I don’t know what to do. I saw consultant neurologist. I was diagnosed ms last August lots of lesions in brain and spinal cord. New MRI shows 1 new lesion in brainstem.
She said to me that my symptoms are so bad because of depression. I don’t think that can cause incontinence, foot drop and double vision. I have brain fog and she said that’s all low mood rather than MS.
Hard to manage all of this. I’m low due to how ms has affected everything
That would make me hopping mad too. I suppose she might mean that low mood and rumination make a bad situation feel worse, which might well be true up to a point, but if she was the one tripping over things while trying to focus well enough to see or remember where to find dry knickers in a hurry, she might think again about how to phrase things.
Hello @jmr . I find myself wondering- do you think that you are depressed and if so are you getting treatment for it?
Depression and anxiety is pretty common in people with MS. Not surprising really! It’s a scary condition which brings a lot of uncertainty. When I was diagnosed I knew there was a fair chance of becoming depressed and got myself put on Citalopram. I also got myself some counselling to help me work through all my feelings and fears . More generally I try to do mindfulness/ meditation.
From my own experience, depression/anxiety can make MS symptoms worse as can any stress whether e.g stress on the body caused by high temperatures, infections or, particularly in my case the anxiety of my wife’s cancer diagnosis and treatment ( it’s been a tough 15 months and my MS symptoms have been a lot , lot worse).
I note that you have young children and I’m thinking that must make your stress and anxieties a lot worse.
I suppose that what I am thinking and urging you to do is to seek as much support as you can get to help you deal with the horrible mental and emotional impact of having MS . All of us with MS have to learn to be as kind and helpful as possible to ourselves.
hello! I hope this doesn’t sound glib, but you’re not alone with this. I was diagnosed last december after a relapse in sept 2024, and I can say the symptoms experienced and the diagnosis itself have wrecked havoc with my mood, mind, thoughts, and feelings across that time. even with good people around you it can be a very lonely experience too: it’s yours to live with, and it’s a weird one to live with.
I would second what @Hank_Dogs says and make sure you take care yourself as much as life can allow and make the most of whatever peace you can find. meditation and mindfulness has helped me, as have the basics: trying to get as much sleep as possible, eating as well as possible, and as much exercise as possible. I was given counselling options on diagnosis and am on a waiting list for CBT; talking therapies and medication can make a huge difference too. accepting that MS is an inherently lousy hand to be dealt, that it comes with an almighty mental load to process, deal with, and carry, is not easy. when I have a flare up and struggle to walk, or feel exhausted from nothing, I do not feel particularly gracious or level-headed about it. I just hate it because it’s sh*t
finally, I want to share a pearl of wisdom that was passed onto me recently: “this too shall pass”. I don’t always believe it, but when I do, it helps.
look after yourself, and go steady
I’d trust your own body too. Depression can make coping harder, but symptoms like foot drop, double vision and incontinence deserve to be taken seriously. I’ve used CenterWell Pharmacy to manage prescriptions, refills, price checks and medication delivery, and having everything organized in one place made life a bit easier while dealing with ongoing health issues.