What is MS or Multiple Sclerosis?

Starting point for What is MS?

No MS Illustration

Have you ever asked yourself or been asked the question - What is MS?

If so, did you know that about 400,000 people in the US have been diagnosed with MS or multiple sclerosis? Every week about 200 people find out that they will have to live their lives suffering the effects of MS. In spite of this fact, Cir and I still meet people who have no idea what MS is. This is meant to be a simple starting point if you'd like to learn a little more about this nervous system disease.

If you like reading stories, skip the links below and go read Cir's introduction to "What is MS". Or if you'd like, go ahead and click on these links for more specific information about multiple sclerosis.

When Cir was diagnosed in 1993, we had been married for about 10 years. We were just about ready to have our third child. He was active in martial arts and worked a full-time job. We were right on course to fulfilling our goals and dreams. Our life was on track to being pretty near perfect. Or so we thought...

Nagging symptoms

Cir did have a few nagging issues that never seemed to go away, though. Some of them bothered him constantly, like imbalance. He said he felt like he was always walking on a mattress. The one symptom that started long before we were married and finally sent him to a doctor, was optic neuritis. He described that as having a blind spot right in the middle of his field of vision.

Early warning sign

While talking with other MSers he's met since receiving his diagnosis, several of them have said that optic neuritis was an early symptom for them, also. I've read a lot of personal stories and medical descriptions about MS, and it seems to be a common early warning sign for many who are eventually diagnosed with multiple sclerosis.

Central Nervous System

According to the medical books, MS is a chronic neurological disease or one of several nervous system diseases. It effects the central nervous system or CNS. The CNS is the part of the nervous system that includes the brain, optic nerves, and spinal cord. The damage that occurs in this part of your body pretty much explained why he was having balance issues and also the reason for the optic neuritis, which eventually subsided.

For a more in-depth Definition of Multiple Sclerosis, you can click here. 

"Many scars"

Illustration of demyelination of nerve cells

A very simple answer to the question - What is MS? - is to say it the following way. Multiple means "many" and sclerosis means "scars". So basically, there are many scars throughout your central nervous system.

The overall theory as we understand it is that your body's own immune system attacks your central nervous system. A healthy immune system is held in check and attacks only the baddies that make their way into our bodies. When you have MS, your immune system goes a little wacky and starts attacking the myelin sheath which is the protective covering of the nerves. The results of this attack produced scars which are located within Cir's brain and along his spinal cord.

To read more about demyelination, click here or demyelinating disease, click here.

AA Doctor and Patient

Years before, one of Cir's doctor's even suspected MS but because Cir was male and African American, he dismissed this possibility because as he thought--black people don't get multiple sclerosis. When Cir finally did have an MRI after being referred to a neurologist, the scars were definitely there on his brain. Who knew those "little white spots" would change our lives so drastically in the years to come.

The disabilities that are common to MS are a result of where each of the scars are located in the brain or on the spinal cord. Cir's scars are located on his brain as well as on his spinal cord. But each multiple sclerosis patient is different.

The scars or lesions on your brain (or spinal cord) can cause a totally different set of challenges for you than for someone else with scars in a similar location. Sometimes, although rarely, you can have one or two lesions which cause total disability. It just depends on where that lesion is and what nerve signal is affected. 

There's much more to What is MS! To go to What is MS Part 2, click here or check out the video below.

Want more videos about multiple sclerosis? Click the link to see stories of people like you that have MS as well as more information about multiple sclerosis.

The Mayo Clinic has a great page on MS causes and symptoms. (Link will open in a new window).

Dear Friends,

"Life in Spite of MS is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. We're also part of the Ebay Partner Network, another affiliate program."

We'd also like you to know it doesn't cost one cent more  when you click through the links here on our blog. Not one single penny. And we will make a little extra cash when you do click through. We'll be ever so appreciative. You also have our word that we'll only link to things that we would use ourselves, (or wish we could have or use).

Sincerely,

Cir & Akrista

You are reading original content written by Akrista or Cir L'Bert of Life in Spite of MS. If you enjoyed reading this blog, please consider following us on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram. See you there!

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