Hi everyone today, hope you are all having a good day.
Just a quick question, i have a letter from my consultant which was also sent to my doctor and in this letter are some abreviations which i have not got a clue what they are and neither did my doctor bless him.
He wrote " I put her EDSS at 3", and he also wrote “DMT candidate”
Please could anyone shed some light onto these for me i would be most grateful.
Thanks
Sharon.xx
I might be wrong but I think the EDSS score is the level of disability,eg what is affected and to what degree and DMT as disease modifying drugs…on here we mostly say DMD ,the injectables.
If you google EDSS it will show you how its broken down.
Pip
Hi Sharon,
EDSS is the Expanded Disability Status Scale, which is the most widely used method of measuring MS-related disability. It goes for 0 to 10, with 0 being no detectable impairment, and 10 being death (it’s very rare to die as a result of MS, but the scale has to include all shades of this hugely variable disease).
The scale has been criticised as focusing disproprtionately on walking, and not so much on other things people with MS might have wrong with them - but it’s still the benchmark most neuros use.
DMT just means Disease Modifying Therapy (sometimes also referred to as Disease Modifying Drug, DMD). In most cases, but not always, the recommended drug will be some kind of injectable.
Check out a website called MSDecisions for more info about the most widely prescribed DMTs. Results so far suggest they are all much of a muchness in terms of effectiveness, which is why you’ll probably be invited to choose one, rather than have it foisted on you. But they still have subtle pros and cons you might want to consider. The choice depends mainly on your own personal priorities - there’s no right or wrong.
And of course, you don’t have to have them at all - but if you’re considering not, that will be something to discuss with your consultant.
Hope this helps,
Tina
x
Hi Sharon,
The EDSS stands for Expanded Disability Status Scale; see http://www.mult-sclerosis.org/expandeddisabilitystatusscale.html
DMT is Disease Modulating Therapy using DMD; Disease Modulating Drugs; Interferon; Capaxone; Rebif. The key word here is Modulating e. g. it alters your immune structure; does not reduce it; alters.
George
Good evening all,
Thanks for all of your replies to my query about a few abreviations, at least i will be able to go to my GP now and tell him what they stand for as he did kindly ask me to find out.
Hope you all have a good weekend
Sharon.x