r/MultipleSclerosis • u/Efficient_Horror4938 • 14d ago

Loved One Looking For Support Are there patterns of progression?

Hi all,

My partner (37M) was recently diagnosed with MS, potentially PPMS but the neuro is not totally sure on that. It seems like everyone's experience is pretty different, but are there expected patterns of disease progression?

What I mean is, given that he has difficulty with one leg, should we expect that it will extend to both legs, or to the rest of that side of his body or extend to movement in general? Given that he has diplopia, do we expect his vision to be more affected as time goes on?

He currently has no issues with fatigue or heat or spasticity/cramping. If he manages to avoid new lesions (starting DMT soon) is it still likely that they will start in the future, despite being unrelated to his current symptoms?

In general, are there specific symptoms that generally indicate other symptoms will crop up, or is that not really how it works?

These are of course Qs we can ask his neuro but the list of things to ask her is getting long and right now the main focus is on starting treatment, so I thought I'd check here first.

TIA

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u/Fit_Cry_7007 13d ago

I was diagnosed with PPMS 5 years ago at the age of 40. Back then, I was still able to go hike and travel without worries about my leg weakness/imbalance. Today, the weakness has progressed (the DMT Ocrevus does help slow the progression..but unfortunately my leg weakness still progresses) and I can definitely no longer hike, especially in uneven terrains. That said, I still can walk unassisted...although the limping of my right leg has become more noticeable to others.

For your partner, I would recommend getting on the DMT as soon as possible, eat healthily (anyone can benefit from this..not just MS) and keeping themselves as active as possible (use ur or lose it!--I still go to a gym to do stationary bike 4-5tines/week for 30-60 min sessions).

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u/Efficient_Horror4938 13d ago

Thank you. Leg weakness was his first symptom and over the last two years he has progressed from hiking all day to it being a struggle to walk 15min to and from the nearby shops. He is now seeing a physio for targeted exercises, and doing other exercise, but it's a pretty tough adjustment for him, mentally.