Across the world, it’s estimated that around 1.8 million people are living with multiple sclerosis (MS). The neurological condition, which can affect people of any age, can cause symptoms such as vision problems, tiredness and trouble walking and celebrities including Christina Applegate and Selma Blair have opened up about their experience being diagnosed.
To mark MS Awareness Week (Monday, 22 April to Sunday, 28 April), OK! speaks to Rachel Maclean, the creator of womenswear brand web-site.co.uk, about her experience living with MS after being diagnosed around six years ago…
“As I sat at my desk one morning, I realised that something was off. Picking up the document that I’d been reading the previous day, the words were all I blur in front of me. I couldn't read it at all. ‘Oh my goodness, what’s happened?,’ was all I could think.
Up until that moment I’d had quite good eyesight, so my optician knew that my vision had significantly deteriorated. But despite that, she couldn’t see anything wrong with my eye so thought that the issue could’ve been caused by old age.
I wasn’t so sure and the following day it got even worse, so I went back to the opticians and I said, ‘look, something's seriously wrong. I can hardly see anything’. I'd gone from being able to read the bottom row of letters at the opticians, to barely even reading the second row from the top. I knew something was up.
I was quickly referred to the hospital where I had to be driven because my eyesight was so bad. At that moment I felt so much panic. With no explanation behind the cause, I thought that I was going blind for no reason. I was really scared.
The specialist did various tests on me and he identified something called optic neuritis, which is one of the signs of MS. He told me he’d refer me for a brain scan and for weeks I felt an overwhelming panic until the neurosurgeon confirmed that it was in fact MS.
While it was reassuring to get a diagnosis, when I heard those words I realised that my life was changing before my eyes. It was hard to come to terms with but after a year I was put on a treatment where I have to go to the hospital to have an infusion every six months which takes around three hours.
I’ve responded really well, so although I get mild symptoms like tiredness and getting cold, otherwise I’m doing good. However, as with any treatment, there are some side effects so while I’m helping my MS, I’m also putting myself at risk of something else.
I think it’s great that people like Christina Applegate have spoken out about being diagnosed as raising awareness really helps in the long run and shows people what symptoms they need to be aware of and slightly sympathetic to.”
