Mood and Cogitive issues with MS

[HVAC]

I went to a talk by the MS Society about Mood and Cognition. Basically they said the lesions can cause mood disorders. They also said circumstances can cause depression and anxiety. Research has shown medication, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, and exercise can all help with depression and anxiety. One lady was in a wheel chair and said how can I exercise? They said moving your legs or arms. Possibly lifting 1/2 weights. Even 15 minutes a day. 50-60% of MS patients have depression and anxiety.

For cognitive they talked about using notes or lists to help with forgetting. Alarms on phones to take medications.Placing your keys, wallet, cell phone in the same place every time. Having rituals so you do not forget things as when you leave the house.

The interesting is MS decline with cognition is different than Alztheimers.  They do not have the same issues. With MS you do not forget who people are typically.

Alex

[suspiciouscombo]

N---- you have a presence of admiration, grace, appreciation and beauty. You are a superstar in our household and always welcome in our neck of the woods.

If you don't remember us due to memory issues..... ..no worries ....we will still take care of ya!!! :-D

Ox Ox

[shannon_xray]

I am in good company in this topic.  ConfirmedRachel, you described me beautifully.  Just today I had that name and face recognition issue.  One of the doctors I work with was out at lunch in his regular street clothes, not in scrubs,.  In introducing him to my husband, my brain almost exploded trying to remember his name!  Although he is at our office once a week, he has been with us for 2 years now!  I was embarrassed big time!  I mumbled to play it off :)  Hoping they couldn't hear me get it wrong!

I can't stand to read, Alex.  I have always hated it, I can't comprehend much out of what I am reading anymore.  But my cognitive issues have happened in the past few years.  I can't imagine how you suffered as a child.  I know it is rare, but children are diagnosed with MS.

I need to invest in a sticky note company!

Best,
Shannon

[HVAC]

I was diagnosed with Bipolar disorder, but two Psychiatrists say now it was just MS. I was considered learning disabled in school. I could not follow directions no matter how hard I tried. I was put in special classes and put back a grade. When I was six the teacher talked really slowly to me so I would understand. I told her to blank off. In high school they found out I had a high IQ. I could not make it through Graduate School. The pressure was too much.  I could not read until I was in college. It could have been from the double vision, too. As a child when they could not figure it out  what was wrong with me so they put me in the State Hospital. I spent a year there.

Because I did not know I had a deficit I learned tricks. I have a great vocabulary because with MS I could not think of a word so I would think of a synonym.

I was always very forgetful and lost things as a child. I have learned the more stressed I am about finding things the worse gets. The same with thinking of words. I have to relax. I would forget my homework all the time which made my teachers really angry.

I had neurological testing since I was two. They knew something was wrong just not what.

I was totally against mood drugs. I hated Psychiatrists. I got a good one who said he thought I had a neurological disorder. He helped me through the MS diagnosis.

When I was diagnosed in 2009 I went to a counselor and started exercising. I did go back on anti depressants and anti anxiety drugs when I got cancer.

I was also depressed because with out working I felt like I was a burden to my husband. I also felt it was unfair for him to be a caretaker. He let me know he loves me very much.

Alex

[ConfirmedRachel]

Hello both,

Cognitive/memory issues is my main ongoing problem. My Neuro has formally recognised that in writing and used to determine MS disability level (2).

I use alarms, notes on my phone, diary, calendar, work calendar, to do lists, repetition for taking meds, putting things in the same place etc etc.

It certainly does help with that side of thing ... it doesn't help you forgetting what your saying mid-sentence several times a day, forgetting common/common to me words, again mid sentence (verbal and written), what you're doing from one room to the next, what you've opened a cupboard/fridge to get out, names of people (that you know) when talking to others etc etc!

My husband and daughter both realise this can be infuriating, and initially very upsetting - you feel like you are losing your mind. Well I guess you are to a certain degree :-o
I've sent my husband to collect our teenager - on the wrong day, to the wrong place ... Oops.

What I've learned to do already is try to put it into perspective. None of the memory stuff is intentional and you can't help it. Getting wound up just makes it worse.
So I 'practice' not getting cross, ie deep breath, ask the person you're speaking to for help in reminding what you were on about, using a similar word even if not the one you wanted to allow you to keep on with the thread of the conversation.

Most people I work closely with, family, friends know this is an area that's changed for me just now. It is slightly better than earlier in the year when my stress levels were high (ON, other symptoms, MS dx etc).

Definitely worth exchanging coping mechanisms and talking about it.  I also find when I reread a sentence some of the words I think I've typed aren't actually there!

I also bought a book called "Facing the cognitive challenges of MS" by Jeffrey Gingold. If people are publishing books on it and running conferences it must be more common that perhaps we think.

Hey ho, I'm alive, happy maj of the time, have lovely family and friends - what's a few dropped words balls!

Nx

[Corriel]

What an interesting session that must have been. I have been forgetting way too many things lately and a friend recommended a lot of what you mentioned in addition to an app called MediSafe to remind you for medications.

I'm going to try that because I have gotten so used to the reminders on my phone that sometimes I dismiss it thinking I've already taken the med. :)

I'm intrigued by the prospect of lesions and mood disorders. I had a history of depression and anxiety since long before my MS dx but no one knows yet how long I have had MS.

Ironically both seem to have gotten better since my dx so go figure!

Thanks for sharing!
Corrie