good variety of veg
I’m not totally strict with my diet and occasionally eat e.g a Muffin or bit of cake as a treat and I do eat ‘lean’ parts of chicken e.g chicken breasts every week.
Do have a look at the OMS website - there is a lot of interesting and useful stuff there. Personally, I found the OMS suggestions very good not least because it left me feeling that there were things I could do to help myself and I wasn’t just in ‘the hands’ of MS and Medical treatments.
Someone called Alison100 on the forum also has similar suggestions on diet.
Another thought - it’s probably just a turn of phrase but you talked about ‘pushing through’. I think that one of the ‘tricks’ in dealing with MS is actually being kind to yourself - body and mind. I know it’s hard but it’s going to be best to relax, don’t stress or push body or mind but try and keep both active . It’s a bit of a balancing act. So far as I know physical or mental stress and anxiety tends to cause inflammation which can make MS symptoms worse. So ‘stay cool’
I know you will be in a period of turmoil after your diagnosis but honestly, the outlook won’t be a bad as you perhaps you first feared.
Also, Have a look through the MS website at current research. There are a lot more treatments than when I was first diagnosed and there is a real possibility of re-myelination treatments before too long . It’s just my guess but I think there is a good possibility of full treatment in your lifetime and hopefully within my life.
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Hi CC. I was just thinking that your Mum, Dad and any brother , sister must also be in some turmoil. My parents when they were alive were devastated and it ended up with me trying to reassure them !
So, and this might involve a bit of role reversal, but do try and reassure them that a diagnosis of MS isn’t so terrible as it used to be. Point them in the direction of the MS Society website ( including the news on research and developments) perhaps to the Overcoming MS website for stuff on exercise, foods etc.
All the best
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Hi CC_14
You’re young, strong and can do anything you want -you may just have to do things slightly differently than originally planned, but you’ll get there.
I am at the other end of the age scale to you, but I too was floored when I was diagnosed a little while ago, I was angry at the world and myself for this happening, and have asked several times ‘why me?’, but then I thought about all the people out there that are worse off than me, people who don’t have the love and support of family, people on this forum and I realised that this is just a bump in the road, it’s something that will add to my character, not take away from it. Sure I will have to make some adjustments in life - diet, exercise, work etc, but there is nothing that can’t be achieved if you put your mind to it.
What are you hoping to do for your future? What do you want to do when you leave school? There will be options out there for you, it just may mean you take a slightly different route than you had originally planned.
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Hello,
I was a teenager too when I was first dx with multiple sclerosis.
I honestly tried to deny it and just put it at back of mind; like you I wanted to finish study, even when I had extra year due to only one eye of vision and the shooting pains (Lhermitte’s Sign), and at least get a start out in life, you know?
It worked for me, can’t say it works for everyone, but the MS did actually get better on its own and went away.
Yes it briefly made a return in my 20s and then went away again, by that time I decided to give DMD a go, just reduce the liklihood of devastating relapses again.
It again made a return in my 30s and has stayed ever since.
Probably the one bit of advice I can give is to think positive always: go and follow your ambitions, don’t let the disease rule your life.
I wish you all the best,
JP
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