Saturday, September 1, 2018

Types of Multiple Sclerosis

There are four types of Multiple Sclerosis that one could be diagnosed with. My doctor said I have Relapsing Remitting (RR) but I think it's really too soon to definitively diagnose me within such a short amount of time. With RR MS you'll have an onset occurrence as I did January 2018 where your symptoms come on, last for a little while and then calm down but one will never get back to where they were before. The relapsing part means I will have another episode later in life but it could be months or years later. I should get better from where I'm at now (I hope) but I'll never return to where I was. 80%-85% of people with Multiple Sclerosis have RR MS.

The second type is Secondary Progressive (SP) where after having RR MS for a while you progress to the point where your symptoms don't plateau and go down but you progressively get worse. This is usually later in life. This happens to 65% of people with RR MS. This could be my future.

The third is Primary Progressive (PP) which makes up 10% of cases. Here one just gradually and continually get worse over time.

The last is Progressive Relapsing (PR) where one will continue to get worse with spikes that will subside but they really don't return to where they were. Though similar to RR MS their symptoms are worse and harder to handle. Though only 5% of people with MS have PR.

Here is a good video describing each type of Multiple Sclerosis:



It's been eight months since the onset and though I am not as bad as I was in January I'm nowhere near where I was before the onset. The hypochondriac in me fears PP MS but only time will tell. I now use a cane in the evening because that's when I'm at my weakest, every time I've fallen it was in the evenings and even now my legs will start to give out on me and I have to catch myself.

Though looking back I had slight symptoms that I had no idea were MS and I got over it in a few months so maybe I will get over this and go a few years before the next episode. Again though, only time will tell.

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