I know for the past 6-7 years, since my symptoms started, I feel lilke I've aged about 15-20 years. I feel much much older than my 53 years young physically.

I was diagnosed in 2001. I'm 53 years old. I just think getting older stinks. At least with MS we can get older(not die). At least I can blame alot of symptoms on MS, like forgetting stuff, not following directions very good. etc. That is what I do. You work with what you have.

I've had mild MS for over 30 years and am now about 65. Biggest problem now is wondering if some symptoms are aging or MS, like dysphlagia and vertigo. I'm getting a test to see if my worsening dysphlagia is mechanical or neurological. The upside is that having MS has been an incentive to take good care of my health, which may improve my quality of life as I get older. I also wonder how many of the 30 lesions in my brain are age-related and how many are MS-related.

Aging is just nerve deterioration and ms is nerve deterioration on steroids. the ms brain atrophies at 2x the rate of the healthy aging brain---so there is a tie.

and denise i had that question too, i was also concerned that past stress showed up on my mri and was interpreted as ms lesions,,not to mention the 2-4 years i smoked how much of that was on the mri then taken as ms?

i found this...

Fazekas classification

The Fazekas classification is used to describe changes in the deep white matter.
Whenever you see these WMLs, try to describe them according to this Fazekas classification:

Fazekas I : small punctate lesions in the deep white matter.
Fazekas II : larger WMLs that are beginning to become confluent.
Fazekas III : extensive confluent WMLs.


Fazekas I is considered normal in aging.
Fazekas II is considered abnormal in patients < 75 Years.
Fazekas III is abnormal in any age group.
These WMLs are probably due to microangiopathy and seen more frequently in patients with vascular risk factors .

to see the mri's of each category scroll down to the last quarter of this page. agining ms mri's differ.

'http://www.radiologyassistant.nl/en/4556dea65db62#p4594f74ccbf19

I'm with BobbyJ. I'll take a divorce from this crap too! It doesn't get any better as you age. It is said to reduce your life span 6-7 years. I hope I don't last too long with this stuff. It has not been any fun at all so far!

WOW! Thanks for all the responses...I LOVE the comment about MS/...the EX too funny....I've got grown kids and another birrthday around the corner...nice to have a reference point. The point being, MS being true to form...I have NO idea what to expect! :D

In the 4 years since I got MS, I went from being incredibly active and in shape to having to fight to get out of bed because of the pain and stiffness and to pushing myself for everything I do.

I have collapsed a few times, and had to quit other times. I have to hire someone to professionally paint my house, because I do not have the energy to do it. I seem to have a lot of joint pain, too, and maybe RA. So in that way, MS is a blessing, because I cannot feel the pain. But I would rather go back to my old body and be healthy. Yes, I am still in the denial and anger stage.

Well for myself I feel I can't tell if I have MS yet? I do know I have old age!
My symptoms I beleive started when I was 15 or 16 years old. But not until the last 10 years or so did I have more problems with my health, and in fact in the last two years it seems I keep coming down with more stuff.
It is interesting that the doctor can't fig it out what I have except in parts.

I hope any of you that don't know if you have MS like me maybe can talk about it?

Thanks for reading again a post...
Ruthie

nnyl1 - that is a great link. I can see some of my spots are normal aging, then I have that are part of Faxekas2 (

Neural Fatigue

Post Polio Syndrome --read up about that--that is when a person had polio and appeared to recover then like 40 years later they experience Post polio Syndrome--just the effects of aging on already damaged nerves..there is a huge tie between nerve function, MS and aging, it gets to a point a person wonders which is which? "Neural Fatigue"

MS is like accelerated aging. its no wonder we get confused about it--and why there are always people without ms describing how they have that happen too, whenever an ms symptom is discussed. with ms its just MORE and FASTER.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Post-polio_syndrome

nnyl1, interesting that you mention post polio syndrome. I recently met a woman with MS and who had polio as a child. Her MS is definitely worse than her polio was.

And Rhonda, that is some avatar that you got. Doesn't it make you dizzy?? My eyes are going a little crazy. Anyway....

I have had MS really since I was 12 but it really kicked in about 12 years ago and it hasn't changed much since then. So I guess I am lucky. Still it is bad enough. So the aging part is the really bad part as I look in the mirror and see aging before my eyes! Hard!! I don't know that much about aging people with MS because it seems like the epidemic has become worse with my generation (Boomer gen). And much worse for those younger than me. That is why I think it has to do with the chemical pollution. (sorry, I had to put my 2cents worth in).

One other thing about MS and aging.....many of the MS drugs have not been tested on the elderly. So for us old folks, I guess the advice is "use at your own risk."

.

All I know is I don't want to be very old with this. I'm only 42 and diagnosed for 2 years, but my body feels much older since I got MS. I feel like I have the body of a 70 year old now. Not fun.

Well I have had ms since 1979. I was 28 years married six years with a three year old daughter. Not much as far as medicine was available back then. My answers to my doctor were questions as he could not really tell me what my prospect for the future would be. What he did give me was the best medicine (advice) when he told me to go ahead live your life have more children.

Well that was thirty-two years ago. I had three more children. Life has been good. I have been able to do most things just learned to make adjustments as I got worse.

Do I feel like my ms made me older some days more aches than others but I have been in a serious car accident which has played a major role.

What has kept me mobile is exercise exercise exercise even when it was hard to move. Of course I know there are many degrees of ms and perhaps the progression has made it harder.
I feel blessed to be able to do and live through the years for what I had.

Given this subject, I'll say something (depressing) I was going to keep to myself.


With MS, 30 is the new 60.... And I'm almost 50!

But I feel it. I have to use a walker on occasion, especially since it's warming up. I'm in a townhouse and have to leave my walker outside. Not able to lock the sucker up.... long story.... but 3 have been stolen, 1 found later. And I live in a "nice' area! The kids are no good, all of 'em! Good thing they were free! A friend works as a boss in an old age home and says they are left there all the time. They pile up.

LvUAmy