Multiple sclerosis: a patient's perspective

I woke up one morning in 1997 with numbness and tingling in my left foot. Over the next week, this spread to the whole left side of my body. I lost balance and was dragging my leg and bumping into things. My general practitioner organised an urgent appointment with a neurologist. An MRI scan showed I had multiple sclerosis.

Looking back I had probably had attacks before. In 1992 I developed Bell's palsy and I remember other times when I had tingling in my hands and feet. I had also lined the pockets of naturopaths trying to find a remedy for my fatigue.

There was a mixture of shock and relief. While there was relief that somebody knew what was wrong with me, I was horrified because my aunt had been disabled by multiple sclerosis and died at a young age.

I was given cortisone tablets. The attack lasted three months and then I started on interferon injections. I was told these may help slow the progression of the multiple sclerosis.

I have a phobia about needles. Having to inject myself was one of my greatest fears. I could not even watch the video which showed you how to inject. I would sit for half an hour before I could insert the needle.

Although I now inject myself every other day I still need to call on my internal strength to do it.

At first the side effects were horrendous. I wondered what I was doing to myself. There was redness, swelling and tenderness at the injection site. I often would wake up at 2.00 a.m., after an injection, with severe pain in my legs. I would be shaking and felt like I had a bad dose of the flu. Sometimes I had to stay in bed all day to recover.

After about a month the side effects reduced. They are less of a problem now, so I would encourage other people to persevere with their treatment as the initial severe side effects should not be long-term.

I have tried them all, including high doses of intravenous vitamins. While some therapists say they can cure you, none of the therapies worked for me. I did find a mixture of Chinese medicine and massage improved my general well-being.

Changing my lifestyle has also helped. I exercise and have a good diet. High stress levels have an adverse effect on my condition, so I made the decision to retire from full-time work three years ago.

I have constant tingling, numbness and aches, but I do not let them restrict me. I am able to play golf and I have not had a serious attack since 1997. I see my neurologist once or twice a year and have a check of my blood tests. I would like to have another MRI to see if things have improved.

General practitioners are only going to have a couple of patients with multiple sclerosis, so they cannot be expected to know everything about the disease. They should encourage patients to have a positive attitude to the illness, and to maybe re-evaluate their lifestyle.

When you have multiple sclerosis you have to be prepared to take control and help yourself. General practitioners, therefore, need to be aware that most of their patients will be trying alternative therapies.