Hi, my first post! My best friend has MS, relapsing and remitting, and she is absolutely exhausted all the time. She has flare ups of different symptoms. Just now her eyes are both losing colour and defintion and she has pins and needles whenever she wakes up. What can I say to her to stop her from worrying? She won’t join any forum or see the doctor and I’m very worried about her. Any advice would be gratefully received. Thank you. x
Hi Moonshine,
The symptoms you describe are a few of the main issues people with RRMS suffer from, the main one being chronic fatigue.
How long has your friend had MS? Has she been offically diagnosed(ie had a lumbar puncture). Doe she even have a MS Nurse or Nurosurgeon?
All the symptoms you describe my wife has had numerous times during her fight with MS, you have to gently reassure her and try and persuade her to seek help and guidance from the professionals listed above.
We have found that it helps considerably if you have a GP that understands the condition, that way you build up a repore with them and when issues do arise they are better able to help.
The eye condition you speak of is called Optic Neurosis and is common amoungst MS suffers.
Speaking personally, my wife didn’t want to acknowledge she had MS when first diagnosed, it took her nearly 2 years to come to terms with the illness, but everyone is different with how they cope.
If your friend wont join a forum like this while she comes to terms with things, maybe you could print a few posts off to show her that people on here go through the same things as she is experiencing.
You friend already has you to help her comes to terms with her illness, even if she doesn’t yet know it. Be patient and keep being there for her.
If you need any more advice or just want to chat you can contact me anytime.
Thank you so much for replying. She has been diagnosed, over a year ago, and is taking Avonex injections every week. What I mean by her refusal to see the doctor is that she just assumes everything is down to either the medication or her condition and that it must be endured, whereas I can see from this website and the forums that there are different treatments available for the wide range of symptoms. The only thing she has agreed to was steroids a few months ago when her eye was really bad.
I hope your wife is keeping well and thank you again. I completely agree that if she had a health professional she could trust it would be a great help, just someone to call and check any symptoms with. All I can do in the meantime is keep googling and subtly offer advice as if it has just occured to me!
Hi, has your friend got a follow up appointment date?
If not, then perhaps her ms nurse could arrange one for her.
or simply just a chat with the ms nurse could be helpful. If the nurse thinks it necessary or that other drugs may help, she could help there too.
You sound like a very good friend to have. it might be hard at times, but try to keep strong for her, yeh?, bless you.
luv Pollx