Multiple Sclerosis (MS)
March is MS Awareness Month and so every March 20% of our total sales of our MS Fighter fragrance will be donated to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society
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Multiple Sclerosis Facts
Multiple sclerosis is a disease that impacts the brain, spinal cord and optic nerves, which make up the central nervous system (CNS) and controls everything we do. The exact cause of MS is unknown, but we do know that something triggers the immune system to attack the CNS. The resulting damage to myelin, the protective layer insulating wire-like nerve fibers, disrupts signals to and from the brain. This interruption of communication signals causes unpredictable symptoms such as numbness, tingling, mood changes, memory problems, pain, fatigue, blindness and/or paralysis. Everyone’s experience with MS is different and these losses may be temporary or long lasting.
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​Sources: www.nationalmssociety.org, www.healthline.com
My Story
Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is a disease that I had been pretty familiar with prior to my own diagnosis. Growing up I would often visit my grandparents who lived with and took care of my great grandmother. She was in a wheelchair ever since before I can remember, because of her struggles with MS. I also distinctly remember in my early childhood when my uncle on that side of the family was diagnosed with the disease, which was around the same time my aunt on the other side of my family was diagnosed. But in my mid 30s, when I started experiencing my own symptoms, MS was the furthest thing from my mind.
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I had been recovering from two different laparoscopic surgeries for endometriosis, and so attributed that to my extreme fatigue. I had been struggling with endometriosis for most of my life and had only recently been diagnosed with that condition and was still trying to wrap my head around that and what it meant for my life when I started experiencing different symptoms.
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It started with a very intense migraine, coupled with dizziness, and the inability to maintain my balance. I then started experiencing numbness and tingling in my feet and toes that lasted for days. I had experienced numbness in my hands and feet before but that was mostly when I was working out and I just thought it was because my cycling shoes were too tight, or the fit on my bike was off, but when this wouldn't go away I decided to see my primary care physician. I have an amazing doctor and it was thanks to her and her insistence to get to the bottom of it all that within just a few short months I had my answer. We had done a few tests, some bloodwork and an MRI but I was still in shock the moment she told me I have MS.
I have Relapsing Remitting MS (RRMS), the most common type of the disease, in which you have relapses (symptoms getting worse) followed by recovery (that's when it's “remitting”). Disability doesn't get worse between relapses but after each relapse it can end up worse than before. This is a fairly new diagnosis for me, and while I have started a treatment that can put me remission, I still don't know exactly how the damage that has already been caused to my brain and spine will affect me.