Do people with MS talk?

Speech is controlled by many areas in the brain. MS lesions (damaged areas) in different parts of the brain can cause several types of changes in normal speech patterns. They range from mild difficulties to severe problems that make it difficult to be understood. Medically, problems with speech are called dysarthria.

How does MS affect communication?

MS can affect the diaphragm, which controls breathing and volume of speech. Therefore speech can be very quiet or you may run out of air when you are talking. This is known as dysphonia. MS can affect the way speech movements are coordinated therefore speech can sound halting, monotone and uncontrolled.

Is it hard to talk with MS?

As many as 40 percent of people who are diagnosed with MS will face speech difficulties at some time. The most common problems are loudness, a harsh quality to the voice, and problems with articulation and pitch. The symptom could hit hard with a relapse, or come and go several times a day on a regular basis.

How quickly does MS progress?

Most symptoms develop abruptly, within hours or days. These attacks or relapses of MS typically reach their peak within a few days at most and then resolve slowly over the next several days or weeks so that a typical relapse will be symptomatic for about eight weeks from onset to recovery.

At what age does MS typically occur?

MS can occur at any age, but onset usually occurs around 20 and 40 years of age. However, younger and older people can be affected. Sex. Women are more than 2 to 3 times as likely as men are to have relapsing-remitting MS .

Marlo shares how her multiple sclerosis affects her speech

What is the average age of death for someone with MS?

The study found that people with MS lived to be 75.9 years old, on average, compared to 83.4 years old for those without. That 7.5-year difference is similar to what other researchers have found recently.

What is MS caused by?

Multiple sclerosis is caused by your immune system mistakenly attacking the brain and nerves. It's not clear why this happens but it may be a combination of genetic and environmental factors.

What does MS speech sound like?

One pattern that is commonly associated with MS is scanning speech. Scanning dysarthria produces speech in which the normal "melody" or speech pattern is disrupted, with abnormally long pauses between words or individual syllables of words. People with MS may also slur words.

What should you not say to someone with MS?

Here are some things to avoid: “But you don't look ill.” MS has lots of symptoms you can't see, like fatigue, pain, heat sensitivity or problems with balance, memory, bladder, bowel or eyes. Saying someone doesn't look ill can undermine how they feel.

What is life like for someone with MS?

MS affects each person differently.

This may block or slow down the communication between your brain and spine with the rest of the body. You can have numbness and tingling, balance problems, dizziness, vision issues, fatigue, or other things including problems with sex or your bladder and bowel.

Can MS cause meanness?

MS and emotions

You might hear it called pseudobulbar affect. If you're experiencing emotionalism, you may find that you have very sudden, intense periods of emotion that seem out of proportion or unrelated to whatever triggered them. You may easily burst into tears, or suddenly get very angry.

What does MS do to your thinking?

Problems with memory and thinking - also called 'cognitive problems' - can affect people with MS, but most people will be affected mildly. Some people find it harder to find the right words, to concentrate or to recall things quickly.

Does your voice change with MS?

Problems with how you speak can be a symptom of multiple sclerosis for some people. MS speech disorders include slurring of speech and problems with the quality of your voice (dysarthria) and difficulty remembering specific words (dysphasia).

What celebrities died of MS?

Richard Pryor, Annette Funicello, and David L.

The comedian Richard Pryor, the actress Annette Funicello, and the actor David L. Lander are all people who were diagnosed with MS at some point before they passed away.

Can you drive with MS?

One of the first questions many people have when they're diagnosed with MS is: “Will I still be able to drive?” The good news is that most people with MS continue to drive as normal.

Does MS qualify for disability?

If you live with multiple sclerosis and are unable to work due to an MS-related disability and/or other conditions, you might be entitled to Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) or Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits.

Does MS show up in blood work?

Blood Tests: Currently, there are no definitive blood tests for diagnosing MS, but they can be used to rule out other conditions that may mimic MS symptoms, including Lyme disease, collagen-vascular diseases, rare hereditary disorders and acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS).

Where does MS usually start?

Here's where MS (typically) starts

Optic neuritis, or inflammation of the optic nerve, is usually the most common, Shoemaker says. You may experience eye pain, blurred vision and headache. It often occurs on one side and can eventually lead to partial or total vision loss.

What are the last stages of MS before death?

Do all MS patients end up in a wheelchair?

MS is different for everybody and not every person diagnosed with MS will end up in a wheelchair. 80% of people with MS don't consider themselves as having severe symptoms or disabilities.

Does MS cause weight gain?

MS fatigue, steroid therapy, and depression can all lead to unwanted weight in people with MS. Though these factors are not your fault, you owe it to yourself to take control of your weight. Overeating can increase MS symptoms or health conditions, such as: fatigue.