Being diagnosed with MS can be more than a bit of a shock at first. Yes, you finally know what you’ve got, what all those symptoms you’ve having mean, and you have heard what your neurologist told you.
Well, you may have heard, but you didn’t take it in because you weren’t actually listening. The doctor was droning on while you were lost in your own thoughts, your own despair.
Multiple what? Sker … what?
You leave the consulting room not knowing much at all, but grasping an information sheet to read at home.
So, once you get the name of the disease sorted out, where can you find more information? Fortunately, most countries have MS charities, or nonprofits, that publish a host of leaflets and pamphlets that can help. As an example, I looked at what is on offer to the newly diagnosed in the U.S.and U.K.
Each country has the luxury of two charities.
Newly Diagnosed with MS in the US
The National Multiple Sclerosis Society (NMSS) offers:
- Knowledge Is Power (KIP): An educational series for people newly diagnosed with MS or those with a loved one recently diagnosed.
- Understanding treatment options: Strategies available to modify the disease course, treat relapses, manage symptoms, and improve function and quality of life.
- Deciding to disclose … or not: Telling others about your MS may be the first thing you want to do — or the last.
- Protecting your employment options: Read about the ways MS can affect employment, and learn some strategies for maintaining your place in the workforce.
The Multiple Sclerosis Association of America (MSAA) also provides a “Multiple Sclerosis information” (MSi) collection, offering online educational videos, webcasts and webinars. These are easy to access through the MSAA’s website by selecting the topics of interest to you. For individuals who are newly diagnosed, or who are experiencing initial symptoms and have yet to be diagnosed, a portion of these MSi videos and webinars may be particularly helpful. These include:
Hi Ian
I have just read your article on Multiple Sclerosis News Today ‘Help for Anyone Newly Diagnosed with MS’ and was surprised to not find reference to the MS-UK’s ‘Newly Diagnosed’ Booklet. For information people can find out more about it, and download it for free, or order copies, from our website at http://www.ms-uk.org/aboutms
Kind regards
John
John Habkirk
MS-UK Website Manager
It is not the end of the world,you just have to adjust and wait for MS research to find a cure.It helps to have a caregiver who really supports you like my wife,I got diagnosed in 2001 and it has been a challenge for both of us,but I,m still here
Hi Merlin, I agree – definitely not the end of the world.
We hear that the outcome for a who is newly diagnosed has a favorable prognosis. Is that a factor of better treatments and care?
http://medntel.com/index.php/2016/10/23/prognosis-of-ms/
Can you share few of the glimpses of Just Diagnosed- an Introduction to MS.
Thousands of individuals are being diagnosed with MS in a quarter of an year, and most of them start managing the disease and learn to live with it, which is not a great idea.