This Is MS Multiple Sclerosis Community: Knowledge & Support

sorry to type a topic so blue
but im 19 years old, had life ahead of me, now ill be lucky to be 50.
don't see the point in dating, school, anything really

im sure some of you had these thoughts when you first got diagnosed
but i really would like to hear how you got through these times

this is terrible, my initial symptom was optic nueritis making my eyes hurt and colors wierd and it seems like i have a lifetime ahead of not being able to function independantly , constant pain, and confusion

so for the love of god
someone please
tell me the point of living

Your biggest problem MAY be that you got a dx so early. I was almost 50 when I got my dx BUT looking at my clinical history, it was determoned that my first attack of MS ocurred when I was only 20. (Didn't have MRI's back then).

You could very well spend the next 20 to 30 years nearly symptom free - it's not an uncommon thing in RRMS so I suggest that for now you just get on with life one day at a time just like anyone else.

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Carpe Diem

emg,

I'm so sorry you are having these blue times & mostly that you are faced with a dx of MS. It is a tough piece of news to have to absorb. Having said that, oreo is correct & you may well go symptom free for many years and the good news is that there are so very, very many things on the horizon for the treatment of MS right now.
I was dx'd in 2005 and the stress of learning this set the exacerbation I was experiencing at the time into overdrive. I really have to work hard to keep stress out of my life as I can feel it in my body as MS symptoms. I also have to stay rested. You will go through a period of grieving as my doctor told me at the time b/c I was really having a hard time coming to terms with my dx. He was right, but he really helped me through that. Find a good GP and be honest with your feelings with him/her so they can help you through this time. Then you have to do what you can to stay healthy until something better comes along and it will! It is....
As for staying healthy, check out jimmylegs posts for nutrition & supplement tips, get rest and try to stay positive. You have found a site that has a TON of information - dive in & that will help to distract you at this time as well. Take care and all the best in your journey.
Deb

One of my first symptoms was my eye. It turned in I was basically crossed eyed for a year. I was 20 at this time. But it eventually went away. MS is not a death sentence it is manageable. It is something you can learn to deal with. A positive attitude helps. I know that it is hard to take right now but it will get better.

I was really young when I was diagnosed, as well. I still graduated college (not as a vet like I planned) and raised my child. The only thing that got me through was piss and vinegar. I was so mad at this disease that it made me determined to work harder. I am not the kind of person to heap phrases like I have MS but it doesn't have me...BS! You are owned by MS but you will find ways to adapt and if you let it MS will make you a stronger person.

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Diagnosed 1994, Self EDSS is 6.5

look at the bright side all the info I am seeing says that the prognosis is significantly better for people who "get" MS when they're younger.

Don't give up so easily! If you are having a difficult time, talk to someone: a family member, a close friend, even rant on this forum. It helps to express yourself. It's tough, I know; I was diagnosed at 19 too. But, you can't give in to negativity. You owe it to yourself to fight back and your whole family that raised you and brought you up to this point in your life.

MS research is exploding right now. Tovaxin seems promising as an early treatment for people with RRMS that have never been on any other MS drugs (it's an actual vaccine!). CCSVI research is advancing at such a rapid pace, it is hard to keep track of the influx of new information. MS will never be looked at the same again, so all that nonsense about, "my life is over," you can toss out the window, because it's not true! It may have been true if you were diagnosed YEARS ago (I'm talking decades), but not today, not today.

Keep your hopes up, kiddo.

Hi, I am 20 years old and was diagnosed in August, I beat my first exacerbation and right now I am possibly slipping into a second but if things work out right with my second IV steroid treatment it won't turn into the exacerbation I had dealt with in the first place.

Anyways, I wanted to send you a link to my blog because I too had similar thoughts when I was first diagnosed but if you take a look at my blog you will see that I have not let MS get in the way of me living a normal life, just last week I went riding (quads) in the desert! So check it out and hopefully it will help spark some motivation for you! Hang in there!

-Matt

http://mattsms.blogspot.com/

http://www.youtube.com/user/mattalleng1990?feature=mhum

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http://www.mattsms.com<br />

Focus on one thing at a time; instead of thinking about being 50, think about tomorrow, next week, next month, next year maybe. So maybe that might be bad advice for you but I put myself in your place and that's what I would want to hear.

I had optic neuritis at 8 and I went blind, it was scary but I got through it, I had multiple relapses in elementary school and wasn't diagnosed until I was unable to walk at all. It used to scare me to think about the future so I tried not to. Maybe, because of that, I never saw myself graduating high school and, now, college, nearly disease free.

I'm not going to lie, I've been bed-ridden, homeschooled because of my condition. MS has taken years from me BUT that doesn't matter anymore. I'm 23 and I was diagnosed with MS 11 years ago. As time goes on, you'll figure out what works for you, it is something only YOU can figure out. Not your parents or your doctors, you need to eventually take control of your health.

I have faith that you will get through this, MS has an amazing way of turning around when you least expect it, for the worse (as we know) but, more importantly, for the better.

Damn EMG I hope you are okay, haven't responded to this yet....

But you should not freak out about it. I had the same issues with my eyes when I that same age. I am 25 now and unless I told you, you wouldn't even know I have MS. It affects everyone differently, so don't go thinking worst case scenario right off the bat.

Since I have been diagnosed I have graduated college, gotten married, work full time and have a daughter now. Nothing is impossible, don't give up hope.

I am just recently Diagnosed but I have had MS attacks for about 10 years now, just never knew because they were always mild and went away. ANYHOW, there are a few things for you to know:

1. MS is Chronic, not Terminal. MS should have very little bearing on how long you live your natural life. In fact, I would wager that people with MS taking care of their supplements, vitamins, diet and exercise will in many cases end up living longer and healthier than people with NO MS.

2. The real power in MS is that you now know what you have. You can now pursue a drug therapy program to reduce how often and how severe your relapses are. And now, when you do have a relapse, you can try to stem the problems you face with steroids right away.

3. The pipeline of MS treatments and drugs is full. This is because there are HUGE profits to be made in treating MS, but regardless think about this: The first MS drug hit the market in 1993. The first MS pill hit the market in 2010. There are between 5-7 MS drugs that will be potentially hitting the market in the next 2 years. Long story short, the best medical minds in the world are working their butts off to put forward better and better treatments. As young people with MS, we can look forward to these.

Anyhow, MS is scary, but it doesn't define you. It is just something that affects how you feel sometimes. The meaning of life is different for everyone, but there is no reason to let MS dictate what your life will or will not be - You still want to make your grades, meet someone nice to date and enjoy all the things that are great about life.