Folks with multiple sclerosis who aren’t in the public eye have to cope with symptoms affecting their physical, mental and emotional well-being. Public figures face the same challenges. “No matter who you are, how you deal with MS depends on your severity of symptoms, treatment and outlook,” says Dr. Rhonda Voskuhl, a professor in UCLA’s department of neurology. “There could be added pressure if fans expect celebrities to be beaming with health, vitality and energy 24-7.”
Multiple sclerosis is a disability that affects more than 400,000 Americans whose immune systems mistake the myelin sheath (tissue covering the central nervous system) for a foreign invader. An over-active response of the autoimmune system leads to lesions forming in the brain and spinal cord, making communication with other parts of the body go haywire. These misfiring signals can cause vision issues, brain “fog,” spasticity and imbalance, extreme fatigue, depression and numbness or tingling in the extremities, among other issues.
[See: 10 Seemingly Innocent Symptoms You Shouldn’t Ignore.]
For comedic actress Teri Garr, tingling in her right foot and stumbling while jogging in Central Park were the first signs something wasn’t right. After she was diagnosed with MS in 1999, she tried to keep the disease a secret, fearing it would hurt her career. But in 2002, after talk show host Montel Williams “came out” about his MS, Garr disclosed her condition on “The Larry King Show.”
She’s an MS Ambassador for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, a paid spokesperson for an MS medication and a leading advocate for multiple sclerosis education and research. She talks a lot about exercise. “It’s crucial,” the 69-year-old actress said on the MS Society website. She rides a recumbent bike for an hour every day and also swims in the summer. “It’s vital to keep moving,” she says.
Research backs up Garr’s experience, especially when it comes to helping cognitive issues. A 2014 study suggests that different types of physical exercise, including yoga, cycling and walking, can help the mental processes of people with MS. Research from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and the University at Buffalo reported in the Journal of Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology that exercise strengthens central nervous system cells by increasing blood flow, which helps with cognition.
In addition to exercise, certain medications can keep MS symptoms at bay. Drugs have even allowed athletes with MS to stay in the game. For example, a medication called Tysabri became part of former national hockey player Bryan Bickell’s treatment once he was diagnosed with MS five months ago. His telltale symptoms included vertigo and vision issues. Bickell has since retired, but like Minnesota Wild goaltender Josh Harding, who was diagnosed with MS in 2012, medication helped him continue playing until the end of the season.
According to NHL.com, “Bickell and Harding have talked on the phone and exchanged texts during the past two months, providing Bickell with some first-hand advice about what to expect.”
[See: 10 Lessons from Empowered Patients.]
When country music singer Clay Walker was diagnosed with MS at age 26, he expected the worst. “I was told I’d be in a wheelchair in four years and dead within eight,” Walker told FoxNews.com in 2016. But with new drugs, exercise and a positive outlook, he’s been relapse-free for 18 years. In fact, Walker has become an MS advocate and started “Band Against MS,” an organization that helps educate people about the disease. As he says, “Focus on finding a groove.”
Voskuhl concurs: “Taking something negative and turning it into a positive not only can help MS patients feel better, but it’s an attitude to be admired in anybody.”
Ann Romney, wife of politician Mitt, embodies a positive attitude. She’s the global ambassador of the Ann Romney Center for Neurologic Diseases at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston. During a 2015 PBS interview, she said: “Losing yourself by doing something else and not always dwelling on your disease is very important.”
“I absolutely agree,” says Dr. Dhanashri Miskin, a neurologist at New York City’s Lenox Hill Hospital. “The anxiety and stress patients impose on themselves can exasperate the experience of their symptoms. If, for instance, a patient has neuropathic pain, being anxious or dwelling on it can make the pain seem worse. Distracting yourself from focusing on the disease reduces the stress.”
According to a 2012 study by Northwestern University that tracked 121 MS patients over the course of four years, it’s not just negative stress like worry about the disease, but positive events, too, such as a wedding, that can increase the chance of MS relapse. The good news? The study also showed counseling can help reduce stress.
[See: 5 Rare Diseases You’ve Never Heard of (Until Now).]
Jamie-Lynn Sigler, who starred in the television series “The Sopranos,” offers counsel to other MS sufferers by sharing her personal experiences on Twitter using the hashtag #RemainMySelf. “I want to be somebody who says, ‘I get it, I feel you, I hear you, I go through what you go through and I understand.'” In 2002, when Sigler was 20 years old, the star went to a hospital emergency room reporting odd tingling in her legs. After an MRI and spinal tap, she received the diagnosis of MS. Sigler kept the disease to herself until 2016, when she became a new mom. During an interview on Fox News the same year, she said: “I think a lot of the time when people are dealing with any chronic illness you can feel very isolated; you can feel alone.”
“When celebrities go public with their disease, it not only helps other patients accept their diagnosis and cope with their symptoms,” Miskin says, “it can also help increase donations given for more research.”
That’s what star power can do.
More from U.S. News
10 Lessons From Empowered Patients
10 Seemingly Innocent Symptoms You Shouldn’t Ignore
5 Rare Diseases You’ve Never Heard Of (Until Now)
What Can We Learn From Celebrities and Athletes With MS? originally appeared on usnews.com
