Tracking with Knowledge about MS
Kierstin was diagnosed with primary progressive multiple sclerosis a few years ago. Her physicians discovered lesions in her spine that indicated the disease. This is not the typical way to find MS. The most common way is the discovery of lesions in the brain. Getting to a diagnosis did not come easy for her, which is more common than you might think. Typically, a clear diagnosis is not found until the person has outward symptoms of the disease.
Multiple sclerosis is a complex neural degenerative condition. According to a study published in the journal Neurology, multiple sclerosis (MS) is the most common progressive neurologic disease of young adults worldwide. There are nearly 1 million people living with MS in the United States and an estimated 2.5 million worldwide. The condition is more prevalent in women and the average age of diagnosis is 32.
Multiple sclerosis is a progressive immune disease attacking the central nervous system, including the brain, spinal cord, and optic nerve. The disease impacts the myelin sheath that protects nerve fibers. Once any part is damaged, then nerve impulses are disrupted when traveling to and from the brain or along the spinal cord. This results in a variety of symptoms of the disease.
For Kierstin, she was a black belt with 4 children and married. She has a very active family. Gradually, she was not able to do even a classic karate move. Her doctors first told her that it was aging. When she started having other symptoms like back pain, drop foot, and problems urinating, she knew there was something wrong.
She found an Artificial Intelligence (AI) online tracking tool that will take brain MRI scans and cover them to easy to understand, visual images and allows for tracking of MRI images over time. Kierstin found this new online tool by clicking on a Facebook ad, which she admits she never does, but she is happy that she did.
This is not a tool to self-diagnosis. She says it gives her the tools she needs to have a better and more productive conversation with her doctors. “It let’s me say things to my doctor that I normally wouldn’t,” she admits and uses the tracking of her brain scans as evidence for what she is experiencing. As a mother of four, she is very leary of giving her personal information out. When signing up for this service, she was apprehensive and decided to call the company. To her surprise, when she contacted them, it was an actual human who answered her call.
She values this technology and asks for more. It is a way for her to track the progression of her multiple sclerosis with knowledge so she can be active in her future decisions.
Learn more about technologies for multiple sclerosis by visiting our directory.