MS awareness month

THis is from MSassociation.org.  FYI, I am already aware of MS :0)

March is Multiple Sclerosis Awareness Month 

The Multiple Sclerosis Association of America (MSAA) encourages everyone to take time this March to learn about multiple sclerosis (MS) and discover all of the programs and services MSAA offers to everyone affected by MS.

• Read MSAA's award-winning publications, including two new publications: Daddy's Story , a n introduction for younger children to learn about a parent's MS; and Primary Progressive Multiple Sclerosis -- What You Need to Know , a comprehensive guide for the PPMS community.
• Visit the online gallery for MSAA's Art Contest for People Living with Multiple Sclerosis .
• Register for MSAA's Walking and MS webcast .
• Explore MSAA's website and read about the programs and services MSAA offers the MS community.
• View one of MSAA's educational videos in the MSi Video Library .
• Attend one of MSAA's educational events. Check the calendar for an event in your area.

• Donate to MSAA, learn more about the President's Circle, or create a 
  Circle of Hope.
• Volunteer with MSAA and please share your time and skills to help the MS community.
• Join MSAA's online community. Sign-up to receive periodic email updates or become a fan of MSAA on Facebook .

"Just the Facts" from NMSS

This is from the National MS societies brochure called "Just the Facts"
What are the typical symptoms of MS?
Symptoms of MS are unpredictable; they can vary from person to person, and from time to time in the same person. For example: One person may experience abnormal fatigue and episodes of numbness and tingling. Another could have loss of balance and muscle coordination making walking difficult. Still another could have slurred speech, tremors, stiffness and bladder problems. Sometimes major symptoms disappear completely, and the person regains lost functions. In severe MS, people have symptoms on a permanent basis including partial or complete paralysis, and difficulties with vision, cognition, speech and elimination.

What causes the symptoms?
MS symptoms result when an immune system attack affects myelin, the protective insulation surrounding nerve fibers of the central nervous system (the brain and spinal cord). Myelin is destroyed and replaced by scars of hardened“sclerotic” tissue. Some underlying nerve fibers are permanently severed. The damage appears in multiple places within the central nervous system.  Myelin is often compared to insulating material around an electrical wire; loss of myelin interferes with the transmission of nerve signals.

I have pretty much all the symptoms listed above at one time ,except for paralysis, or another and sometimes all at once.  As I said in the past, the most debilitating for me is the extreme fatigue and walking difficulties.