There are more of us than anyone knew!

[Raingrrl]

Check it out...

multiplesclerosisnewstoday....

[jimeka]

Good article but I still don’t agree with the vitamin d and sunlight. I had so much sunshine in my life and I still got it. 🌞

[RoseySawyer in reply to jimeka]

I to take Vitamin D and get plenty of sunshine, I still got the Monster. Lol It is what it is. 😊❤🌷

[anaishunter]

This is a somewhat sad news but good in the sense that there needs to be more awareness and easier diagnostic for MS, earlier too!

Faster, earlier diagnostic would enable many to curve the impact of this disease to avoid the worst of it.

[jimeka in reply to anaishunter]

How’s the new job going?

[anaishunter in reply to jimeka]

jimeka thank you for asking. The people I work with are wonderful. It's a lot of work but it's very interesting and I like having my brain busy so that I don't have to think about MS all the time.

So far, my body is holding together. I'm a lot more aware when I get stressed or sitting at my desk for too long. So I try to back off whenever stiffness or tingling show up. Yoga 2x per week helps a lot.

I'm still at my first Ocrevus treatment +8 months now. Need to go and get another round of blood test to see if it's time to get the next one or not. I'm amazed to not have gotten any cold or flu despite being around sick people now and then. Knock on wood....

[jimeka in reply to anaishunter]

Pleased that it’s going well. Are you not supposed to have the Ocrevus every 6 months? Enjoy your new job, but please don’t let it stress you out. Remember, stressed is desserts backwards, so that’s a liscense to eat chocolate 🍫

[anaishunter in reply to jimeka]

Every 6 months is the current protocol. In my case, the blood test check at 5 1/2 months showed that not only my B cells were wiped out but also a good portion my T cells. The neuro is concerned that I'm seriously immuno-deficient and said that I certainly don't need another dose of Ocrevus right away and not until my immune system recovers. So I have a blood test right now every month.

It's been documented that a few people have had the same issue. I'm not worried about MS because with the B-cell count at 0, Ocrevus is doing its job. (and the MRI at 6 months showed no new and no active lesions.) The neuro also told me that I could be protected for up to a year.

I guess Ocrevus is a new drug and they have still quite a bit to figure out on the dosage or timing. Others have reported that they started to feel more symptoms again at month 5.

[jimeka in reply to anaishunter]

I guess it’s like ms, Ocrevus affects you all differently. 🤗

[anaishunter in reply to jimeka]

I'm not sure how to add emojis on this platform. If I could, I would have inserted quite a few. @jimeka - your answers are always so spot on, and funny. Thank you...

[jimeka in reply to anaishunter]

Do you have a smiley face on the bottom of your keypad, because that’s where the emojis are, just press it and you should have a selection. 👍

[anaishunter in reply to jimeka]

I'm on a computer so I don't have an emoji key like on a smartphone, but there's probably a way to configure it to access the little smiley yellow faces.

[jimeka in reply to anaishunter]

I will look when I have my computer open tomorrow. I have an iPad so I guess it’s like a smart phone. If you find it let us know, as others may want to know, thank you. 🤗

[kycmary in reply to anaishunter]

anaishunter if you get it figured out please share. Mary

[ssdw1958]

I saw that on the tv last night. Now maybe people will believe us when we say we have MS. 1 Million people have this crummy disease.

But to the people that have it I hope you all have a great weekend!!!

[Peruzzot]

I pretty much stayed outside until I was in my early 40's. It was then that I got stuck working in an office without much time to go outside to enjoy the sun. Plus it was really high stress for too long. I was working in a 3 person shop all by myself. It was a year and a half before we got a second person hired so that I could finally take some leave. It was about then when I had my first flare up with my hands not working right and extreme vertigo. But every year since then I've always been in a use it or lose it status for leave. I use all of it plus a few days by the end of the year, but when then year flips over I'm back in a use or lose status. Right now i have a little over 4 weeks worth of use or lose leave. I like that status because i can't be denied leave when i ask for it.😊

[greaterexp]

I still feel "special."

It's sad that there are this many cases, but I'm glad that more attention may be given to it and that, perhaps, people can get diagnosed earlier because of the awareness. I think we're all ready for a cure any time!

Thanks for sharing this information.

[RoyceNewton]

I always thought the number was low, makes me feel like less of a minority, but 1 in 350 or so is wow.

[hairbrain4]

I saw Janice Dean on Fox & Friends this morning with her neurologist. They were trying to raise awareness of the larger than thought numbers of people with MS.