Talk to your healthcare team
Talk to Your Healthcare Team
Talking about your MS symptoms
There are many symptoms of MS. By being able to consider how all MS symptoms, both ‘visible’ and ‘invisible’, may affect you, is the first step to helping you to talk about them with your family, friends, and treatment team.1
How do you experience MS symptoms?
Use these example questions to prepare for your next appointment with your doctor or treatment team.
The following questions are for you to consider your own experience with MS symptoms so that you can better discuss it with your doctor - and healthcare team. These questions are not intended to be a diagnostic tool. The questions included here are just a few examples of how ‘visible’ and ‘invisible’ symptoms may affect a person living with MS.
- Which of your MS symptoms are most troubling for you?
- How comfortable do you feel discussing your ‘invisible’ symptoms with your healthcare team?
- Do your MS symptoms affect your daily life?
- Do your MS symptoms ever affect your relationships with your friends/family?
- Do you feel people misunderstand or overlook your MS symptoms?
- Do your MS symptoms prevent you from being able to work or participate in family life?
Help your treatment team, family, and friends understand and support you by clearly describing how MS symptoms affect you and what you’re doing to try and manage it.
Remember, you’re not alone!
MS affects many people in many different ways.
There are several different ways you may be able to think and do something about it.2,3
MS symptoms are a part of living with MS that you and your doctor can talk about and try to manage.
You can
Write down questions or concerns you might have about your MS symptoms to take to your next doctors visit or healthcare team meeting.4
Tell others about your MS symptoms if it feels right to do so.
Your Healthcare team can
Provide prescription medicines to help manage the different symptoms of your MS.
Recommend potential alternative therapies or coping strategies to help you manage your symptoms.5
Help you to understand the symptoms you are experiencing.
The above suggestions are not a substitute for medical advice.
Always talk to your doctor about the best way to manage your MS and your MS symptoms.
References
- Ysrraelit MC, Fiol MP, Gaitán MI, Correale J. Quality of Life Assessment in Multiple Sclerosis: Different Perception between Patients and Neurologists. Front Neurol. 2018; 8: 729. Published 2018 Jan 11.doi:10.3389/fneur.2017.00729.
- Mortensen G, Rasmussen PV. The impact of quality of life on treatment preferences in multiple sclerosis patients. Patient Prefer Adherence. 2017; 11: 1789-1796. Published 2017 Oct 19. doi:10.2147/PPA.S142373.
- Parker LS, Topcu G, De Boos D, et al. (2020). The notion of “invisibility” in people’s experiences of the symptoms of multiple sclerosis: a systematic meta-synthesis.
- de Sa JC, Airas L, Bartholome E, et al. Symptomatic therapy in multiple sclerosis: a review for a multimodal approach in clinical practice. Ther Adv Neurol Disord. 2011; 4(3): 139-168. doi:10.1177/1756285611403646.
- Green R, Cutter G, Friendly M, et al. Which symptoms contribute the most to patients’ perception of health in multiple sclerosis? Multiple Scler J Exp Transl Clin. 2017; 3(3): 1–6.
