b'Care had not changed during my years aseffective medications as they became available. a nurse, and outcomes were similar. We hadOver the years, I was able to resume working a medication that could be used to treatand being almost as active in society as I was individuals in the early stages of MS, helpingbefore my diagnosis. to prevent some of the things we knew to beEexpected outcomes in the long-term. I did notEaarrlliieerrddiiaaggnnoossiissaqualify for the medication because I had beenannddttrreeaattmmeennttooppttiioonnsssymptomatic for so long, and there was aWhile I had to leave the workforce in my lottery of individuals new to the diseaseearly 50s, I could return in my mid-60s, and (symptomatic for around ve years). Theretoday, in my 70s, I can work as much or as was not enough supply to administer to all wholittle as I choose to, thanks to the use of DMTs wanted it.andlifestylechanges.Understanding,not R just in theory but in practice, that exercise is Reeggaaiinniinnggaannaaccttiivveelliiffeessttyyllee the most effective way to combat MS fatigue, Six years later, an MS clinic opened withinand even pain, was a lifesaver. I genuinely an hour of where I lived. I moved my carefeel better because I got processed foods and there from a general neurologist who had beenrened sugars out of my diet. My pain increases treating me, and things started to improve. Iand sleep worsens if I relax on activity was given a ve-day course of IV steroids and,levels or types of foods I consume. when my neurological exam had improvedToday, we have more than two dozen highly two weeks later, I was given a prescription foreffective DMTs. With the current philosophy a weekly DMT. By now, the approved threeof treating aggressively at the time of diagnosis, medications were all self-administered bywe are no longer seeing the Jameses except injection. My relapses, which felt like theyinthosewhodidnotreceivemedications were piling on each other and never resolving,earlier in the course of the disease process. began to become less severe. We now have the tools to diagnose earlier, That was 2001, and I was 49 years old. Byand with that comes highly effective treatment then, I was ambulating with a cane andoptions. For most of us, once we are on a dependingonascootertogetoutofthetreatment and have modied our lifestyle to house for any activities. I was catheterizingmove more and eat differently, there is a high several times daily as I could not empty mylikelihood we can remain in the workforce bladder and was dealing with frequent UTIs.and be productive well into our sixth and My vision was poor enough from multipleseventh decades of life.bouts of optic neuritis that it was technicallyOh, that life expectancy thing? People not legal for me to drive anymore. By 2003,with MS are now expected to live into their another medication, that was a bit moremid-to late-70s on average rather than effective, was approved. Going on this newmid-to late-50s. If an MS diagnosis is treatment helped me regain a more activereceived, there has never been a better time and engaged lifestyle, with changes in mytogetthatnews. Wenowhaveacadreof diet and physical activity.trainedandinternationallycertiedMS During the next decade, we saw morenurses all around the world to advise us how effective infusions than injections approved,tobesuccessfulnavigatingadiagnosisof and even oral meds. I shifted to newer, moreand life with MS. 13 msfocusmagazine.org'