New member

[MBC3mom]

Hi, I found this site yesterday and was intrigued by a post I read.  I decided to join especially so I could reply to that post (Lies my neuro told me).  I have had ms for at least 10 years, but have only been diagnosed for about a year and a half.  Over the 10 years, I have experienced almost every symptom usually noted for ms.  The symptoms that give me the most trouble are bladdar and bowel issues, cognitive issues, spasticity, fatigue and weakness.  I also have some permanent vision loss in one eye due to optic neuritis.

I was intrigued by the post "Lies my neuro told me" because depression was acknowledged as a symtom of ms, NOT just a reaction to it.  There is so little information about the cognitive and psychiatric affects of ms and much of the easily accessible information is contradictary.  

[MBC3mom]

Wow.  That study about brain shrinkage is pretty scary Lulu (but thanks for the link!)  
My maternal grandmother and my mother both had Alzheimer's Disease.  I'm really hoping they will come up with more effective treatments and possibly a cure in my lifetime.  
I remember reading somewhare that ms patients are SLIGHTLY less likely to develope certain forms of cancer and also Alzheimer's Disease.  Unfortunatly, I don't remember where I read it or if the source gave any possibly explanations for this.  There ought to be something good we could say about this disease, and if it really does do anything to block cancer & Alzheimer's, I might feel a little better about my dx :o)

Thanks again to everyone for welcoming me!

[Lulu54]

There was another  recent study released about the link between MS and depression - you can read it at

http://mscare.org/cmsc/index.php?option=com_healthdaynewsfeed&Itemid=1397&task=read&id=640857

stay in touch, ok?

Lu

[Quixotic1]

And another welcome here.  I'm glad that post was helpful.  That has become one of the most helpful threads that I have ever started.

More and more the psychiatric side of MS is being acknowledged.  MS is a disease, not only of the white matter but also of the gray matter and neurologists have been slow to see that disruptions of mood are extremely common manifestations of the disease.  In the workup of MS, if MS is likely, then it is recommended that an episode of Major Depression in the previous two years be considered to have been an MS attack - for the purposes of putting the picture of MS together.

Of course, far too neuros seem aware of this and let a history of depression actually pull them off the path that would otherwise lead to a disgnosis.  We have even seen articles in the literature claim that a history of depression is a Red Flag pointing away from MS instead of toward it.  I think this is criminal.

Quix, MD

[Wobbly]

Hi there.. I wanted to welcome you to the forum as well.. I understand exactly how you have been feeling.  I too had symptoms for 15 or more years and just didn't look into further.  Nice to meet you and glad to see you online.

take care
wobbly
dx

[MBC3mom]

Thank you for the welcome and the offers of help.  I am not currently depressed but I believe an episode of major depression was my first major flare.  I had experienced other ms symptoms prior to the flare (had no idea I had ms during those years), but had been told that my balance problems/dizziness were due to stress and my bladder issues (including occasional incontinence) were due to drinking too much coffee.

The depression lasted a few months and included difficulty controlling my emotions, memory problems, and relationship problems.  During all this, I had 2 episodes of severe vertigo (unable to move my head without vomiting uncontrollably) that left me weak and struggling with serious ataxia for several days afterward.  

After checking me for inner ear trouble, my pc informed me I was causing the vertigo myself and thereafter referred to it as my "little bit of dizziness".  This is why I hid or minimized my other symptoms for several years.

[rendean]

Hi and welcome to the forum!

I noticed you posted that you had seen a post regarding MS and depression. I wanted to point out that this subject is also covered in our Health Pages which can be found next to the yellow icon in the upper right hand corner of this page.

A direct link to the page about depression is below:

http://www.medhelp.org/health_pages/Multiple-Sclerosis/Depression-and-MS/show/752?cid=36

Let us know if you have any questions or concerns we might be able to help you with.

Again, welcome!
Ren

[Sparkysarah]

Just to say welcome to the forum. I am wondering what your interest is in the depression thing and if you are just enquiriing out of interest (to see if it one of those symptoms that you have not yet experienced) or if perhaps you are feeling a bit low at the moment.

Feel free to ask anything else that comes to mind and you will find some helpful friends on this site and there are some excellent health pages as well which are well worth browsing thorugh.

With best wisehs

Sarah

[SFmonsterdark]

Welcome MBC3mom!