Trish talks openly about her life with MS

Multiple sclerosis, or MS, is a long-lasting disease that can affect your brain, spinal cord, and the optic nerves in your eyes. It can cause problems with vision, balance, muscle control, and other basic body functions.

The effects are often different for everyone who has the disease. Some people have mild symptoms and don’t need treatment. Others will have trouble getting around and doing daily tasks.

MS happens when your immune system attacks a fatty material called myelin, which wraps around your nerve fibers to protect them. Without this outer shell, your nerves become damaged. Scar tissue may form.

The damage means your brain can’t send signals through your body correctly. Your nerves also don’t work as they should to help you move and feel. As a result, you may have symptoms like:

Trouble walking
Feeling tired
Muscle weakness or spasms
Blurred or double vision
Numbness and tingling
Sexual problems
Poor bladder or bowel control
Pain
Depression
Problems focusing or remembering
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The first symptoms often start between ages 20 and 40. Most people with MS have attacks, also called relapses, when the condition gets noticeably worse. They’re usually followed by times of recovery when symptoms improve. For other people, the disease continues to get worse over time.

In recent years, scientists have found many new treatments that can often help prevent relapses and slow the disease’s effects.

What Causes MS?

Doctors don’t know for sure what causes MS, but there are many things that seem to make the disease more likely. People with certain genes may have higher chances of getting it. Smoking also may raise the risk.

Join me when Trish talks about her life with MS and we learn more about this illness first hand.