Daily Life/Treatment

The Daily Life

 MS can affect your emotions as well as important cognitive functions like memory and concentration. Multiple sclerosis can have a significant impact on every aspect of life, including the world of work. Maintaining financial security is a high priority for people living with an unpredictable disease. For a person living with MS, the road to wellness involves more than treatment of the disease. Equally important are health promotion and prevention strategies, satisfying personal relationships, a strong support network, fulfilling work and leisure activities, a meaningful place in the community, and adequate attention to one's inner self.

Treatments

Strategies to treat attacks

• Corticosteroids-Corticosteroids are mainly used to reduce the inflammation that spikes during a relapse. Examples include oral prednisone and intravenous methylprednisolone (Solu-Medrol).
• Plasma exchange (plasmapheresis)-This procedure removes some blood from your body and mechanically separates your blood cells from your plasma, the liquid part of your blood. Doctors then mix your blood cells with a replacement solution and return the blood to your body. Plasma exchange sometimes may be used to help combat severe symptoms of multiple sclerosis relapses in people who aren't responding to intravenous steroids.

Strategies to slow progress of the disease

• Beta interferons-These types of drugs appear to slow the progress of multiple sclerosis, reduce the number of attacks and lessen the severity of attacks. Interferons can cause many side effects, including reactions in the injection area and liver damage. However, it's rare to have serious, permanent side effects. You'll likely need blood tests to monitor your liver function and blood count.
• Glatiramer acetate (Copaxone)-This medication may reduce the number of MS attacks. Doctors believe that glatiramer acetate works by blocking your immune system's attack on myelin. You must inject this drug under your skin (subcutaneously) once daily. Side effects are uncommon, but may include flushing, chest pain or heart palpitations after injection and reactions at the injection sites.
• Fingolimod (Gilenya)-An oral medication given once daily, this works by trapping immune cells in lymph nodes. It may reduce attacks of MS and short-term disability. To take this drug, you'll need to have your heart rate monitored for six hours after the first dose because the first dose can slow your heartbeat (bradycardia). Other side effects may include diarrhea, cough and headache.
• Natalizumab (Tysabri)-This medication may reduce the number of MS attacks by interfering with the movement of potentially damaging immune cells from your bloodstream to your brain and spinal cord. Natalizumab generally is reserved for people who see no results from or can't tolerate other types of treatments. Side effects of natalizumab may include allergic reactions, infections or liver damage.
• Mitoxantrone-This immunosuppressant medication can be harmful to the heart, and it's associated with development of blood cancers like leukemia. Because of these risks, it's usually only used to treat active severe, advanced multiple sclerosis, based on both clinical assessment and MRI studies.
• Teriflunomide (Aubagio)-This oral medication reduces attacks and lesions in people with MS. You'll need blood tests to monitor liver function, as it may cause serious liver damage. It can also cause serious fetal damage, and it must not be taken during pregnancy. It may also cause side effects such as diarrhea and nausea.

Strategies to treat symptoms

• Physical therapy-A physical or occupational therapist can teach you stretching and strengthening exercises and show you how to use devices that can make it easier to perform daily tasks.
• Dalfampridine (Ampyra)-This oral medication may improve walking speed in some people. The major side effect is seizures.
• Muscle relaxants-If you have multiple sclerosis, you may experience painful or uncontrollable muscle stiffness or spasms, particularly in your legs. Muscle relaxants such as baclofen (Lioresal) and tizanidine (Zanaflex) may improve muscle spasticity.