Good news that comes with new challenges: Canadians with MS are living longer
THE VERY ADVANCES IN MEDICINE THAT HELP PEOPLE LIVING WITH MS ALSO PRESENT A NEW PROBLEM: AS PEOPLE LIVE LONGER, AGING WITH MS PRESENTS A DIFFERENT SET OF CHALLENGES. MOST PRESSING IS THE SIMPLE FACT THAT THE ISSUES THAT MANY FACE AS WE AGE — DECREASED MOBILITY, THE RISK OF FALLS, COGNITIVE DECLINE AND RISKS TO OUR MENTAL HEALTH — ARE ALSO COMMON SYMPTOMS OF MS AND CAN BE CHALLENGING TO DIFFERENTIATE.
It is one of the great successes of modern medicine that certain diseases, such as multiple sclerosis (MS), that once had no viable treatments now have a variety of therapies that vastly improve people’s lives. The treatment landscape for MS has advanced over the last 30 years. Not only can the wide variety of symptoms be better managed, the quality of life and life expectancy of those living with MS have increased.
But in unfortunate irony, the very advances in medicine that have helped people living with MS also present a new problem: as people live longer, aging with MS presents a different set of challenges. Most pressing is the simple fact that the issues that many will face as we age — decreased mobility, the risk of falls, cognitive decline, and risks to our mental health — are also common symptoms of MS and can be challenging to differentiate.
MS is a chronic autoimmune condition in which the body attacks myelin, the coating that protects nerves. Damage to nerves can produce an unpredictable and dizzying array of symptoms, from pain or numbness, vision or bladder problems, to fatigue or the loss of mobility. Understandably, aging with MS presents unique issues requiring focused, sensitive care.
This is to say nothing of the common risks associated in aging: heart disease, cancer, diabetes, cognitive decline and others, which can be similar to symptoms experienced by people living and aging with MS. Certain conditions, like osteoporosis, may have higher prevalence amongst those with MS due to limited mobility and exposure to certain medications, and thus require extra attention to bone health and safe living spaces.
Key to preparing for these issues is an understanding of comorbidities, a medical term for when someone has two serious medical conditions at once. Aging with MS is thus something that requires both individual planning and fortitude and a response from medical institutions.
Janet MacNeil lives in Etobicoke, Ont., and was diagnosed with the MS in 1997. She is now in her early sixties, and approaches her condition with both grit and acceptance. That’s not to say there aren’t challenges.
“I’m still walking, but I can’t walk very far,” says MacNeil. “Some days, my balance isn’t very good, so when I go out I use a walker.”
That means lifestyle adaptation and even a bit of creativity are necessary. MacNeil now lives in a condo that has a few amenities at its base, making accessing them easier than when she lived in Orangeville, a small municipality northwest of Toronto. She also acquired an expensive electric wheelchair almost solely to walk her dog, a fact she relates with a chuckle.
But having a condition like MS can have consequences for more than one’s health.
“With some illnesses, where you’re going to get better, people rally around you and that’s the end,” says MacNeil. “But when it’s a chronic disease, people lose interest and they move on.”
Isolation is thus a factor, which may be part of the reason that people aging with MS are often at risk for depression, too.
It’s for that reason that MacNeil firmly believes in support groups at the MS Society, where she has found both friends and understanding.
“Although everyone with MS is different, you don’t have to explain anything to them,” says MacNeil.
It’s that kind of acceptance that makes things tolerable for people like MacNeil, producing another kind of irony: having dealt with no end of symptoms for so long, slipping into old age is comparatively easier for her.
But individuals shouldn’t be alone in how they approach the disease. MacNeil believes education is necessary to let patients know what resources are out there, particularly those things that will help people be independent, like occupational or physical therapists. In the long term, many also believe dedicated resources like specialized living facilities may be necessary for those aging with MS.
In the meantime, MacNeil appears to find the most strength in a zen-like approach to MS.
“I have complete acceptance of my disease,” she says. “And that makes my life so much easier.”