The star suffers from multiple sclerosis. How many people live with multiple sclerosis. Forecast and myths. Can a person with MS study or work

The former talk show host told Oprah Winfrey that the problem has been a real test for him since 1999, when he was diagnosed. He learned to ignore the disease and keep the fact a secret.

Currently, Williams devotes a lot of attention to disseminating information about the disease through the Montel Williams Foundation.

2. Jamie-Lynn Sigler

In the final episode of The Sopranos, which aired in 2007, fans saw the episode where the daughter of a mobster crosses the road to meet the family. Jamie-Lynn played this role for 6 seasons of the series, but this was the last time she was able to run. In 2001, she was diagnosed, but the actress did not tell anyone about it, as she was afraid that this would affect her career. In early 2016, she found the strength to announce her illness. Jamie-Lynn gave an interview to People magazine where she mentioned: "It's a part of me, but it's not who I am." The actress takes drugs twice a day and says she is coping with multiple sclerosis.

3. Jack Osborne

Reality TV star Jack Osbourne found out he had multiple sclerosis in 2012. He told British magazine Hello that his new motto for life is to "adapt and overcome". Within two months, he tweeted to the world that he had just completed a 27-kilometer hike with a 15-kilogram backpack on his shoulders. Jack ended the message with very encouraging words: "The good life."

4. Trevor Bain

In 2013, Bain revealed that he had been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. Doctors helped the 22-year-old race car driver get back in shape to continue his participation in the National Stock Car Racing Association. "Now I'm in better shape than ever and feel good," Bain said. "Since there are currently no symptoms, I intend to continue to get in shape as much as possible." Bain became the youngest driver in the history of the National Stock Car Racing Association to win the annual Dayton 500 in 2001.

5. Ann Romney

Ann Romney, the wife of former presidential candidate Mitt Romney, has always been open about her multiple sclerosis issues. This nervous system disorder can cause many symptoms, such as loss of balance and trouble walking. For therapeutic purposes, Romney rides horses. Studies show that horseback riding improves balance and relieves walking problems in people suffering from multiple sclerosis.

6. Neil Cavuto

Cavuto, the founder of Fox New TV, was already a cancer survivor when he was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 1997.

He said that the biggest challenge for him was the problem of fatigue and limitation of the body. He described the stories of overcoming the difficulties of other people in the book More Than Money: Real Stories of People Who Learned a Life Lesson.

7. Clay Walker

Multiple sclerosis attacked country music star Clay Walker when he was about 25 years old. At first, the singer could not hold the plectrum in his right hand and stand. The treatment helped Walker restore the function of his right arm and leg, and he began to actively advance in his career, and also found himself in volunteer work. For more than 15 years, the singer has been actively working and telling people about multiple sclerosis.

8. Teri Garr

Actress Teri Garr was injured in a shooting in Hollywood in the early 80s, after the incident she noticed some symptoms. The actress told the whole world about her diagnosis in 2002. Garr encourages people to get tested and learn all the information about the disease. Multiple sclerosis affects each person differently. In addition, doctors use a variety of treatments to keep the disease under control.

9. Tamia Hill

Multiple sclerosis did not interrupt the musical career of singer-songwriter Tamiya Hill. Since her diagnosis at the age of 28, she has recorded 4 albums. Hill says she has both good and bad days, but it's important to always keep a positive attitude about life. The singer also works to raise awareness about multiple sclerosis and has a stable life with her family and husband Grant Hill, a National Basketball Association star.

10. Victoria Williams

Singer-songwriter Victoria Williams' diagnosis has turned her into a source of help and support for others. In 1993, her friends, including Lou Reed and Pearl Jam, recorded the album Sweet Relief to raise money for Victoria's medical bills. Then the singer founded a foundation to help other people who have health problems. Williams regularly hosts country and rock concerts and calls music "a healing thing."

11. Alan and David Osmond

Alan Osmond and many of his siblings became famous. His son, David, now represents his family on American Idol. Son and father are connected not only by family relations, but also by multiple sclerosis. They live by Alan's motto: "I may have multiple sclerosis, but multiple sclerosis doesn't have me."

12. Noua "40" Shebib

Shebib is the producer and co-songwriter of Drake. The first symptom of Shebib was the leg, which was very “burning”. After this incident, he was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. The producer uses his fame to inspire other people suffering from this disease. He always says that the disease never stopped him: “I have a disease and I will live with it. I'm going to beat him."

13. David Lander

14. Hal Ketchum

Country singer Hal Ketchum says talking about multiple sclerosis makes him feel better. The singer has also changed his priorities in life to focus on what really matters.

To see a person with such an ailment on the street is possible only if the motor functions are preserved. But more often, only those who have had such a problem in their family recognize multiple sclerosis.

Multiple sclerosis is a chronic disease that leads to disability. With it, people rarely live to old age, especially in cases where there is a remitting form and constant treatment.

The main cause of death is the presence of infection or bulbar disorders (problem swallowing, chewing, etc.).

• All information on the site is for informational purposes and is NOT a guide to action!
• Give you an ACCURATE DIAGNOSIS only DOCTOR!
• We kindly ask you DO NOT self-medicate, but book an appointment with a specialist!
• Health to you and your loved ones!

Disability

In the presence of multiple sclerosis, patients receive a disability, the degree of which is determined by specialists of medical expert commissions. The nature of the course of seizures is taken into account.

Factors affecting life expectancy

Only a few manage to live long in the presence of multiple sclerosis.

The influencing factors are:

• mental disorders;
• the presence of bedsores and ulcers on the limbs, which cause infection of other organs.

Such causes lead to death gradually.

But there may be changes in which life ends immediately:

• with a heart attack;
• with lesions of the respiratory centers;
• with renal failure;
• with infection of the urinary system.

Life expectancy also depends on the stage at which pathological processes are detected. If the disease is diagnosed in a timely manner, then with proper treatment, disability does not occur.

Life expectancy in multiple sclerosis

It is rare to find a person with multiple sclerosis who has lived for more than 40 years. And in order to understand how advanced modern science has advanced in search of effective treatment, it is worth waiting for more than a dozen years. This is also difficult to do, for the reason that with atypical forms of MS, people die after 5-6 years.

But experts were able to ensure that life expectancy increased.

For comparison, here is a table:

After being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, the average person still lives 35 years. If the disease proceeds in an acute form, then the person is given much less. The frequency of this type of pathology is every fourth patient.

Modern medicines increase the life expectancy of a person. Their particular effectiveness is noted in forty-year-old patients.

If there are problems with coordination of movements in a patient at the age of 50, it is likely that he will live no more than 70 years.

There are several groups of people with such a diagnosis, whose life has a different duration:

Consequences and complications

There may be such complications:

• the sensitivity of the limbs is lost;
• the brain is affected;
• inability to control urination, defecation;
• weakness in the legs;
• paresis and paralysis;
• the appearance of seizures;
• the occurrence of dizziness;
• feeling tired;
• depression;
• disorders in the sexual sphere.

Frequently asked Questions

Persons who have experienced such a disease themselves or observe its course in a member of their family are wondering: how to live on.

Can a person with MS study or work?

Due to the fact that MS is not characterized by a general manifestation, severity and frequency of occurrence, it is difficult to answer such a question unambiguously. The degree of disability affects the ability to perform work duties or attend classes.

If a person has a 3rd disability group, he can continue to lead the lifestyle he is used to.

During remission, the patient must assess the level of his capabilities in a particular industry:

• physical;
• social;
• cognitive abilities.

This will allow you to move towards the goal not only at this stage, but also in the future.

Do I need to talk about my illness to family and friends?

The patient has the full right to decide on his own - to hide the discovered ailment or to tell relatives.

If there are no visible signs, then you can not rush to inform your relatives.

But when you open a secret, you can take advantage of the benefits provided. For example, in educational institutions, such patients are trained according to special programs, they can count on individual examinations, etc.

How to live on after the diagnosis?

If the disease is detected early, treatment will be more effective. You need to take beta-interferons, which will help slow down the process of disability, reduce the severity and frequency of exacerbations.

The patient should adapt to disability (if it is not very pronounced) and continue to live the same life.

There is no general method of treatment. If there is a serious exacerbation, then the doctor will prescribe corticosteroids, methylprednisolone intravenously with a further transition to prednisolone.

The severity and severity of exacerbation is reduced by individual drugs that have been approved for use quite recently:

The patient should be in rehabilitation after an exacerbation.

With remissions, maintenance therapy is prescribed, as well as:

• physical exercises (stretching and coordination);
• speech therapy classes;
• physiotherapy.

Which specialists to contact?

How to live without exacerbations or minimize them? It is worth seeing the experts. Multiple sclerosis is in the competence of a neurologist. A family doctor will help you and your loved ones to find out all the nuances about the course of the disease.

Many also turn to medical institutions for psychological support.

For special problems that may arise due to the disease, contact:

• to the urologist;
• psychologist;
• nutritionist;
• speech therapist;
• physiotherapist;
• therapist.

Will volunteers help if I'm lonely?

Lonely people can count on the support of social workers in housekeeping.

There are volunteer movements in the country that will support and help in solving problems.

These organizations have special literature on multiple sclerosis, which is provided to patients free of charge. Trust numbers and the address of such a society can be found on the RS International Portal.

Does MS differ in the elderly from the course of the disease in young people and children?

MS can debut in a person of any age, but is most often diagnosed in people 25-35 years old, and the female body is at a greater risk. In old age, as in the young, the disease rarely appears.

The course of multiple sclerosis in a two-year-old child is mild, and complications are minimal.

In young people and children (unlike older patients), the disease is accompanied by:

• convulsions;
• loss of consciousness.

The rest of the symptoms are common. According to research, if a child falls ill before the age of 16, then the course of the disease will be more favorable. But there are cases when, after 20-30 years, such people have significant disability.

What are the predictions?

No one predicts how multiple sclerosis will develop. Partially it is possible to foresee, taking into account the type of course of the disease (remitting or progressive), the disability group that was obtained at this stage.

Most patients lead a normal life (45%), since the disease does not cause a strong deterioration in the condition. In 40% of patients, multiple sclerosis from a remitting type passes into a progressive one.

Those people with multiple sclerosis who work, during an exacerbation, take steroid hormones and drugs prescribed by a neurologist to minimize them. In rare cases, a person must sit in a wheelchair.

In 15% of patients, there are no pronounced disorders for more than 25 years. Life expectancy with multiple sclerosis is different for everyone, but it is in your power to do everything possible to alleviate the condition and live a fulfilling lifestyle. The main thing is to identify the disease in a timely manner and not to avoid meeting with the doctor.

The disease is indeed unusual, as it manifests itself with many symptoms that are often a mystery to doctors. But, first of all, it should be said that multiple sclerosis, as established relatively recently, is an autoimmune disease caused by the presence of a pathological gene. Therefore, this disease is also genetic. In general, autoimmune diseases are quite common. This is rheumatoid arthritis, and temporal arteritis, and myasthenia gravis, and autoimmune thyroiditis, and so on.

What happens in multiple sclerosis?

Nerve cell with axons.

Multiple sclerosis refers to inflammatory diseases of the central nervous system (brain and spinal cord). As you know, a nerve cell has lateral processes (axons), with the help of which the nerve signal is carried to all organs and structures of our body. The signal propagation speed is approximately 120 meters per second. And what is interesting is that such a high rate of propagation of nervous excitation is carried out thanks to the outer shell that envelops the axon. This sheath is called myelin. With multiple sclerosis, myelin at a certain moment is recognized by our body as a foreign body and its destruction begins. This process is called demyelination. The myelin sheath is destroyed in places, being replaced by the so-called "plaques". As a result, the speed of the nerve impulse is sharply reduced, which is reflected in the state of the organ or system that the damaged axon innervates. Areas called "plaques" are interspersed with intact areas, that is, they are "scattered in space." They also appear not all at once, but at certain intervals of time, that is, "scattered in time." That is why this disease is called multiple sclerosis. The word "sclerosis" means that damaged areas of the myelin sheath, "plaques", are replaced by connective tissue.

Who develops multiple sclerosis.

Multiple sclerosis occurs in all racial groups, although Caucasians develop this disease much more often than blacks and especially Mongoloids. The most common multiple sclerosis occurs in the so-called Caucasoids, carriers of northern European genes.

Multiple sclerosis occurs 2-3 times more often in women than in men. In most cases, its onset occurs at a young age (20-45 years), rarely the disease begins in childhood or old age.

Multiple sclerosis is a fairly common disease. In the world there are about 2 million patients with multiple sclerosis, in Russia - more than 200 thousand. In a number of regions of Russia, the incidence of multiple sclerosis is quite high and is in the range of 20-40 cases per 100 thousand of the population. It is higher in large industrial regions and cities. And these are only patients with a specified diagnosis. And how many people suffer from undiagnosed forms of this disease? So far, no one knows.

How is the diagnosis established?

Multiple sclerosis can present with a wide variety of symptoms. Symptoms usually persist for several days or weeks and then disappear. Most often, improvement occurs after 4 to 12 weeks. At least 2/3 of patients experience periods of exacerbations and remissions (i.e., stabilization). In 15-20%, symptoms slowly progress from the beginning and remissions are never observed.

The most common symptoms include decreased visual acuity, weakness of one or both legs, a feeling of numbness in the arms, legs or torso. Also, patients are concerned about dizziness, unsteadiness of gait, swallowing problems, double vision, slurred speech, imperative (strong) urge to urinate or urinary incontinence. In addition, there is often a feeling of severe fatigue, especially during the period of exacerbation of the disease, which most often occurs in autumn and winter. And very often several years pass in examinations and clarifications of the diagnosis until the patient gets to the right specialist - a neuropathologist.

How is multiple sclerosis diagnosed?

First of all, this Magnetic resonance imaging. It allows you to see and examine the brain in all details. The resulting image looks very real, and in the substance of the brain it is possible to detect even the smallest areas of altered tissue - only 1 mm. in diameter. The informativeness of the method, that is, the frequency of detecting plaques in the substance of the brain, already at the beginning of the disease reaches 80-90%.

In the left hemisphere of the brain of a 25-year-old patient, white foci of multiple sclerosis are visible. The same picture is in the cervical region of a 20-year-old girl.

Next is lumbar puncture and examination of the cerebrospinal liquids. Analysis of the fluid that bathes the brain - cerebrospinal fluid - is the second most important study after MRI.

How does multiple sclerosis manifest?

Multiple sclerosis is often referred to as a "chameleon", so diverse can be its manifestations. Once, experts counted all the possible symptoms of this disease, and the number turned out to be impressive - more than 600. It should be emphasized that most disorders are only from the nervous system. Multiple sclerosis does not affect the heart, lungs, stomach, kidneys, skin, or joints.

Treatment of multiple sclerosis.

Over the past decade, multiple sclerosis has moved from an incurable disease to a "partially manageable" disease. The goal of treatment is to slow the progression of the disease, alleviate conditions during exacerbations and symptomatic treatment.

Currently, drugs that suppress many parts of the immune system are used to slow down the course of the disease. These are interferons (betaferon, rebif, avonex), cytostatics (azathioprine), hormones (corticosteroids)

Prevention of exacerbations .

It should be said that viral infections, infections of the gastrointestinal tract, hormonal changes (after childbirth or abortion), stressful situations provoke an exacerbation of the disease. Therefore, these factors must be considered in the treatment of multiple sclerosis.

In conclusion, I want to say that multiple sclerosis is a serious chronic disease. It requires from a sick person not only courage, but also special knowledge, as well as special skills. Therefore, I want to dedicate this short article to these people and their families who are struggling with the manifestations of multiple sclerosis.

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an autoimmune disease that affects the brain and spinal cord. These are the main components of the central nervous system. The central nervous system controls almost everything we do, from walking to doing a complex math problem.

MS can manifest itself in many different types of complications. It affects the coverings of nerve endings in the central nervous system, which can lead to decreased vision, reduced motor function, tingling, and pain in the extremities.

MS can be a complex condition, but many people with the disease lead healthy and active lives. Here's what some celebrities have to say about living with MS. > 1. Joan Didion

Joan Didion is an award-winning American author and screenwriter. Known for her vivid descriptions, biting irony and frankness, Didion wrote about her diagnosis in the White Album. "An essay from her collection of non-fiction, The Temptation in Bethlehem." "She wrote, 'I had... a sharp premonition of what it was like to open a door to a stranger and find that the stranger actually had a knife.' "

Didion's work was a conduit for the uncertainties she experienced as she adjusted to her condition. In 82 Didion is still writing. In 2013, President Obama awarded her the National Medal of Arts and Humanities.

2. Rachel Miner

Rachel Miner is an American actress who is known for her portrayal of Meg Masters on The CW Network series Supernatural. "

Miner spoke about his diagnosis at the Dallas Comic Convention in 2013. She continues to manage her symptoms, but had to leave the show in 2009 due to physical complications of MS. "Physical limitations were in the sense that I was afraid I couldn't do Meg or written justice," she told the fan blog.

While she claims that she hasn't officially left the show due to illness, she also states the importance of knowing your limits and listening to your body.

3. Jack Osborne

Jack Osbourne, the son of British rock star Oozy Osbourne, was introduced to American audiences in the early 2000s as a teenager on an MTV reality show about his family. He publicly announced that in 2012 he had multiple sclerosis.

After his diagnosis, Osborne's motto is "Adapt and overcome". “He uses the #Jackshaft hashtag on Twitter to talk about his experience with MS. “I will never say that I am grateful to MS,” he said in an open letter. “But I will say that without MS, I do not know if I have made the necessary changes in me that have changed me for the better. "

4 Clay Walker

At the age of 26, country music star Clay Walker was diagnosed with relapsing multiple sclerosis after feeling tingling and twitching in her face and limbs. Walker says he struggled after he was first diagnosed: "I realized what I needed stop dwelling on the diagnosis of a chronic disease, and instead focus on finding the groove. "

He spent some time working with his neurologist. And with the help of his family, he settled into a routine that allows him to better manage his symptoms.

Activism is one of the important components of Walker's routine. He started Band Against MS, an organization to help educate others with MS.

5. Ann Romney

Ann Romney is the wife of politician Mitt Romney. In her book In It Together: My Story, she shared that her life changed in 1997 when she was diagnosed with MS. Since then, she has been working hard not to let her condition define her.

"Finding joy in your life is another big part," she told PBS. “And losing yourself in something else, and not always relying on your illness is very important. "

6. Jamie-Lynn Sigler

The Sopranos star was diagnosed with MS in 2002 at just 20 years old. She did not make her diagnosis public until 2016, when she became a new wife and mother.

Today Siegler wants to be an advocate for MS. "I think a lot of the time when people are dealing with any kind of chronic illness, you can feel very isolated, you can feel alone, you feel like people don't understand," she said in an interview. "I wanted to be the one who says, 'I get it, I feel you, I hear you, I experience what you're going through, and I understand.' "

She shares her personal experience on Twitter using the hashtag #ReimagineMySelf.

She also collaborates with Biogen on the Reimagine Myself campaign, which aims to show how people living with MS lead fulfilling and productive lives.

7. Richard Pryor

Richard Pryor is credited for being an inspiration to many of today's most successful comedians. Over the past three decades, he has been widely recognized as one of the greatest comedic voices of all time.

In 1986, Pryor was diagnosed with MS, which slowed his comedy career until he retired for health reasons. In 1993, he told The New York Times, "I believe in God and the magic and the mystery of life, it's like God saying, 'You're slowing down. So what you want is funny. High five. “And that's what I do. "

He died of a heart attack in 2005 at the age of 65.

8. Frasier C. Robinson III

Former US First Lady and health and fitness advocate Michelle Obama's father lived with multiple sclerosis. During her 2014 Reach Higher campaign, Mrs. Obama visited high schools in the United States and was candid about witnessing her father's struggle with MS. “Seeing my father in pain, seeing him struggle, watching every day, it broke my heart,” she said. Mrs. Obama chastises her father as her inspiration for the success she enjoys today.

9. Gordon Schumer

Gordon Schumer is the father of comedian, actress and writer Amy Schumer. He was diagnosed with MS in middle age. Colin Quinn portrayed him in Ami Schumer's 2015 debut film Trainwreck. Schumer often speaks and writes about her father's battle with the disease, which is why the MC community now recognizes her as an important activist. She cites her father's good sense of humor and biting sarcasm in the face of his condition as inspiration for her own comedy. "I love to laugh. I'm looking for laughter all the time. I think that's something that also has to do with a sick parent," she said in an interview.

10. President Bartlett of The West Wing

Hollywood and the media have long struggled to accurately portray people with disabilities. But the long-running political drama of The West Wing appears to be on the mend.

The main character, President Josiah Bartlett, has MS. The show recounts his tribulations with the stipulation that he juggles his successful political career. The National Multiple Sclerosis Society gave the program an award for its description of the disease.

11. Jason DaSilva

Jason DaSilva is an American documentary filmmaker and creator of the documentary When I Walk, which follows his life after his diagnosis at age 25. DaSilva has primary progressive multiple sclerosis. Unlike other forms of MS, primary progressive MS does not have remissions. He began filming his life to capture all his triumphs and struggles as he embarked on a new life as a director. As a wheelchair user, he uses his platform as a documentarian to remove the stigma of disability. His work helps him deal with MS problems. "It's all about freedom," he told New Mobility. “As long as I can do things creatively or get things done, I'm fine. "

Editor's Choice

Olga Lukinskaya

THE TERM "MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS" IS KNOWN TO EVERYONE, but few people know what kind of disease it really is. It is often jokingly mentioned in connection with forgetfulness or absent-mindedness and is generally considered something like senile dementia - although in reality it is an incurable disease that occurs at a young and even childhood age. In Russia, multiple sclerosis occurs in about 40-60 people out of a hundred thousand. The exact cause of the disease has not yet been established, and its mechanism is associated with a violation of the transmission of impulses along nerve fibers. In this case, so-called foci of sclerosis (scar tissue) appear in the brain, scattered randomly, hence the name of the disease. The disease manifests itself in different ways: visual impairment, problems with the bladder, numbness and tingling of the extremities, gait disorders.

The typical course of MS is exacerbations that occur every few months or years, and periods of remission. After each exacerbation, the body does not fully recover, and after 20–25 years, the disease leads to disability in many people: a person can lose the ability to walk and finds himself in a wheelchair, sometimes he cannot speak, write or read, becomes completely dependent on outside help. Life expectancy with constant treatment is not greatly reduced, but its quality can be seriously affected: multiple sclerosis is often accompanied by depression. There is no cure for multiple sclerosis today, although there are drugs that help prolong remission. Irina N. from Novosibirsk talks about how she lives with multiple sclerosis, what is the treatment and how the disease affects her life.

I notice that I began to feel much worse. I used to love walking very much, but now it’s hard for me: I walk uncertainly, stagger and after three hundred meters on the asphalt I’m exhausted

The injectable drugs that I am treated with are used constantly, without interruption. At first it was a drug that was administered intramuscularly once a week. I remember flying to St. Petersburg for a few weeks and carrying three syringes of the drug with me - this is a whole story, from the need for a cooler bag to a lot of sidelong glances and questions at the airport. Of course, I had a certificate from a doctor explaining what it was and what it was for. Now the injections are daily, and I have no idea how, for example, to go somewhere on vacation for a couple of weeks. Despite all this, I'm still afraid of needles. In addition, the current injections are very uncomfortable, they need to be done subcutaneously in the back of the shoulder, in the triceps area - and with one free hand it is simply impossible to pinch the skin fold and inject. The injections are made by my wife, who calms me every time. She is very supportive of me. In general, the course of multiple sclerosis directly depends on the emotional background, and, by and large, I just can’t get upset, sad, cry - it can get worse.

The diagnosis is given to me for life, and the treatment will also continue to the end - and yet, the prescription is valid for a month, and in order to receive it, you need to spend two full days. I'm not talking about the hassle at the clinic, the time in queues - we have an excellent neurologist, but she cannot fully examine the patient and fill out all the paperwork in twelve minutes, which are officially allotted for this. A year and a half ago, we were promised that it would be possible to receive a prescription at least once every three months - but things are still there. This is also reflected at work: not only am I regularly on sick leave, but I also spend two days a month getting medicine.

I had depression three times, fortunately, not very severe - the doctors pulled me out without medication. For the first time, the doctor strictly told me how to be treated and with what regularity to come - but most importantly, she forbade me to read about the disease on the Internet and draw any independent conclusions. That helped. The second time I came to a young neurologist, who suddenly said: “Irina, you always had such a beautiful manicure, what happened?” - I looked at my neglected nails and realized that it was no longer possible, it cheered me up. The third time I was prescribed antidepressants, but I did not want to take them and sought psychotherapy. The doctor formulated my attitude to the disease as watching a horror movie. "Do you like horror movies? he asked, and I answered in the negative. “But you came up with a horror movie for yourself, watch it endlessly and believe in it.” I realized that he was right and there was no need to invent anything and be afraid of the future.

No matter how paradoxical it may sound, but thanks to the disease, I got a taste for life. It happens that the mood is at zero, I want to give up - but my wife takes my hand and says: "Let's go"

We broke up with my first wife - she was tired with me, because the disease seriously changes the character. Before, I was somehow more spontaneous, but now everything needs to be planned. There are many restrictions: I can’t just take a detour for a walk or buy alcohol, the quality of which I’m not sure. Beaches are forbidden to me - in general, not every partner will survive. We have been together with Lyuba for two and a half years, everything is very calm with us. She supports me, pulls me out to some events all the time, makes it so that I have no time to feel sorry for myself. We often go to theaters, to exhibitions, to simply beautiful places. It was such that we suddenly got together and went to the Ob Sea to collect sea buckthorn - we don’t eat it, but the experience itself was very cool. No matter how paradoxical it may sound, but thanks to the disease, I got a taste for life. It happens that the mood is at zero, I want to give up - but my wife takes my hand and says: "Let's go." I go and see that I have something to continue the treatment for, and life is not so long to waste time on sadness.

The disease has affected relationships with people: I no longer have contact with those who only take energy. With multiple sclerosis, support from other patients is important, and often people with this diagnosis tend to communicate with each other. It helps answer some everyday questions and, fortunately, most people with MS are optimists. True, there are those who constantly feel sorry for themselves and seek pity from others, but I try to keep communication with them to a minimum.

There are uncomfortable situations when some grandmother in transport begins to resent that I am sitting so young and do not give up my seat. Or, for example, the director at work, even knowing about the diagnosis, could not understand that I really walk very slowly and I do not need to be sent to any activities related to walking. I think this is due to the lack of basic knowledge and lack of observation. My co-director's aunt has suffered from MS for many years - and even he didn't take the disease as something serious for a long time. When a person has cancer, everyone, firstly, understands that it is something terrible, and secondly, it is usually very noticeable externally: a person receives chemotherapy, which is poorly tolerated, undergoes difficult operations. With multiple sclerosis, there are no such external manifestations or they are not always clear - well, a person is walking with a stick, but who knows why. There is not enough knowledge, there is not enough sympathy, people do not understand why in the middle of the day all my physical strength has already been exhausted, they do not take the diagnosis seriously.