I was diagnosed 4 weeks ago i was told by MS nurse to have immunisations which i have. Im confused because shingle jab is 2 course jab. Can I start treatment before 2nd jab?
Hi, Iâm very sorry to hear of your diagnosis. I had to have the MMR jab and they typically donât start treatment until after your second jab and a further blood test to see whether it has worked.
Itâs a frustrating wait!
Ask your MS nurse. It may depend which DMT you are going to start.
Obviously it depends on the treatment offered and this is just a guess.
âIt is recommended that anti-CD20-treated patients are immune to the VZV before starting treatment. Patients should also be offered the pneumococcal (Pneumovax) and VZV (Shingrex) component vaccines to boost immunity before treatment. Antibody response, but not T-cell responses, to neoantigens (new vaccines) is blunted in patients on anti-CD20 therapies. Therefore, patients on such therapies can receive inactivated vaccines and mount a partial response to them. Live attenuated vaccines are not recommended for these patients. â
Thanks for all your help. I saw my Ms specialist today. I canât start my treatment until 30 days after my last jab of shingles. I feel Iâm emotionally not been supported through this time and told my specialist this. I suffer from anxiety and depression and feel Iâm not supported by MS nurse or team. No one has really explained anything to me.
I am sorry that you feel emotionally unsupported. Quite honestly, hospital specialists and their staff tend to focus in on their specialism - thatâs their job. Part of that job is to help you understand whatâs wrong and support you in making good decisions about your treatment. But I think youâre setting yourself up for disappointment if youâre expecting more from them than that. Time was when the GP would be the one to take a more holistic view of you as a person rather than a bag of ailments. The best ones still do, but it seems to me that that is becoming rare. Many years ago when I was where you are now my kind GP, now long retired, put her hand on mine and said âyour neurologist is interested in your MS, Iâm interested in youâ. She was a GP in a million even then, and if you have one like that then Iâm very happy to hear it. Generally though. I think that friends and family are the emotional mainstay for most of us.
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It is a really hard time, adjusting to diagnosis and having to go through all these waiting periods for things to get started.
Sometimes healthcare staff can be so busy trying to âget throughâ the list of patients that they seem to forget that you exist between appointments!
It takes time to come to terms with MS and I think itâs particularly hard that there are so many unknowns, itâs like standing on the edge of a chasm. Keep coming back here to ask questions or just share how you feel. MS is different in different people, but at least we are sort of in the same boat.
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I also had a GP who helped me with emotional support,but she has also retired. My new GP puts everything on record which i can see through NHS app. Im suffering and canât talk to her because it goes on my record.
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Hi louie. So sorry to hear of your emotional struggles. A diagnosis of MS is something that can throw the mentally/ emotionally strongest of people and certainly affected me . My response to any mental/ emotional upset is to grab whatever support if can get and after my MS diagnosis I got Citalopram from the GP and also found a counsellor. Nothing to be ashamed of - anxiety and depression can get anyone and everyone and from teachers to university lecturers to NHS consultants Iâve known very successful people struggle â unable to workâ seriously at times. So, Iâd do urge you to get whatever support and help you can get.
Can I ask why are you worried about things appearing on your medical record? It is confidential
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I have now decided to have infusion treatment i feel itâs the best for me and my family.
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I waited 2 years for therapy. When I had my first appointment to see if I understand physiotherapy. I was just diagnosed with RRMS and they said i need to accept my diagnosis and get support from MS specialist. No support from anyone
Itâs a sad and harsh fact that the NHS just doesnât have enough money or resources ( and wonât improve until we all political parties and people agree to fund it through higher taxes). I guess that as MS isnt life threatening or an emergency itâs competing against the like of cancer, heart conditions and similar for funds and will never have enough staff whether neurologists , MS nurses etc. Oh well.
I have tended to do as much as I can to help myself and years ago came across this as a useful resource
If you have a quick look you will find guidance on mindfulness and meditation ( including some audio sessions) as a means of keeping stress , anxiety etc under some control. I hope it is of some use
I very annoyed my video consultation was cancelled at last minute. I was hoping I would get a date to start my treatment now i have to wait til 12th December. I was really upset and feel I donât know what is happening.
I very annoyed my video consultation was cancelled at last minute. I was hoping I would get a date to start my treatment now i have to wait til 12th December. I was really upset and feel I donât know what is happening.
That sounds stressful. It might be helpful to contact the consultantâs secretary to find out what is going on. They might be able to provide you with some answers.
In the meantime, some distraction might help
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