Mississauga, ON resident diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis. No job, no insurance, how do i pay for drugs?
I have been off work for two months and receiving EI benefits. Last week i was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis. I am unemployed and have no medical insurance at all. Where can i go to find help to pay for my drugs? I am in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada.
----------
You could apply to the Trillium drug plan for help. Ask your doctors office. (
+ info)
Is numbness under the feet a possible sign of a relapse of Multiple Sclerosis?
In early December I was told I could possibly have multiple sclerosis due to the results of a MRI scan. This numbness has been with me for 5 days now and wonder could this be a symptom?
----------
yes it is a symptom of ms i recently read a lot about ms as i did suspect my daughter had this problem i have just checked the symptoms section it does mention numbness in the feet (
+ info)
Does anyone know when Fampirdine will be approved by the FDA for multiple sclerosis patients?
I just want to know because my mom has multiple sclerosis and she needs something to help her I am really worried about her please help!
----------
Oral MS drugs under study, but they are still a few years (3-10) down the line. Three oral drugs are in Phase II Trials (to evaluate the effectiveness of the drug for a particular disease and to determine common short-term side effects and risks). Three in Phase III Trials (to evaluate the overall benefit-risk relationship of the drug and provide a basis for physician labeling). There are four phases total. Fampridine is in seven Phase II or III studies related to MS.
Low dose naltrexone (LDN) just finished a Phase III clinical trial for use in MS in Nov. 2007. But articles were coming out in Sept. 2007 before the trial even finished saying more clinical trials are still needed for specific use in MS.
There are clinical trials at various stages studying antibiotic therapy and MS.
Reports in 2006, 2007 showed initial benefits with Sativex (cannabis). However, April 2008 trials reports showed it was no more effective in treating MS pain than a placebo given to half the patients. It has been approved for use in Canada and is still development in Europe and the US.
none drug therapies...
Exercise/physical therapy: Maintaing a healthy weight will help with mobility problems. Also, they can help with spasticity and muscle weakness.
Exercises, such as tai chi and yoga can lower your stress, help you to be more relaxed, and increase your energy, balance, and flexibility. As with any exercise program, check with your doctor before getting started.
Eat healthy: A healthy diet just like everyone else, making smart choices to balance between food and activity. Ask your doctor what diet is right for you.
There is some evidence that taking an oral supplement of linoleic acid (found in evening primrose, sunflower seeds, and safflower oil) may slightly improve MS symptoms.
Don't overheat: Whether you are exercising or doing work, try not to get overheated so you won't have a pseudoflair and get fatigued.
Elimination needs: Plenty of fluids, Vitamin C, and cranberry juice are used to prevent urinary tact infections.
Increase fluids and fiber to prevent constipation.
Decrease stress: Massage therapy to help relax and reduce stress and depression, which can exacerbate MS. Strive to have a positive outlook. It won't cure MS, but it can reduce your stress and help you feel better.
Acupuncture: May provide some relief from pain, muscle spasms, or bladder control problems. As of yet, there have been no scientific studies to confirm this or to document acupuncture's safe use in MS. Keep in mind that there are always risks when a procedure involves puncturing the body with needles. Be sure the practitioner uses sterile technique as acupuncture could transmit infection or blood borne disease like hepatitis or HIV.
Treating flairs:
While steroids do not affect the course of MS over time, they can reduce the duration and severity of attacks in some patients. Not all MS exacerbations require treatment. For an attack that significantly impacts a person’s ability to function at home or work, most MS specialists recommend a course of high-dose steroids. Depending on physician preference, patient condition, and length of the treatment, IV or oral steroids or a combination of the two may be used.
Here's a easy to understand article http://www.medicinenet.com/multiple_sclerosis/article.htm
I also like the "MS for Dummies" book. For me MS was the devil I knew since my mom and aunt have it. But the book was a good reference for my husband. Plus there were tips I hadn't heard of or thought about. (
+ info)
How to know if someone has multiple sclerosis?
So my dad has been having a ton of back pain (practically all his life) and recently has been getting these muscle spasms that shoot through his legs and sometimes go up into his back. it causes him a lot of pain and he travels all the time, as in he's gone all week so he can't go in and see a doctor.so i have been looking up things about his symptoms and it says multiple sclerosis... does he have multiple sclerosis? or is it just a muscle spasm? btw he is 51 years old, i believe he's 6'3 and is on the heavy side and he smokes (if that helps)
----------
A specialist doctor would need to do a whole battery of tests and exams to determine a diagnosis of MS. Your dad needs to see a doctor. Your dad could just have sciatica. (
+ info)
how long does it take to treat Multiple sclerosis?
recently had a problem with vision on one side . and the doctor believes I might have multiple sclerosis
I got MRI done . but while I'm waiting does any one know how serious this is ? or how long it will take to get treated.
----------
It can be very serious but it is not fatal. When a person has MS the immune system attacks the myelin which is the covering on nerves. As a consequence, the communication between the body and the brain becomes disrupted. Since the nerves are involved in everything that the body does, physical movement, perception, cognition and the emotions can be affected. The disease is very unpredictable and not everyone has the same experience with it.
Possible symptoms include problems with eyesight, problems walking, tingling and numbness, lack of balance, brain fog, reduced short term memory, exhaustion, pain, difficulty swallowing, depression, degradation of IQ, difficulty grasping, slurred speech, headaches, and the list goes on and on.
There is no cure. Treatment lasts a life time. I have had it for twenty years. Most of us get the relapsing/remitting form of the disease, meaning that it comes and goes. The remaining 10-15% of people who have MS get a very progressive form of the disease which renders them totally disabled.
When your MRI comes back, you neurologist will look to see if the lesions that are indicative of the disease have appeared. The lesions do not necessarily show up at the onset of the disease. I had two successive MRIs before my doctor found them. Your doctor may also request a lumbar puncture and/or a stimulus response test to confirm a diagnosis.
I strongly suggest that you educate yourself about your disease. You need a reliable source of information. May I suggest you contact the National Multiple Sclerosis Society at http://www.nmss.org. ? You need to become you own best advocate when you have this disease.
I wish you the very best of luck, (
+ info)
Is Pneumonia a symptom of Multiple Sclerosis?
My mother has suffered from Multiple Sclerosis for more than 20 years, though she has not begun to have serious problems until now. She has repeatedly been treated for bronchitis, and now pneumonia. I am at a loss to understand why, and her doctors seem to be at a loss as well. Does anyone know if pneumonia or bronchitis is a symptom of MS?
----------
Pneumonia can be a complication of MS if the MS has caused swallowing problems (dysphagia), which cause choking and coughing. When this occurs, food and liquids can be aspirated into the airway/lungs. Particles that remain in the lungs can cause aspiration pneumonia.
Does you mom have dysphagia? If so, has she told her neurologist? If she has this and has told her doctor, has the neurologist followed up on it? (
+ info)
Has there been success in curing Multiple Sclerosis with Umbilical Cord Stem Cells?
Does anyone know if storing your child's cord blood can cure Multiple Sclerosis? Have there been any successful cases of this?
----------
Unfortunately, there is no cure as of yet, to include stem cell therapy. Although some stem cell therapy is effective, so far the trials have only yielded minor successes. They are using a treatment normally reserved for leukemia patients, and it is being trialed on MS patients due to anecdotal reports of people who got this leukemia treatment having their MS cured. It is essentially a "reset" of the immune system.
The treatment is autologous blood or bone marrow stem cell transplant. This is a fairly invasive procedure, first involving stimulating stem cell production, harvesting those stem cells, and then using chemotherapy to destroy all white blood cells in the body, which then have to regenerate following the transplant. Out of 85 patients being tracked, 18 patients (21%) showed EDSS improvement of greater than one point. 78% of SPMS sufferers showed zero disease progression at three years following the treatment. There is a risk in this treatment; out of the 106 known patients, seven have died. The potential risk will have to be tested completely.
Now, the question you posed was "can your child's cord blood cure MS" and the answer, today, is no. In any stem cell treatment that has actually worked, the patients own stem cells are encouraged to grow and then harvested. These are called "adult stem cells" and they have been shown today to effectively treat more than 70 diseases and conditions. Some of those are cord blood stem cells.
Note the difference is between adult stem cells (or non-embryonic stem cells) and embryonic stem cells, which are derived from embryos which are destroyed as part of the stem cell harvesting process.
Cord blood stem cells have so far effectively treated Cerebal Palsy, hepatitis, Hurler's Syndrome, paralysis, and have been able to regenerate the liver.
hth (
+ info)
Can Multiple sclerosis be detected with a ct scan?
Can Multiple sclerosis be detected with a ct scan? and not an MRI? I have similar symptoms to MS- but I had a ct scan before.
----------
No, only an MRI will show the lesions that are indicative of MS. And even if you have MS, the lesions will not necessarily show up right away. It can take some time for them to develop. I hope you do not have MS. Good luck! (
+ info)
How do people get Multiple Sclerosis?
Can it be caught? Does it run in the family? How do people get Multiple Sclerosis?! Thanks.
----------
The cause of MS remains unknown.
It is not a contagious disease - meaning it doesn't pass from one person to another, so you don't need to stay away from someone with MS.
Most of our knowledge is about risk factors. A risk factor means that someone who has it, has a greater risk of getting the disease than most of the population, but might very well never have it.
Known risk factors are:
1. Female gender - for every man with the disease, there are more than two women.
2. Caucasian - In the US, about 90% of patients are white.
3. Genetic risk factors - there is a significant genetic factor involved in the formation of the disease, but this doesn't mean that if one of your parents has the disease you will also get it. even in identical twins, sharing the exact same genes, the chances that a twin of a patient will also have MS is about 1 in 3. that said, some forms of the disease are more familial, meaning they do tend more to run in families.
The average risk of a sibling of a patient is 3-5%
4. Past infection with EBV - infectious mononucleosis (kissing disease).
5. VZV infection - chickenpox or shingles.
6. Possibly - living the first years of life without siblings (more infections in early childhood are theorized to have an anti-autoimmune effect).
7. Geographic location - as a rule, the further you are from the equator, the more likely you are to get MS. This has possibly something to do with exposure to sunlight and the production of vitamin D.
8. Smoking is a risk factor, although not a very significant one.
9. The link between vaccines and MS has been studied thoroughly . No such link was found, except for one study which found some risk associated with the Hepatitis B vaccine. This is not yet a medical fact, since there need to be more studies before it is accepted as one.
Just to make things clear - you can be a young, white, female, smoking resident of Alaska who has no brothers and sisters and had the kissing disease a while ago, and you still have quite a small chance of getting the disease.
To conclude:
1. can't be caught (but some bugs might increase the risk a little)
2. has some familial component (but it's not everything)
3. we don't really know how you get MS (but someone is working on it, somewhere, right now). (
+ info)
What is the difference between sclerosis and multiple sclerosis?
And what happens with the person if it has sclerosis?
T Bill S:
No it's Sclerose (Sclerosis in Latin) of the SIG's.
I think it's got to be involved with the muscles.
I like to know if it's the begining of MS?
Together with discushernia, Arthrose AND Scoliosis.
----------
Hi there.. there are many types of sclerosis, since sclerosis means scar. The is sclerosis of the liver and muscular to name two. If there is a sclerosis on the brain it it MS. on the spinal column then it could be MS or transverse myelitis.
I myself have MS, and there is so much out there, its hard to know what will really happen.
I hope you find whatever answers you need. (
+ info)
We do not evaluate or guarantee the accuracy of any content in this site. Click here for the full disclaimer.