And since optic nerve damage is one of the first recognizable symptoms of MS, doctors have a chance to identify the disease potentially before the patient suffers the physical limitations generally associated with its advanced stages.
When your optometrist detects optic nerve inflammation, that can indicate a diagnosis of MS. Patients with MS often also have double vision, blurred vision, or report pain when moving their eyes.
In MS, diplopia, or double vision, occurs when the nerves that control your eye movement are inflamed or damaged. The nerves control muscles that allow eye movement.
The two most common eye movement problems in MS are double vision (diplopia) and involuntary eye movements (nystagmus).
People should consider the diagnosis of MS if they have one or more of these symptoms: vision loss in one or both eyes. acute paralysis in the legs or along one side of the body. acute numbness and tingling in a limb.
MS itself is rarely fatal, but complications may arise from severe MS, such as chest or bladder infections, or swallowing difficulties. The average life expectancy for people with MS is around 5 to 10 years lower than average, and this gap appears to be getting smaller all the time.
One of the first questions many people have when they're diagnosed with MS is: “Will I still be able to drive?” The good news is that most people with MS continue to drive as normal.
Causes of multiple sclerosis
your genes – MS isn't directly inherited, but people who are related to someone with the condition are more likely to develop it; the chance of a sibling or child of someone with MS also developing it is estimated to be around 2 to 3 in 100.
Most symptoms develop abruptly, within hours or days. These attacks or relapses of MS typically reach their peak within a few days at most and then resolve slowly over the next several days or weeks so that a typical relapse will be symptomatic for about eight weeks from onset to recovery.
Magnetic resonance imaging, or MRI, is a wonderful tool to help diagnose and follow people with MS. MRI is safe and relatively non-invasive yet can provide very detailed images of the brain and spinal cord that can reveal MS lesions (also known as demyelination, spots, or plaques) and changes in MS activity over time.
MS affects each person differently.
This may block or slow down the communication between your brain and spine with the rest of the body. You can have numbness and tingling, balance problems, dizziness, vision issues, fatigue, or other things including problems with sex or your bladder and bowel.
Women are up to three times as likely as men to have relapsing-remitting MS. The risk for MS in the general population is about 0.5%. If a parent or sibling has MS, your risk is about twice that or about 1%. Certain infections are also important.
MS is not directly inherited from parent to child. There's no single gene that causes it. Over 200 genes might affect your chances of getting MS.
Here's where MS (typically) starts
Although a number of MS symptoms can appear early on, two stand out as occurring more often than others: Optic neuritis, or inflammation of the optic nerve, is usually the most common, Shoemaker says. You may experience eye pain, blurred vision and headache.
Alcohol's Effect on MS Symptoms
Even one drink can make issues like unsteadiness worse. “If you have a lot of trouble with balance, thinking, or memory symptoms from MS, it may be better to avoid alcohol altogether,” says Graves. Alcohol can also lead to sleep problems and worsen bladder symptoms.
People living with MS often continue working long after their diagnosis. On the flip side, some people with MS decide to leave their jobs when they are first diagnosed or experience their first major exacerbation, often at the suggestion of their family or doctor.
You may have to adapt your daily life if you're diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS), but with the right care and support many people can lead long, active and healthy lives.
The study found that people with MS lived to be 75.9 years old, on average, compared to 83.4 years old for those without. That 7.5-year difference is similar to what other researchers have found recently.
MS fatigue, steroid therapy, and depression can all lead to unwanted weight in people with MS. Though these factors are not your fault, you owe it to yourself to take control of your weight. Overeating can increase MS symptoms or health conditions, such as: fatigue.
MS can weaken the muscles that control the lungs. Such respiratory issues are the major cause of sickness and death in people in the final stages of MS.
Neurological examination
Your neurologist will look for abnormalities, changes or weakness in your vision, eye movements, hand or leg strength, balance and co-ordination, speech and reflexes. These may show whether your nerves are damaged in a way that might suggest MS.
Numbness or Tingling
Numbness of the face, body, or extremities (arms and legs) is often the first symptom experienced by those eventually diagnosed as having MS.
Early signs and symptoms of MS
tingling and numbness. pains and spasms. weakness or fatigue. balance problems or dizziness.
Over 25,600 people in Australia are living with multiple sclerosis, including 3,700 Queenslanders, and it affects each person differently. On average more than 10 Australians are diagnosed with MS every week.