Our little girl is growing up and is 11 now. It is amazing how much she is like us and what habits and personality traits she has picked up from us. I guess my concern lately is how do we know if she will one day be diagnosed with MS. The doctors for years said that MS is not hereditary, and now I am hearing that they think it might be. As I have written before, my wife's biological mom has MS, so maybe it could be passed down or maybe you are more predisposed to it if your family member has it. I don't know, but I do worry that some of the things we have seen in our daughter might manifest itself later as Multiple Sclerosis.
From what I have read, juvenile MS is becoming more common. Since we don't know what exactly causes it, I guess no one really knows why it is affecting more children. With my daughter, I have been watching some of her issues like stomach problems, her need for sleep, huge mood swings and other odd issues that seem common for my wife. She has the same motion sickness issues and can't tolerate certain foods just like my wife. Now, some of her issues have to do with her being 11 and all of the changes her body is going through. I guess I am worried though when I see so many similarities in some of the health complaints that she has.
For the most part, she is a health young lady that is athletic and energetic. I will do more studying on this, but I know there are others concerned out there about their children having MS. This blog has lots of hits from parents asking the question about whether MS is hereditary or not. I wish there was a clear cut answer, and I pray that my daughter never has to deal with the struggles of MS. As a dad, it does concern me though when she displays so many characteristics that my wife shows. I know my wife's MS didn't start really showing until her late teens, early twenties, but I know there were "symptoms" she talks about that may have been precursors to her MS back in her childhood. I will try to write about those later and give some background to the early stages of her MS. For now, I will keep a very close eye on our daughter and pray that she never has Multiple Sclerosis.
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4 comments:
Cory, thanks for your blog! I'm an MS-husband, too, and I've wrestled with the heredity issue for my daughters.
I wrote of my own daughter's questions in "Daddy, Will I Get MS?" http://www.mscaregiver.com/2007/10/25/daddy-will-i-get-ms/
Perhaps, it will be helpful. This evening, I'll add you to the blogroll of MSCaregiver.com
Hi Cory
I am glad you raised this issue. Perfect timing for me as I find myself really worried about one of the dearest family members of mine. She told me about numbness in her hand and leg and dizzy spells today. She had no idea what it could be but wasn't very concerned initially. To my own surprise I couldn't help but break down crying (which I hardly ever do). I scared her good! :( She didn't know about the MS in the family. She actually didn't know about MS at all.
She will get herself checked soon.
Hey Cory,
I've been really intrested in your blog, and others like it..ever since my mother was diagnosised with MS. I've been searching for research information on specific cases involving controls and consistent information that could possibly lead to a different conclusion other than herititary passing of the disease.because I too, might have a chance of getting it.
My name is Jacki...I'm almost 16.
I'm the second best player on my softball team, first pick for tennis, and long distance runner in track of which I took 3rd out of 23. My favorite food is popcorn and I like jewelry making and designing . I'm highly sociable and enjoy to movies with friends. Iceskating..laughing when we fell down.
Secretly I've kept my chronic back pains and sharp muscle contractions hidden from my parents and friends. But lately it's Been unbearable. I have suspected that it is indeed early signs of MS.
Dizziness, short of breath, twitching fingers, stiffness. Its all there.
I can relate to your daughter.
Because if she is infected with ms.
It will be
horror.
Hi Jacki, you are the same age as my daughter. Please, please, please tell your parents about the pain that you're having. It may have nothing to do with MS, and I know that I would want to know if my daughter was having that kind of pain. My daughter is also an athlete, and it sounds like ya'll have quite a bit in common. So far my daughter hasn't had anything that would be out of the norm for a teenager. She's pretty rough in the sports she plays so we are constantly dealing with that, and like you, she loves hanging out with her friends. Again, please tell your parents and find out what is causing the pain. If you have any other questions let me know.
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