Living life to the fullest with multiple sclerosis: 9 questions to ask an expert

Over the 150 years that medicine has known this disease, the disease itself has changed, and its treatment has become completely different. Today, doctors advise patients to perceive this diagnosis not as a death sentence with a short delay, but as a challenge. Because with multiple sclerosis you can live life to the fullest. You just need to gain strength and patience.

Our experts:

President of the All-Russian Public Organization of Disabled People with Multiple Sclerosis, Chairman of the Council of Public Organizations for the Protection of Patients' Rights under Roszdravnadzor Yan Vlasov.

Professor of the Department of Neurology of the First St. Petersburg State Medical University. acad. I. P. Pavlova Natalya Totolyan .

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Standards and methods of treating the disease

The main goal of therapy is to achieve long-term remission, therefore complex treatment is used, which consists of taking medications, rehabilitation and diet. Treatment is divided into pathogenetic and symptomatic .

According to standards, therapy should be aimed at suppressing and preventing the destruction of brain tissue, as well as relieving symptoms of the disease and stabilizing the patient’s condition.

An individual approach is required depending on the speed of development of the disease and the main symptoms.

Bone marrow and stem cell transplant

In addition to drug therapy, the disease is also treated through surgery.

Stem cell transplantation is aimed at rebooting the body's immune system and further restoring the myelin sheaths of nerve cells.

A transplant at an early stage is considered the most effective, but in a severe stage it allows the patient to partially restore body functions and delay the onset of disability.

Folk remedies

Treatment with folk remedies acts as an additional therapy aimed at strengthening the immune system and relieving symptoms along with medications.

Decoctions based on pine needles are used for baths, drinks based on black cumin and honey, as well as an extract from Ginkgo Biloba leaves . These products help improve vision and hearing, and restore the body’s motor functions during the rehabilitation period.

Living with Multiple Sclerosis

Medicines play a very important role in the treatment of multiple sclerosis. Without them, you cannot expect a good quality of life. However, with this disease, there are additional ways to help yourself reduce the number of exacerbations and their severity. To do this, you just need to change some of your habits. We explain what to do and what not to do if you have been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis.

Diagnosis of pathology

A diagnostic search for information is necessary to fully present the clinical picture of the disease, to confirm symptoms and prescribe effective treatment, so that the patient knows how to live further and cope with this problem.

To confirm this diagnosis, it is necessary to undergo a complete examination:

• MRI (tomography of the brain and spinal cord);
• blood screening for antibodies;
• electromyography;
• examination of the patient's vision, somatosensory potential and auditory examination.

After diagnosing multiple sclerosis, your doctor will give a prognosis. He explains how to relieve symptoms and how to live and behave during exacerbations.

Eat healthy and don't drink alcohol

There is no special diet that is recommended for multiple sclerosis. But it is known that the frequency of exacerbations can be reduced with the help of a balanced diet. This is a diet that is recommended for everyone who wants to lead a healthy lifestyle: more fruits and vegetables rich in fiber and vitamins, more fluids to avoid constipation. However, the researchers found no evidence that the popular omega-3 fatty acids improve the condition of patients with multiple sclerosis.

But a lack of vitamins and minerals can worsen the course of the disease. Therefore, specific diets that exclude important elements can even be harmful. You can take vitamins in tablets or drops only as prescribed by a doctor to avoid overdose.

Vitamin D plays a particularly important role in the course of the disease. A sufficient level of it can reduce the number of exacerbations and their severity. However, it is dangerous to prescribe vitamin D yourself. First, you need to do a blood test for 25-OH vitamin D. After this, your doctor will determine what dose will be optimal. Too much vitamin D in the body can lead to nausea, constipation, weakness, weight loss, and even kidney stones.

Drink as little alcohol as possible. Alcohol can cause fatigue in this disease. Additionally, when combined with some drugs used to treat multiple sclerosis, alcohol can be toxic to the liver.

My skin went numb. Onset of the disease

“The disease began with numbness of the skin,” Ekaterina began the story. – For example, I didn’t feel the temperature. You stand in the shower, the water is warm, but it seems cold. They touch you, but you don’t feel whether it’s a finger or something sharp. Today, numbness in any part of the body is almost the norm. There is a so-called tremor of fatigue, when the arms and legs tremble. By the way, fatigue is a characteristic feature of everyone who has multiple sclerosis. If I get up early, then by four in the afternoon I can already be tired. But you get used to it.

They discharged me from the hospital with a diagnosis of “demyelinating disease” and gave only general recommendations (avoid sudden changes in temperature, stress, do not overheat, do not change time zones and place of residence, do not smoke). In general, everything will be fine, but you hold on. It's easy to say...

But at that time, almost the only source of information about the disease was the Internet. I read a wide variety of information and decided that life was over. Now I understand that at that time I really needed a consultation with a specialist or just a conversation with someone who was also sick. A person always needs hope.

Exercise

Exercise is beneficial for people with multiple sclerosis. Thanks to regular exercise, patients are less tired during the day and experience muscle spasms less often. Of course, when playing sports you need to know when to stop.

Although there are exceptions: when professional athletes are diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, some of them continue to train and perform, achieving success.

Patients with this disease are recommended to do various joint exercises and stretches, swim, ride a bike, and walk. A doctor should give more detailed recommendations.

Symptoms and treatment of exacerbations

The main symptoms of multiple sclerosis include blurred vision, partial or complete loss of ability to work, impaired coordination of movement, constant prolonged dizziness, numbness of the extremities.

During exacerbations, intensive therapy is necessary, aimed at relieving the main symptoms and achieving long-term remission. Hormonal therapy during an exacerbation period allows you to avoid loss of ability to work and stop the development of the disease.

Bibliography

• ICD-10 (International Classification of Diseases)
• Yusupov Hospital
• Gusev E.I., Demina T.L. Multiple sclerosis // Consilium Medicum: 2000. - No. 2.
• Jeremy Taylor. Health according to Darwin: Why we get sick and how it is related to evolution = Jeremy Taylor “Body by Darwin: How Evolution Shapes Our Health and Transforms Medicine.” - M.: Alpina Publisher, 2016. - 333 p.
• A.N. Boyko, O.O. Favorova // Molecular. biology. 1995. - T.29, No. 4. -P.727-749.

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