Great stuff Dan. Great. 
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Hi Dan
Thanks for your encouraging words and Im glad you are doing so many good things. And hope you are feeling ok atm. My problem atm is that I seem to have lost everything that mattered to me. And when I try to be philosophical, the 8 loud noises in my head make it very hard. The noises make it hard to relax, to forget about teh MS, to get on with things that would give me a sense of purpose. Also the symptoms are getting worse so quickly that it kind of frightens me. Im trying to find a way through and this website, and replies from you and others, help a lot.
Thanks again
Rupert
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How did I cope?
I was 37yrs when diagnosed, although my first symptoms were when I was 30, after my daughter was born.
Fortunately, I have a naturally optimistic out-look on life, and I am a quite, calm person.
Soā¦ I think I took itā¦ reasonably well, I was just relieved to finally know what was wrong with me.
I find other people are more of a problem - they feel I should be ādoingā something.
I wish they would mind their own business, and leave me alone to deal with my horrid symptoms.
The other thing that bothers me is - dealing with the NHS. I donāt think I need to elaborate with this audience.
Fay
PS. Still waiting for my appointment with Wheelchair Services.
If I had an electric wheelchair I would be coping just fine.
Thatās normal to feel frightened, we can all relate to that. But with time, you can learn & adjust & grow. A friend of mine wrote a song with the line āEverythingās going to be OK, but only when youāre definition of OKās been redefined.ā Thatās something I can relate to a lot. Redefining what āOKā is can be painful, but it is possible.
By the way, have you ever tried mindfulness meditation? I think it could help with the tinitus. I took part in a mindfulness study for the MS Society a few years ago, and found it very helpful for dealing with things like pain & tinitus.
Dan
Hiya bob my name is nichola I understand what your saying, going through the same thing myself I got diagnosed in november 2016 I was fine for a bit but I had or what felt like a breakdown last wensday and I have been feeling so low since I have signed myself up for counselling hope that helps I had been out for a drink so I feel ashamed as I made a right fool of myself in front of everyone but thats life I feel really scared because of the unknown about the future Iām 32 with a 12 year old daughter so Iām terrified of whatās lurking inside me everyone says positive mental attitude or just forget about it till something happens easier said then done but Iām going to set goals for myself now something too look forward too Iām sick of ms ruling my life so it wonāt be easy but Iām going to surround myself with fun positive things even if itās just going for a walk or doing something that makes me feel good Iām also going to start going to a ms group when I find one where I live I did not want to at first but I donāt no a lot about ms and how other people cope think that will be good for me also talking on here has made me feel a lot better you can vent and it doesnāt matter because we are all the same on here so itās nice to hear other people say donāt beat yourself up or forgive yourself for feeling the way you do because they have or are going through the same thing hope you start feeling better soon Iām not going to let this beat me and nor should you anytime you need to talk vent or anything post a message on here it will be nice to hear how your getting on take care of yourself and remember who you were before all this donāt remember the ms again easier said then done still trying to get there myself donāt no if my message has helped you I hope so x
Hi Dan
Just saw your post. Thanks. I like the title of that song. I tried mindfulness and it worked like magic until the tinnitus noises became too loud to drown out with music. Now when I clear my mind of negative thoughts, it fills with loud screeching etc noises. Not sure what is worse. Hope you doing OK Danā¦
Cheers
Rupert
Hi
Thanks for your reply. Its really appreciated. Hope u doing OK today. I will write a proper response soon. Just that my head is a bit crazy with tinnitus noise atm.
Rupert
I had something similar a couple of years ago in, at the back of a long queue to put hand luggage through the X-Ray machine at Lima airport with my hiking poles. The security people spotted me and beckoned me out of the queue for (I thought, heart sinking) the routine quiz about the hiking poles and whether they were allowed on the flight and so on. But no, they had spotted that I was struggling and were inviting me (and Mr alison100) to the top of the queue, where we where whisked through in no time and were settled in the bar with a couple of Pisco Sours before any of the rest of our party got anywhere near. There are occasional compensations, as you say.
I was dx the year before you, by the way.
Alison
I think I viewed dealing with the MS dx in the way I went about giving up smoking some years later.
The only thing that worked was getting through now, this minute, and keeping on doing that. If every I let myself look into the future, I would fall to pieces at once. Giving up smoking was like that - my resolve would have crumbled in an instant if I had looked beyond just not having the next cigarette. So I kept on just not having the next cigarette, as I had kept on just getting through each newly dx day, many of which were very far from pretty.
So, for me, the First Aid for being newly dx was to resist looking too far ahead. Not that I succeeded always or even often. But it was the only way to stay afloat in those early days.
Alison
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Hi Iām new to here
i have recently been been diagnosed in august 2016 due to going blind in one eye for about 8 weeks until they ran some tests and MRI scans and found lesions on my brain and my lumbar puncture came back positive too. Most days I donāt feel like my diagnosis has sunk in properly? Other days I am well aware and it makes me feel so low, my blindness is now heat and stress sensitive so comes and goes daily when it pleases. I have also been admitted to hospital with dizziness and unable to speak, however they never treated it as a relapse. My symptoms arenāt as bad as others I have read about, but mine include blindness, dizziness, trembling hands and pins and needles, I am suffering with extreme fatigue during the middle of the day in which I have had to step down my position as assistant store manager due to not being able to work to my previous capabilities. I am just wondering how other people cope with everything having to change in life, my biggest worry is that everything is already changing for me and I feel as though my MS journey has only just begun, I am only 25 and everything seems to be crashing down around me. What is there I can do to make myself more prepared for my future living with MS.
Thank you 
Iām still in that limbo state of not quite knowing whatās going on! I think Iām coping mentally by just keeping going and trying to live as normally as possible if that is possible strangely getting up going to work everyday routine it helping with that I do have days where I find it hard because i have numb legs and tingling walking driving are difficult but with no diagnosis I just have to give myself a āmental slapā and say hay keep going for thr kids and your family it still may just be something else The only thing Iām changing pre diagnosis is my car Automatic is a must due to fuzzy clutch leg!!
I have no problem coping with SPMS.
I understand my disease.
I know how to access the care I need via my GP/MS Nurse/Community Rehab Team.
I know, with assistance, how to fill in DWP forms.
I am not depressed.
I do not need counselling.
I have hobbies to keep me busy.
I am happy.
Fay
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There are just two things missing from the Ashley Walsh piece:
No Unicorns
No Rainbows
So she has a Dx of MS at 26 (that means that there is a good chance of treatments that will slow disease and give her a lot of years with only minimal problems).
She has turned this from āHow I copeā into āHow you can copeā.
Sorry, dear, you know exactly nothing about my MS, or about what I have to cope with.
After my first attack, I was walking (just a bit slowly) around the cobbled streets of Old Town Prague (I was there for a NATO conference). Ten years later, I have gone from no sticks to one stick to two sticks, to a 3-wheeled walker to a 4-wheeled walker and a FES.
Build a support network? This is fine if you are a yuppy used to networking. If you are 60, 70, 80, and most of your friends are dead - where is your network now? We have two good neighbours (currently in Greece), one friend (with two adult children at home) at the other end of the road, one friend (couple actually, about a mile away), and that is our āsupport networkā. I can get help from my nearest MS Therapy Centre (12 miles away). My wife has Parkinsonās. Her neurology nurse left before Christmas - there is a replacement now in post, but she has not tried to make contact.
We are each otherās carers.
Que Unicorns
Que Rainbows
Ignore reality
Geoff - a (retired) psychologist who is an expert on MS (his own).
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Bob, your open and honest post has lead to the most real and honest conversation on here. Thankyou. Either I am not low enough or not brave enough yet to be really real, ājust keep smilingā. Is feeling thin & to read honesty helps.
thank you, hugs
I tend to have some issues dealing with having to live with MS. Some days are definitely easier than others. I have been dealing with a lot of pain for the past week or so. I am actually going to the doctor today to see what they have to say. One way I have handled dealing with this frustrating illness is I started a blog. It has been a great way of chatting with people literally all around the world. I would love it if anyone on the site would be interested in following my blog. My site is fightmsdaily.wordpress.com
It has been so helpful for me and I am working on building my network to reach more people!!!
Hello! Please think positive of your life! I have MS too, but I do what I can do!! I donāt let myself down as long I can walk! I know you feel alone but you can do it! Yes!! You can!!