Diagnosed with MS recently, right after starting back school to becomie a nurse

llg, PhD, RN · Sep 28, 2012

My advice is that you have a serious sit-down conversation with the specialist managing your MS -- someone who is very familiar with the disease and the needs that you will be likely to have in the future. Find out from an expert in MS what you should expect to need.

Yes, there are jobs within nursing that aren't terribly stressful or demanding (physically or emotionally). But generally, you usually need lots of experience to get those jobs. School is usually very stressful emotionally and physically -- and life as a new nurse is often just as demanding if not more so. Discuss these facts with your physician, listen to what he/she has to say, and then make the career choice that seems most likely to be do-able and satisfying for you.

vintagemother, BSN, CNA, LVN, RN · Sep 28, 2012

I recently read An article on montell Williams and his battle with ms. I found it very interesting because he incorporates holistic methods into his treatment for ms. If you are into holistic treatments, you may want to research these methods to see how they work for you (along with whatever medical treatments you use) congratulations on not giving up in the face of adversity. Counseling may also be helpful to you as school and your health may impact your perceptions.

bribri03 · Sep 28, 2012

Thanks for the advice. So far the only person I really have medically helping me is the doctor from the hospital who also runs the specialty clinics there, and while I think he is knowledgeable when I asked him he said yeah you can keep going to school and that was it...he is also foreign making it very hard to understand him. I guess I need to try and talk with someone else. This all has happened very recently, I actually haven't even started the medicine although it is "ordered" and I should be starting very soon. It's scary, I know I can look at the resources online I am just scared of what I might hear to be honest. I had plans for my life and now my whole world is turned upside down, it really sucks.

vintagemother, BSN, CNA, LVN, RN · Sep 28, 2012

You may also want to do a google search for people with MS who are nurses, or search here on AN on the nurses with disabilities forum. Hopefully you can find stories to inspire you. As for me, I've simply battled emotional challenges while in school and recently had to seek professional medical treatment, individual counseling and group therapy. My own sister had a grade 5 brain tumor when she was a senior in college. That was 7 years ago and she is now applying to law school. I think that illness itself makes things difficult in a practical manner, but the emotional toll of disability can also make accomplishing your goals more difficult. I pray it all works out for you.

Stephalump · Sep 28, 2012

Anyone with any advice would be welcomed. I was diagnosed with MS recently but after I had started school to become a nurse. After this semester I will have one more and then I will have completed the pre nursing stuff and will hopefully be accepted into the program. I am also starting medicine soon for the MS. I feel norma, I just had an episode I guess and I have no idea how frequently these episodes may happen. I am 27 years old and have an almost 2 year old son, I have so much life left and yet getting that diagnosis was like but wait I'm healthy and only 27, it can't be possible. It's all very surreal. I want to make something of myself though for my son and myself. I would hate to go through school only to find out it was a waste

It might be hard to get through school and not end up being able to work, but I think it would be worse to not go to school and have zero problems for years and years when you could have been living your dreams. With things like that I've found it's best to live in the moment. Today you feel great, so live your life. If you sit at home waiting to feel badly, you might bring feeling baldy on even quicker (depression, etc). Go forth and live :)

I'm really sorry to hear about your dx, by the way. Here's hoping for a cure!

And I second looking into alternative therapies especially before you feel any side effects. You may be able to ward them off for longer!

bribri03 · Sep 29, 2012

You may also want to do a google search for people with MS who are nurses, or search here on AN on the nurses with disabilities forum. Hopefully you can find stories to inspire you. As for me, I've simply battled emotional challenges while in school and recently had to seek professional medical treatment, individual counseling and group therapy. My own sister had a grade 5 brain tumor when she was a senior in college. That was 7 years ago and she is now applying to law school. I think that illness itself makes things difficult in a practical manner, but the emotional toll of disability can also make accomplishing your goals more difficult. I pray it all works out for you.

Thanks for all your advice, I am definitely gonna check out the Montel Williams alternative treatments. I actually did do a google search of nurses with ms and didn't get much. However it's a good idea to look at nurses with disabilities, so thanks so much for all your advice, I really appreciate it. I pray things get better and work for you as well!

bribri03 · Sep 29, 2012

It might be hard to get through school and not end up being able to work, but I think it would be worse to not go to school and have zero problems for years and years when you could have been living your dreams. With things like that I've found it's best to live in the moment. Today you feel great, so live your life. If you sit at home waiting to feel badly, you might bring feeling baldy on even quicker (depression, etc). Go forth and live :)
I'm really sorry to hear about your dx, by the way. Here's hoping for a cure!
And I second looking into alternative therapies especially before you feel any side effects. You may be able to ward them off for longer!

I have thought about this alot and I don't think you could be any more correct!! I think by allowing myself to continue on I will have a purpose for my life and I think that could be the healthiest thing for me. If I let myself give up on my dreams and mope it will only make it worse. It is nice hearing that from someone else. I really don't have many people to talk to about all this, none actually and so this has been nice and made me feel a little more confident. Also I am going to look into the alternative therapies because it could potentially help so why not!

I like that go forth and live :) here is to living n the here and now and living my life in the present not the future of what may happen, while that stuff is still important I can't let it rule me.

Thank you so much for your advice, very encouraging :)

Annaiya, NP · Sep 30, 2012

My best friend of 25 years was diagnosed with MS when she was 19. When we were 12, she would talk about how all she wanted to be when she grew up was a nurse. After her diagnosis, she had an "expert" tell her which professions she could do and which she could not. He emphatically stated that she could never be a nurse, because it was too physical of a job. So, she spent the next almost 10 years of her life adrift, not being able to find anything that made her happy. After 10 years with MS and still being able to function just fine, she finally went back to nursing school. She couldn't work 12 hour shifts, but was always able to find 8 or 4 hour shifts. She worked in a NICU and a mother/baby unit, so she didn't have heavy patients to lift. She was always able to make it work. She has since finished her MSN and is a Nurse Practitioner (less physical work, better hours and she likes it better).

You only get 1 life, so do whatever you want to do until you need to make changes due to your physical needs. Eat healthy, exercise every day, take care of yourself, and hopefully you won't have any problems for years to come. I would not recommend reading MS forums or seeking out a lot of things that people have mentioned here. The thing with MS is it affects people completely differently, so reading about how sick someone else is can be a whole lot scarier than just believing in yourself and going after what you want to do. My friend found those things not to be places of encouragement or hope, but rather people just feeing sorry for themselves.

I wish you the best. I know how devastating this diagnosis is, and I hope you will continue to pursue your dreams of being a nurse.

bribri03 · Sep 30, 2012

My best friend of 25 years was diagnosed with MS when she was 19. When we were 12, she would talk about how all she wanted to be when she grew up was a nurse. After her diagnosis, she had an "expert" tell her which professions she could do and which she could not. He emphatically stated that she could never be a nurse, because it was too physical of a job. So, she spent the next almost 10 years of her life adrift, not being able to find anything that made her happy. After 10 years with MS and still being able to function just fine, she finally went back to nursing school. She couldn't work 12 hour shifts, but was always able to find 8 or 4 hour shifts. She worked in a NICU and a mother/baby unit, so she didn't have heavy patients to lift. She was always able to make it work. She has since finished her MSN and is a Nurse Practitioner (less physical work, better hours and she likes it better).
You only get 1 life, so do whatever you want to do until you need to make changes due to your physical needs. Eat healthy, exercise every day, take care of yourself, and hopefully you won't have any problems for years to come. I would not recommend reading MS forums or seeking out a lot of things that people have mentioned here. The thing with MS is it affects people completely differently, so reading about how sick someone else is can be a whole lot scarier than just believing in yourself and going after what you want to do. My friend found those things not to be places of encouragement or hope, but rather people just feeing sorry for themselves.
I wish you the best. I know how devastating this diagnosis is, and I hope you will continue to pursue your dreams of being a nurse.

Thank you so much for sharing her story, very encouraging. Also thank you so much for the other advice as well. I do see what you mean though about reading about MS thr.. I don't think it willg intuit.. or any other MS forums, and I think I will listen to that advice because your right it affects everyone differently

bribri03 · Sep 30, 2012

I also wanted to say thanks for the other advice as well, I was distracted by my son trying to write that last response, he is 2 lol and a handful. But I agree I think if I keep doing what I am doing at least I have some purpose. If insist around and mope and wait to feel bad I think I will bring it on myself faster. It's nice to hear someone say that though, thank you for your kind words. I plan to keep going to school and living my life until its not possible for me to do so. I don't really have anyone to talk to about this stuff so it's nice to have a little reassurance.

Multicollinearity, BSN, RN · Oct 2, 2012

One of my instructors in nursing school had MS. She said she had MS her entire nursing career.