MS, as a degenerative disease has a great disabling potential. Sometimes this happens faster, sometimes it happens later, but MS patients are bound to have a disability as the disease progresses.

It is needless to say, that every single multiple sclerosis sufferers would do anything to keep disability away for as much as possible. So, the question is, how can this be done?

First of all, the diagnosis needs to be made as soon as possible. However, this doesn’t always happen due to the fact that many of MS’s symptoms are related to other diseases, and there is more than one case when MS was first diagnosed as fibromyalgia, or stress, or any other disease with which it shares symptoms.  But, today, there are several treatments that promise to cure MS in its early stages.

Needless to say, once the diagnosis was made, the treatment needs to begin. For MS, the treatment is mostly based on soothing some of this illness’ symptoms. However, it’s important for the MS patient to take the treatment religiously, because this improves one’s quality of life. There are cases when drug treatments can be combined with eastern medicine and alternative therapies. Until now, this has been proven to be a very productive approach in lessening the disease’s symptoms and slowing down its progression. However, it is recommended that MS patients discuss with their current healthcare specialist before trying on a new drug or a new herbal treatment or form of therapy.

It has been proven that stress is one of the most precipitating factors that influence MS. This is why it is recommended for MS patients to learn how to deal with stress and develop strong coping mechanisms. This can be done several ways, yoga, tai-chi, meditation, psychotherapy, etc. No matter the choice that one has made, it is better than not making any choice at all.

A very important thing is one’s diet – this is generally true, but it is even truer when it comes to MS. It’s needless to say that CNS irritating foods, coffee and cigarettes are to be avoided by MS sufferers. Also, alcohol consumption is not recommended, especially because long term alcohol consumption leads to depression. Needless to say, most MS patients also struggle with depression, and alcohol consumption does nothing good for them – besides worsening their depression. 

Most doctors recommend MS patients to exercise regularly. This is due to the fact that some of the symptoms that MS patient’s experience, including muscle weakens, fatigue, difficulties with balance, are due to the demyelination process, not because there is something wrong with their bodies. Well, something is wrong, of course, but it is a neurological problem. For example, if one feels like one’s muscles are weak, this isn’t because the muscle itself is weak – an MS sufferer feels like this because of poor nervous signal transmission – the muscle is strong, the problem is getting the right signal.  Exercising on a daily basis is highly recommended, and this can mean anything from aerobics to weight lifting.