Hi, I was just diagnosed with MS this week. I have two small children a daughter 2.5 years old and a little boy who is just 6 months. I’m still nursing my son and had hoped to do so for a while. I’m really worried what the future will hold. While still few symptoms I have several lesions in my spine and still waiting for the result of my lumbar puncture. Part of me hopes I can continue breastfeeding but my neurologist already said it’d be best to intervene strongly in the beginning and taper down later on. People in my surroundings seem to be in denial and not as supportive as I need them to be, especially in helping me get the time to process this (as I said, two small children that demand constant attention…). I feel very lonely with this.
Hi lovely I’m sorry to hear your diagnosis I have four kids one of them is 3 and the other 9 months so I totally empathise with your situation. When I was given treatment options some included options that were safe for breast feeding. The impression I got from the ms nurses that they were more worried about future pregnancies rather than feeding. Whilst your breast feeding your symptoms can stay stable so if you want to carry on them it’s something you have the right to do. Ultimately it’s a pros and cons list and what feels best for you both physically and also mentally.
It is a lonely place to be in when people around you don’t fully grasp your feelings but also overwhelming when you are trying to care for yourself and your babies.
The folk on here are fabulous so don’t be afraid to ask questions and seek reassurance. There is also some good info on the website that you could pass on to your family to help them understand what it means for you possibly in the future x
Hello . I’m probably the least qualified to help on some aspects of your post ( a 71 year old male with grown up stepdaughters !) but do have a good look at the range of Disease Modifying Treatments ( on the MS Society website or the MS Trust) to see which ones might be most beneficial to you.
My comment to all newly diagnosed and worried about the future is that I was diagnosed 19 years ago, I’m on one of the older and less effective DMTs but I’m still walking ( admittedly for no longer than 10 mins steady walking but I spent around 2 hours pottering in the garden yesterday ). MS is no longer the quick route to life in a wheelchair that it used to be and with the newer DMTs you might well have many years of helping your children grow up into adulthood.
If it helps then please feel free to use me and everyone else here to help you in processing. I know it took me months and I think everyone goes through a sort of grieving process- grieving for the loss of the future they imagined for themselves. I certainly felt my life was over but in the years after diagnosis I carried on working , got married 
, and life carried on not quite as normal but enjoyable.
Please do ask me any questions or to just voice your worries
Hello, I am so sorry to hear about your diagnosis, especially with young children. Mine were young when I was diagnosed 22 years ago, five and three years old. I also breast fed them when they were babies. I was initially diagnosed as benign and have never been offered disease modifying drugs. My main MS symptoms are extreme fatigue and brain fog at times. I understand the difficult choice you may have to make between disease modifying drugs now or continuing to breastfeed. My advice, for what it’s worth, is that if you have to choose between the drugs and continuing to breastfeed, is to accept the drugs. If you have breastfed for the first 6 months, you have given your child a good start. It’s far more important for them that you remain as fit and active as possible while they are growing up. That is what they will remember when they are older, not how long you breastfed them for. As I said, it’s only my opinion, for what it’s worth, based on my own experience. Ultimately, you have to make the choice that you think will be best for you and will be happiest with in the long term, with no regrets.