Hi everyone, I’m Marta.
I’m in my late thirties, live in London, and was recently diagnosed with relapsing-remitting MS. I’ve spent years researching patients’ experiences of healthcare. I never imagined I’d be writing about my own.
If I’m honest, I’m finding it hard to accept. Part of me just wants to hide and pretend none of this is happening.
Right now, MS feels bigger than everything else. I’m here to learn from people who’ve been through it, and hopefully make a few friends along the way.
If any of this resonates with you, I’d really love to hear from you. It would make this all feel a little less lonely and a little less scary.
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Hello be kind to yourself. It takes time to come to terms with what is a life changing moment. It took me a long time I tried to shut it away and didnt really think about it let alone talk about it for years. This was a mistake as talking about it really helped not just others but me understand what is going on and if I needed any extra support. I found it was ok to ask for help and make the best out of what is a pretty crap diagnosis. I know it sounds obvious but eating well and exercise can really help.
Good luck
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Hello @marta_chmielowska . Does any of it resonate with me? It sure does. Some 19 years since I was diagnosed with RRMS and I can still remember that feeling of being totally lost in a dark uncertain world. From what I can remember it took me a good 6 months until ‘having MS’ became my ‘new normal’. People talk about a process of grieving for the future that you thought you had. One thing I did to help me through all that was to get some ‘counselling’ sessions.
19 years after diagnosis, I’m still here, still enjoying life. Everything is harder to do ( but that could be partly as a result of being what must be twice your age !)
I would be very happy to share my experiences etc etc
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Hi Marta 
Welcome to the club. What you’ve said probably resonates with most people on here. I imagine it’ll be a difficult transition for you coming from the outside in like that
I’m 47 and was diagnosed with RRMS earlier this year. I’m not sure that I’ll ever properly accept it but, I do try to take care of myself better now. I think it helps 
Where are you from? - we may have members near you 
All the best mate x
Jon.
Hi Marta Welcome to the forum.
It is a bit of a roller coaster with emotions adjusting to diagnosis so take time for yourself!
Its also a bit of an information overload and i imagine your research background would add to this so be sure to take some time doing things you enjoy.
I was diagnosed this year and always happy to chat.
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hey marta, all of this resonates. I’m 32, had a relapse in sept '24 and diagnosed RRMS in december last year. the last two years have been the worst of my life by some distance, and so in that context this diagnosis has made its own perverse sense. but I’m still in the process of trying to come to terms with it; to really understand that something this bad can in fact happen in real life…
acceptance is an ongoing one and MS feels like this unreal guillotine hanging over the rest of my years. but some things help and I would recommend a holistic approach: meditation and mindfulness and enjoying nature, little things, whatever peace you can find. exercising, sleeping, and eating as well as you can are all advisable. and also just taking time with it - it’s an enormous amount of information to take in after a life-changing diagnosis, and I can say I often felt utterly overwhelmed trying to read through MS Trust/Society in those first weeks because the thing itself was just too massive. use whatever support is there too - friends, family, this forum. as glib as it likely sounds, you’re not alone with it (even if it can often feel like a lonely experience)
the treatments and drugs available now are extremely effective, and there’s a lot of money/research in MS, so there are little pockets of hope out there. but I can say MS can wreck havoc with my mind and mood, and so being patient with yourself on trickier days is equally advisable.
I have a lot to say about all this given it’s been the story of my last eight months, so do reach out if you feel you need some help - I’d like to think I have a few things to offer. look after yourself, and go steady
Ive been there and back several times. Each time it’s harder to pull myself up, it’s not easy but no-one said life is. What ever path you choose make sure it’s right for you, life in general has ups and downs. M.S is just a title given to this shifty disease but it does not define us. Lots of people have problems it’s how you react to it. You are still you. Don’t forget, make it work with you not against you. Learn who you are,what you want. CHOOSE LIFE. 
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