Multiple Sclerosis Patients on the Most Effective Ways Doctors Can Treat Their Condition
Because multiple sclerosis involves nerve damage that can occur throughout the body, including brain connections, symptoms can vary widely and be progressive. That makes each patient’s journey unique, and can prompt challenges on both sides of the exam table.
Here’s what eight patients with the disease wish doctors knew when it comes to helping them manage the condition more effectively.
Diagnosis should be its own appointment
Although Dr. Claire Warren—a 70-year-old Stonington, N.Y.–based physician—has plenty of experience treating patients with all kinds of ailments, it wasn’t until she was diagnosed with MS that she truly understood what it felt like to be diagnosed with a chronic condition. MS is a disease of the brain and spinal cord that can cause symptoms such as vision changes, balance problems, and weakness.
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“Honestly, I was a hot mess,” she says. “By the time I went, I had numerous symptoms, but I was in denial about the fatigue, numbness, and increasing mobility concerns. Then, even when I had an answer about what was going on, I refused to accept the devastation of it.”
After her doctor said, “You have MS,” Warren realized, she didn’t hear anything that followed. That’s true as well for Johnnah Rosano, a 39-year-old Boston resident who says it felt as if her brain shut off as soon as that diagnosis was made. Beca...
Source: TIME: Health - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Elizabeth Millard Tags: Uncategorized Disease freelance healthscienceclimate Source Type: news
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