If you care for someone living with a chronic health condition, you know that the commitment requires much mental and physical effort. In fact, caregiver stress can impact your own health while you’re tending to your loved one’s needs.
If you love someone who’s been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS) — a progressive central nervous system (CNS) disease that disturbs how information travels within the brain and between the brain and the rest of the body — there’s a lot to learn. MS is a condition that can be debilitating and whose progression is hard to predict.
Fortunately, the dedicated Houston Neurological Institute provider team creates highly customized treatment plans for their patients living with MS. They also realize that the condition greatly impacts the lives of both patients and the loved ones caring for them.
MS is an autoimmune disorder. That means the patient’s immune system mistakenly targets the cells in the myelin sheath — the insulating layer that protects your nerve fibers — considering them invaders rather than “good guys.”
This misunderstanding prevents efficient communication between the CNS (brain and spinal cord) and the rest of your body, and causes a wide array of symptoms that affect your coordination and movement:
Patients typically experience staggered periods of remission and then worsening symptoms coupled with new symptom emergence. This is known as a relapsing-remitting pattern. However, other patients have primary-progressive MS, where this phenomenon doesn’t occur.
MS is treatable, but not curable. For patients with active relapsing-remitting MS, we offer the drug TYSABRIⓇ, and it’s delivered intravenously in our office, saving you a trip to the hospital for infusion treatment. Our specially trained nurses administer this treatment every four weeks to help reduce a patient’s relapses and their intensity.
Research shows that TYSABRI lowers instances of relapse by an impressive 70%.
As we noted, caring for someone living with MS is a big responsibility, but you can support them in a way that helps both of you.
There’s lots of great information out there on MS research and treatment. Remember to speak with your loved one’s Houston Neurological Institute provider and check sources like the National Multiple Sclerosis Society and the Multiple Sclerosis Association of America.
You and the person you care about are a team. It’s important to offer both emotional and practical support to them, which includes talking to them about how they feel physically and about their symptoms’ emotional effects, and asking them about what their needs are — instead of assuming you know.
That means you won’t misunderstand what your loved one’s needs are, or feel like you have to guess.
As your loved one’s needs change, be mindful that supporting them can shift from day to day.
One day they might need to share how they’re doing physically, or about the emotional toll their condition is taking. On another day, they may express needing more practical help, like securing dependable transportation to their infusion treatment here.
Or they might want a day free of thinking or talking about MS! Maybe you escape to a movie or go on a manageable walk, and talk about anything else.
You can help make home safer for your loved one by eliminating tripping hazards like electrical cords, throw rugs, and clutter, and help them have an easier time with household tasks. For example, placing a chair in the kitchen can prove helpful if they need to empty the dishwasher but have to be seated.
You can even request that an occupational therapist perform a safety assessment for a complete set of recommendations.
Caregiving is rewarding and represents your dedication to your loved one, but it’s also depleting. Don’t get burned out — give yourself self-care breaks. Have coffee with a friend, get a massage, or take a break in the most restorative way for you. You’ll be a better caregiver for it.
MS is a complex condition that poses unique challenges, from a looming future full of unknowns to progressive symptoms.
Your Houston Neurological Institute provider can support you and your loved one as you walk the uncertain path of MS together.
Call our Pearland or Pasadena office to schedule an appointment, or book one online.
