Classic setup for a joke. The punchline, however, is more nose laugh than guffaw, as well as being more nod your head in understanding than roll on the floor laughing. Life with MS mayn’t be a very good joke, but if I didn’t laugh sometimes, I’d cry … and I’ve cried enough about multiple sclerosis. Forgetting why we walked into a room isn’t unique to those with MS. It’s not unique to any member of the human race. In fact, it’s pretty common, particularly as we age. For it to happen to someone in their younger years, at the rate that I seem to be experiencing it of late, is just another one of the reasons I sometimes feel like I’m a character in a science fiction film about a man aging in sped-up time. From changes in stamina and midday naps to trouble with gait and intention tremor, I often wonder if I look more like someone my father’s age than my own.
We Joke, but It’s a Serious Issue
Many of us will make light of the situation. When an older gentleman I know said of his memory that he couldn’t even tell you what he had for his breakfast that morning, I quipped that that was the reason I had the same breakfast every day: If my doctor asked about it as a way of testing my short-term memory, I could give the correct answer. We work around, we laugh, but there are serious issues at hand as well. Reduced mobility at any age can lead to a spiral of dependencies and comorbidities. Lack of concentration or ability to follow conversations can see us pulling back from social interactions to the detriment of our cognition. Desire to not be burdensome to others can result in self-sequester and all that can follow on from that.
The Effects of MS on Cognition Are Worth Knowing About
MS-related thinking and memory problems are something that all of us — even those not experiencing any disfunction of our cognition — should make ourselves aware of. They are scary symptoms to face, so all the better to understand the potential effects of MS in advance and take steps to retain what we have for as long as possible. Just like our aging parents or grandparents, we should work hard to keep a healthy cognitive reserve through activities such as reading, creative writing, learning something new and difficult, and playing board games and brain teasers. But that’s just one part of this aging in fast-forward aspect of MS. Some studies show that these symptoms of advancing age are, indeed, controlled by the same aging mechanisms older bodies experience.
What Does Longer Life Mean for People With MS?
Many times, when we look for resources to help us cope with the changes to our bodies and minds, we find that we are in a patient cohort of people far advanced in age from ourselves. It isn’t appropriate for someone in their thirties to have to look to services for the aged to get their needs met. But in far too many communities, that’s the only place someone with MS who needs help can find it. The good news from the past couple of decades is that people with MS are living longer than we used to. Now we’re just going to have to learn to cope with what those advanced years may bring. Oh, yes … that man who walked into the room … it was to find his spectacles, only to remember that he was wearing them. True story. Happened to me at the weekend. Wishing you and your family the best of health. Cheers, Trevis
