It’s easy to ignore a feeling of numbness in your hand or a loss of grip here and there. as actress Christina Applegate found out In 2021, these normally not-so-worrisome symptoms can sometimes be a sign of something more serious. Applegate was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS) while filming the third – and final – season of the series. Netflix show Dead to me.
Although MS first defined by a neurologist in 1868The medical community still doesn’t know what causes the disease. The disease affects the central nervous system – the brain, spinal cord and optic nerves. You can think of it as the wiring that runs through the body and controls movement, thoughts, mood and basically everything a person thinks or does throughout the day. These attacks on the nervous system can result in both short-term and long-term symptoms. Each attack on the nervous system leaves lesions that together tell the story of MS in a person’s body. One isolated symptom does not tell the story of MS. Multiple lesions are needed to lead to a diagnosis.
Michelle Tolson understands how overwhelming the words “you have multiple sclerosis” can be. Tolson, a dance instructor and former Rockette at Radio City Music Hall, was diagnosed in 2014 at age 40. She was experiencing blurry vision in her left eye and decided to see her doctor. “I thought I needed to increase the prescription of my reading glasses. It was kind of weird. I compare it to the bright light of a disco ball,” Tolson says.
Tolson’s doctor said her eyes were fine, but sent her to a specialist when the condition persisted. He sent her for an MRI to see if her optic nerve might be inflamed. At 5 p.m. the following Friday, Tolson was on her way to a bridal shower when she got the call. “It was possible I had MS because they found lesions,” she was told.
And those lesions made it clear that Tolson may have had MS for as long as 10 years. But many of her symptoms, she says, were disguised as something dancers go through or what happens with age.
MS symptoms are not limited to this disease. “If you feel numbness or tingling, maybe in your hands, arms or legs, or face, that’s more of a nuisance. Maybe it’s the new yoga poses I’ve tried. Maybe it’s the new office chair I’m sitting in that’s causing this tingling in my leg,” says Julie Fiol, a registered nurse and associate vice president of clinical innovation and strategy for the National MS Society.
Other common symptoms include depression, cognitive changes, fatigue, difficulty walking, muscle cramps, visual disturbances, dizziness, weakness, pain and itching, mood swings, and intestinal problems.
The time between a symptom and diagnosis can vary greatly. The quickest way to diagnose is an MRI, but this requires the doctor to believe that a person’s symptoms are more than just everyday complaints. In recent years, research has been published that shows how Women And People of color are often ignored by doctors, which is a major problem when diagnosing MS. For every man diagnosed with the disease, three women must learn to live with it. And although Fiol says the medical community mistakenly thought the disease primarily affected white people, it is now clear that it affects white and black people equally.
“There are many symptoms that are dismissed. The hysterical woman. Is it hormonal? You just can’t cope with the stress of being a young mother or the stress of your job,” says Fiol. “People feel like they just can’t seen.”
Tolson was lucky in that respect. Her doctors acted quickly. But the initial diagnosis hit her with “great sadness, because MS used to be like this almost always, I would be in a wheelchair before I knew it. That’s what MS used to look like. And as a professional dancer and educator, I thought I was going to lose everything I had worked for my whole life.”
As she learned, MS has more than one face, and research and treatment options have advanced far beyond what she knew about the disease.
How does MS progress?
Because there are four different types of MS—each disease has its own severity and progression. There is no one-size-fits-all path for people diagnosed with the disease. And the sooner the diagnosis is made, the greater the chances that medical interventions can help slow the progression.
“Everyone has a different degree of disability,” says Nicole Lemellean author and MS patient advocate who was diagnosed with the disease in 2000 when she was 25. “But the majority of people with MS have disability or symptoms that are not obvious and never reach advanced stages.”
Regardless of how the disease presents, Lemelle says it’s important for all people with MS to take control of their own treatment. “Don’t let the neurologist make the decisions for you. Do your homework and ask questions at every appointment. And expect answers. If you’re not happy with the treatment you’re receiving, find another doctor. You may need to try several doctors before you find one that’s right for you.”
Like Tolson, Lemelle was diagnosed with the disease after experiencing vision problems. Her symptoms remained relatively mild for years, mainly fatigue and a slight limp. But after nine years, she experienced a major flare-up that landed her in hospital. “I had to learn to eat, talk and walk. When I finally made it home, I was still confined to a wheelchair. I never regained my ability to walk.”
Lemelle is now committed to helping other people with MS and writes a blog to help the families of MS patients understand what they are going through. “MS can be a lonely and isolating disease,” she says. But with the attention that Christina Applegate and advocates like Lemelle and Tolson are bringing to the disease, people can hopefully get a diagnosis and build their support system much more quickly.