Symptoms of Autoimmune Diseases: What to Watch For - MSN Health & Fitness - Rheumatoid Arthritis

Kara Shalee, Greetings. Great post, thank you. I also have an auto-immune illness. I have fought with this Multiple Sclerosis now for three years. One point that I wish to make is the onset of this disease comes on like a lion with no indication of any kind that there is something wrong. It also takes about a year for the diagnosis to be confirmed since MS mimics many other diseases so it is a process that takes lots of testing and time. By then the "other" symptoms start showing up. Walking for me is history, wheel chair bound in three and a half years. Forget- fullness, not remembering close friends names, addresses, phone numbers to name a few are also casualties of the brain lesions. The attack on the spinal cord is what takes the balance away and walking is not too pretty, falls happen a lot. Spastic, shaky, spills easily when eating. The last can be fun if in a good restaurant. There is a new pill version for recurring/remittal MS which is the one I have and is in its secondary stage. Just a few things extra that can help. Thank you for posting.

Kara; Greetings. I have a lot of information that I can share and will be happy to if it will help anyone who might be newly diagnosed or like me, always looking for more updates. I am no expert but have lots of information from specialists on this subject and first hand information living with this disease. You ask about the male/female ratio for this and yes it does prefer female but will also effect males, I am not sure about the ratio but have herd that it is 60/40% for females. What causes MS symptoms? MS interrupts normal nerve function, the protective coating around healthy nerve fibers (axons) is called myelin. In many ways, myelin functions in a similar way as insulation does around the electrical wiring in your home. Myelin helps the nerves transmit signals from the central nervous system to the parts of the body that control physical function and cognition.However, people with MS, inflammation causes damage not only to the protective myelin shield, but to the nerve fibers themselves. This damage is called a lesion, or plaque. YOU SHOULD KNOW: A goal of early treatment is to reduce the frequency of flare-ups that cause inflammation and nerve damage, which can lead to physical disability. Now, to classify what types of MS one can have. 1. (CIS) Clinically Isolated Syndrome, or "Early MS." This describes someone having a flare-up lasting at least 24 hours (first sign of illness, usually with vision loss in one or both eyes). 2. Relapsing-remitting MS. This describes a condition when a person has had clearly defined flare-ups or relapses with SOME amount of recovery in between. RRMS affects about 80% of all people diagnosed with MS just like me, that is what I have. 3. Secondary Progressive MS. This is related to the Relapsing-remitting in #2. This describes a condition that seems like a relapsing form of MS in its early-to-mid stages, with relapses and remissions being quite common. Then a more continuous loss of physical and cognitive functions start to take over, and flare-ups or relapses become less common. 50% of people with RRMS will develop secondary progressive MS within 10 years of their initial diagnosis. 4. Primary Progressive MS. Describes a condition when a person has no flare-ups or relapses, but over a period of yeays, there is a gradual loss of physical and cognitive function. This affects about 10% of all people diagnosed with MS.

OK, sorry, its getting a bit long but the top part is very important to know and see just what can and usually does take place. I can only stress that getting diagnosed EARLY will help a lot. What you asked was the stage I have, look at #2, It started that way then it evolved into the #3. If you or anyone else needs more information, next I have contact information for a one on one talk.

Biogen Idec Patient Services (maker of Avonex) also a great handbook for the asking. 1-800-456-2255.

Web sites about MS. www.MSActiveSource.com www.UnderstandingMS.com

www.TheFamilyCaregiver.org www.NMSS.org www.MSassociation.org

I should say that by calling Biogen, ask for their very good handbook and DVD's, it helps with other resources and also financial help for getting your medication. They will also tell you what options are available to you, this did a lot of good for me and I know it will help others.

Sorry, forgot some other stuff; sleep is not easy at times, I use a prescribed sleeping aid about four times a week. The pill version (Galena) is what I am going for. I have an appointment with the MS/spinal cord injury unit at the veterans Hospital this coming Tuesday to get the dosage adjusted for me, this will take four days, this pill was released by the FDA just two months ago, there are several other pill versions coming soon.This information may sound scary, but this can be regulated where anyone can still have a good life. The genetic connection has not been proven.....so I guess we who have it are the lucky ones.

I have professional medical experience in helping direct caregivers diagnose autoimmune diseases. What I learned most while in this area of medicine is that many autoimmune symptoms..particularly in the beginning stages...are very diffuse in their symptoms which makes early diagnosis often hard for caregivers to do.

I also have direct personal experience with various autoimmune diseases in terms of helping to care for those that have them.

I have yet to see much autoimmune disease within my own family but feel it is only a matter of time until we all get one form or another of it just due to growing older due to its nature at the cellular level.

I hope all those with autoimmune symptoms and diseases get the care they need.

I wish I were able to continue my medical profession but as I caught one of my previous employers literally falsifying medical output and stood against it I fear I have sacrificed my medical profession but still would do it again if I knew patients would be protected against harm arising from knowingly and intentionally fraudulent medical informational outputs to unknowing direct medical providers. However, I can still encourage patients to care for themselves and help others to help themselves with my medical knowledge and long-term medical professional experience.

Do not give up....autoimmune medical care has a long way to go and there will likely be significant improvements in meds and treatments over the long run due to all the research still going on in this area of medicine.

Kara, thank you for the FR, accepted, also go into my blog and scroll down a ways, there is more MS information there and a new blog I discovered by chance it is headlined as Multiple Sclerosis but nothing entered yet. When I come back from the hospital, I will post any fresh information there to help give it a boost.

Kara; I am touched by your remarks and also my helping others is the drive that keeps me going to spread the information to anybody that might go through this catastrophic disease. After just a short time of dealing with this I have already been assigned the 100% disability but I still feel that I someday will beat this monster and regain a more useful life,surrender is not an option, I will fight to the bitter end. And yes it is true...this disease does "smells of poo!". lets keep in touch, you can find something that I have missed and help me to help others. I wish you well and hope you stay healthy without MS. Thank you, William.

I visited the Rheumatologist a couple of weeks ago. I have lots of things going on, but no diagnosis. After a year of blood work with my family doctor, she referred to the Rheumatologist. He did rule out Lupus, but that's the only conclusion with my first visit. More blood work and a follow up visit in a couple of weeks.

It's very frustrating because I know something isn't right. I feel bad all the time, my joints hurt and I could sleep at any given moment of the day, yet my bloodwork is always fine. I'm tired of hearing "well, you are 40 now". I'm hoping to get answers with the new doctor.