CAN you die from MS?

[msedup]

Hello friends! I haven't been on in a long while... had to get a new user name, too.

Today, a good friend of mine is turning off the life support that has been sustaining her Mother's life for several days. She has MS. Her body systems just started shutting down, until she had no brain activity. Can MS do that? If you get a lesion in just exactly the wrong location, can it kill us? I am very emotional about this, and now I'm scared, too. And so sad for my friend losing her Mom this way.

[julierooster]

That is scary. Everytime I hear something new, I kind of get scared, so I can relate.

What I've been told from my husband's neurologist is the same of what Sparky said-- its due to complications from having the condition. My husband had asked the doc that question.

My sympathy to you and your friend.

[KureMS]

YUK!

Yuk -I'm sorry I stumbled onto this thread. I was living in a world where medicine has advanced to the point where I'm not in constant pain from my MS. It's a world where medicine has made it so that my spms has leveled off. I was looking at a world where at 54 I see more cures for not only MS but for cancer becoming available in my lifetime. I KNOW that people die from complications due to MS, but people (YOUNG PEOPLE) also die from crossing the street, swimming, etc. Are the odds against us, probably, but the odds were not in my favor when at 32 I had the first of 4 brain tumors , (yep I counted them ) removed. Do I now feel like I am invincable? Nah, not really. I could cross the street tomorrow.....

[DianeD]

I think the folks who responded told you the way it is with MS. The way the lesions affect you are how you 'feel' your MS. They can indeed disturb some normal body functions and that is why we have various symptomatic treatments. If the symptomatic treatments are successful we can get along.

It is rare that a death certificate will cite MS as a cause for death.

It is certainly a challenge for many ms'ers to stay healthy, but as one poster said you could have any number of other things bring about your demise.

All anyone with any illness can do is deal with it as it comes.

Dianer

[Sequoia]

What my neurologist has told me is that, depending on lesion placement, the autonomic nervous system can be affected and a person with MS can lose the ability to breathe, the digestive tract can cease to function altogether, &/or the heart can stop beating. These things aren't side effects of MS; they're the MS itself in action.

Thankfully, they don't happen to very many of us.

[fishead]

I was a health professional in cardiology for 22 yrs before my MS yanked me out of it. Not ONCE did I see or hear (and I went to many A.H.A. conferences) of MS causing the heart to stop beating, so IF that is something that occurs, it MUST be very very rare!

[Sequoia]

I was a health professional in cardiology for 22 yrs before my MS yanked me out of it. Not ONCE did I see or hear (and I went to many A.H.A. conferences) of MS causing the heart to stop beating, so IF that is something that occurs, it MUST be very very rare!

If I'm remembering correctly (it was several years ago now), what my neurologist said about the heart and MS was that autonomic dysfunction could lead to undiagnosed, thus untreated, sleep apnea, which in turn could result in cardiac arrest. Many people with MS seem to suffer from sleep apnea.

I guess it might be more correct to classify that as a side effect of MS, rather than a direct result?

[4boysmom]

Just to bring a lighter note to a serious topic, I remember someone new writing a post that said, "My neuro said my MRI shows a lesion on my medulla oblongata. What does that mean?"

I thought to myself, that isn't good, but I'm not going to be the one to tell him that! As they say, it is like real estate - location, location, location!

I do think Brain stem lesions are rare! We all have to go sometime, and I'll opt for 5 years too soon rather than 10 years too late!

[Justsayyes]

My largest lesion is on the brain stem, scary. So far has not caused me any disability, although I've had some symptoms that are probably a result of that lesion.

[Splendid]

I find it interesting that when you look up information about MS from non-MS based resources, most of them say MS does not affect life expectancy. Having worked in a rehab hospital for years, I found this information very suspicious. I had seen some MS patients over the years on vents, with swallowing problems, with pneumonia...etc. So I figured what many of you are alluding to...when a pt. with MS passes away from pneumonia..."they" call it pneumonia not MS.

I have since then become more acquainted with MS and medical sites and they are more apt to give us a slightly shorter life span. That makes more sense to me based on what I have seen. Have to admit that after I got this diagnosis, seeing those MS pt's was difficult.

I am very sorry about you friend's mother and I can definitely understand your panic. Just remember each case is different.

[SNOOPY]

I am very sorry about you friend's mother and I can definitely understand your panic. Just remember each case is different.

I am also very sorry about your friends mother, msedup

As Splendid mentioned...Each case is different.

I have been on MS forums for awhile now and it's always so sad to here someone has passed on with MS.

Sometimes when family members let us know it's phrased as "they passed away from MS." It's difficult to know the cause of their passing.

Did they have a Varant of MS, a more aggressive form of MS or the standard "complications?" Sometimes suicide is involved Really, it's none of our business and very intrusive to even ask.

What I know is age or length of time with the disease seems to have no bearing.

[fuzzywuzzy2]

So sorry about your friend! But she is in a better place now.

I too, have heard that much of MS is where the lesions are located. That can lead to other complications, which can be successfully treated with meds.

Re-evaluating your life after a significant dx. of any illness always brings some type of panic or insecurity. You can go through stages of denial etc...

I think MS has helped me to slow down. I was always so go,go,go,go...worked long hours and my stress level was high.

Im learning to slow down, enjoy life and be thankful for the life I have.

Sure, Im scared about losing my job...which leads to losing other "things" but I have my family, friends and the people here who are wiling to listen and share experiences.

My heart is with you in this difficult time and we are always here at this wonderful place to get the support we need at any given time!

I have also found that many MSer's have other things as well that can complicate the MS... but Im stopping to smell the roses, eat as well as I can, try to stay positive and hopefully learn from MS.

It definately sucks to have MS because the future is unknown, and I am a type "a" all the way...needing to be in control...but MS is helping me learn to let go....

Cyber hugs to you and your friends family!!!!

[Sir-Voor]

msedup,

Sorry to hear about your friend’s mom, but don’t get scared because of it.
MS generally only attacks one or possibly two systems at a time and with several systems shutting down it would indicate something else is shutting them down.

I hope you have been put at ease, and not just because the stress from being scared is not good for MS. It really is a unwarranted stress.

(((msedup))) So sorry to hear about your friend's mother.

Most likely a person with MS will die from complications caused by something that is caused by the MS. For example, pneumonia caused by being bedridden and weak. That is just one example. I suppose the properly placed lesion could mess with one's autonomous systems, such as breathing or heartbeat. That would be extremely rare, and I imagine a very quick death.

In general, people die WITH MS, not FROM it.

Again, my condolences.

I highly disagree with that statement, saying a person with MS will likely die from complications caused by MS is a ridicules thing to say.
True with server cases that could be somewhat true, but in the average and mild cases of MS that is 100% false!
I do agree with your statement that “in general, people die with MS and not from MS.”

[autotech]

Exactly you cannot stress over it..

To my knowledge MS is not a death sentence like some cancers, etc..

Fact remains we are all going to die, and the clock starts the day we are born..

My good friend died in a car accident.
My Grandma died from a massive heart attack
My Mom died from Sepsis
My Aunt died from cancer.

[hunterd]

I ALSO AGREE THAT MOST WILL DIE FROM SOMETHING NON-MS RELATED. BUT MS EFFECTS NERVES, WHICH SEND IMPULSES TO MUSCLES, THUS AFFECTING A MUSCLE. ISN`T THE HEART A MUSCLE? JUST SPECULATING.
" We all have to go sometime, and I'll opt for 5 years too soon rather than 10 years too late!" AMEN!!!!!