Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a devastating autoimmune disease that hits people in the prime of their life — taking them from active and thriving to struggling to balance, walk, concentrate and more, if they can at all.
It’s a devastation I’ve seen first-hand, since my mom was diagnosed with the disease when I was still in elementary school.
However, she had been living with constant challenges for close to a decade before she was ever diagnosed…
For years, she was shuffled from doctor to doctor looking for answers to why she was so exhausted she couldn’t get out of bed, why she cried for no apparent reason or why her eyes bothered her.
It was almost a relief when she was diagnosed because at least there was a name for the issues plaguing her life.
And it meant that she could finally start looking for treatments that might help, rather than just trying to survive each day.
Now, researchers are revealing that not only does MS start sooner than doctors believed, but that there are three types of issues patients commonly experience that could help identify the disease and offer access to early interventions.
As it turns out, my mom suffered from all of them…
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A vague confluence of symptoms
Researchers at the University of British Columbia started with the health and insurance data of more than 12,000 people. One thing stood out: People with MS began using healthcare services at elevated rates 15 years before their first obvious neurological symptoms appeared.
Some of the most common complaints they sought help for in the decade and a half leading up to a diagnosis included fatigue, anxiety and pain.
But because symptoms like these are considered vague, they’re often ignored or mistaken for other conditions.
Fortunately, because this study went further back into patient history, these findings may help doctors recognize early warning signs that could lead to earlier detection and intervention.
Compared to the general population, patients eventually diagnosed with MS had a steady buildup of engagement with healthcare providers that looked like this:
- 15 years before recognized symptom onset: Visits to general practice physicians increase, especially for symptoms like fatigue, pain, anxiety, dizziness and depression.
- 12 years before: Visits to a psychiatrist increase.
- Eight to nine years before: Visits to neurologists and ophthalmologists increase, possibly due to issues like blurry vision or eye pain.
- Three to five years before: Emergency medicine and radiology visits increase.
- One year before: Doctors’ visits reach a peak, with trips to neurology, emergency medicine and radiology.
“These patterns suggest that MS has a long and complex prodromal phase, where something is happening beneath the surface but hasn’t yet declared itself as MS,” said Dr. Marta Ruiz-Algueró, a postdoctoral fellow at UBC and the study’s first author.
“We’re only now starting to understand what these early warning signs are, with mental health-related issues appearing to be among the earliest indicators.”
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Get the support you need
If you recognize this pattern in yourself or a loved one, have a serious discussion with a doctor.
Though there is no single test for diagnosing MS, there are several that, together with patient history, can aid in diagnosis.
It’s unknown exactly what causes MS, but some researchers believe a combination of genetic and environmental factors triggers the disease.
Some studies have found significant differences between the gut microbes of patients with MS and those without the disease. However, the mechanism through which these microbes may influence the disease is still unclear.
But research over the years has suggested ways to support your body against the ravages of MS:
- Supplements – Vitamin D, Omega 3’s, melatonin and antioxidants (CoQ10, vitamin E, quercetin and lutein-zeaxanthin) have been researched for positive impacts on autoimmune issues and some specifically on MS. Also, an acid found in fruit peel was found to reverse the myelin damage of MS in mice.
- A simple sugar – N-acetylglucosamine, a form of glucosamine that’s shown to be effective for joint discomfort and often used in supplements, was found to reduce multiple inflammation and neurodegeneration markers in MS patients in research done at the University of California, Irvine.
- Diet – Dr. Terry Wahls is a physician and also a patient with progressive MS. To fight back against the disease, she created The Wahls Protocol, in which she credits diet and lifestyle interventions with helping her leave her wheelchair behind.
Sources:
Fatigue, anxiety, pain? They might be MS in disguise — ScienceDaily
Early Detection and Treatment — National Multiple Sclerosis Society
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