I have five lesions on the brain

MY HEALTH EXPERIENCEMICHAEL CAFFREY: MS hasn't changed my life too much - I know I am lucky

THE DAY I found out I had multiple sclerosis I was delighted. I know it may seem hard to believe, but I was so relieved I could have done cartwheels. My wife, Mary, did not feel the same way, of course, but a lot of things had been going through my head while I was waiting for the diagnosis.

I had had an MRI scan, which showed that I have five lesions on the brain.

That was six years ago. I was 47. That is unusual. Most of the people I know with MS got it when they were much younger – maybe 19 or 20.

The doctors have told me that the headaches I had been getting in the past might have been signs of MS, but I had put them down to stress .

There was never any MS in my family, and that is unusual too.

One doctor has told me that it might be related to a trauma I experienced nearly 25 years ago, when I collapsed in a slurry tank.

Two of us were cleaning out the tank. I noticed the man working with me go limp inside the tank, and I went in after him. I nearly had him out, but then I collapsed as well. It was the methane gas. They had to cut open the tank to rescue us. I was unconscious until the next day.

In the hospital they told Mary I wouldn’t last the night. Our oldest son Ronan was six months old at the time. Who knows – maybe that triggered something?

I had been getting headaches for 18 months or two years before the MS was diagnosed. My mother had died of cancer the year before, and I was helping to care for my father, an amputee, so I put the headaches down to a bit of pressure. I also used to get a flicker in the left eye, but I was sure that was tiredness.

Then the sight in my left eye started to get blurry. If I was driving I would see 1½ of anyone who was on my left.

And I had problems with my left leg – pins and needles. It bothered me when I was driving the car, but not the lorry or jeep – maybe because they are higher.

I thought the eye might have been related to another accident I had eight years before I found out I had MS. I was out fencing and I hit a bit of wire with a sledge. It shot up and got me in the left eye. The pain was horrific. I had to get stitches in that eye, so when it started to give me trouble I wasn’t too surprised.

But one Sunday afternoon I was lying on the couch watching a soccer match, and I got up to make a cup of tea. The room started to spin. My stomach had been really sick, so I went to the doctor. The night I went into hospital I had a whopping headache.

I spent two weeks in the Mater, having tests. Then they broke the news and, as I say, I was delighted.

I can’t say it has changed my life. I don’t want to appear flippant, because I know I am lucky – I have a mild form. I inject myself once a week, and if there has been any change in my life it is tiredness. But I was always a great man for catnaps so when I get tired I just have a snooze.

I was always fit, and maybe that helps me now. I played a lot of football. I played for Cavan at under-21 level, and I was a sub on the senior team. I am more likely to hit a golf ball now, but that’s an age thing. I do get pins and needles, but I always had a limp from the football and I have had my knees done.

I don’t drink – I never did – and I don’t smoke.

The medication really works for me. I inject myself once a week. I am on a drug called Avonex. They say the drugs will be available in tablet form soon, but I am very happy with how I am getting on now. You have to take Nurofen before and after the injection or you feel like you have the flu. I know a man who is allergic to Nurofen, and he has to spend a day in bed after the injection.

I can still drive the tractor and the lorry. I drive an automatic car – that is more for comfort.

And I work on the farm – we always had pigs – even though I am probably not able to do as much as I did. But then, I am not 30 any more. Sometimes when I come in at 6pm I just have to collapse on the couch.

There is a danger that it will progress, but I live for each day. I don’t worry about the future or what might happen. I am a positive person. I believe you are dealt a hand and you have to play it. I don’t think the hand I was dealt is that bad.

I know there are people in wheelchairs, people whose speech or whose balance is affected.

My advice to anyone who is diagnosed is to be positive. It is an inconvenience, but it is not the end of the world. I know it is easy for me. I did not get it when I was 19. I am not in a wheelchair. I know I am lucky.

They say MS is genetic but it was never in my family. Do I worry about my kids? No, I don’t. The three of them are in great form. They play football. They are healthy. You cannot live your life worrying.

I try to be healthy. I eat a lot more fish now. I know what I should avoid, but I am a devil for the sweet things.

When I get tired I cannot fight it. You get a very dead feeling in your body. You have no energy at all.

I didn’t know anything about MS before I was diagnosed.

I go the conferences organised by the MS society and I enjoy the camaraderie and hearing other people’s stories.

I would never google MS or try to get information on the internet about what could happen. The way I deal with it is – I will cross that bridge if it comes.

In conversation with Marese McDonagh

MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS: CAUSES, SYMPTOMS, TREATMENT AND TYPES

Multiple sclerosis is a disease of the central nervous system that affects 2.5 million people worldwide and an estimated 8,000 in Ireland.

It occurs when myelin, the covering that protects the nervous system, breaks down, blocking or distorting messages being sent to different parts of the body.

There is no known cause, but experts believe a combination of factors such as genetics, environment and the individual's immune system play a part.

Symptoms vary from person to person, and there is no set pattern to how the disease progresses.

Some sufferers experience very mild symptoms, with prolonged periods of remission, but the most severe symptoms include loss of co-ordination, mobility or speech, blurred vision and fatigue.

Women develop MS more frequently than men, and most people are diagnosed between the ages of 20 and 40.

MS does not significantly reduce life expectancy, but quality of life can be affected greatly.

There is no cure, but medication can ease the symptoms for many sufferers.

THERE ARE FOUR MAIN TYPES OF MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS:

RELAPSING-REMITTINGThe most common type. Attacks or relapses are followed by remissions, which can last for several years and during which fewer or even no symptoms are present.

PRIMARY PROGRESSIVE:About 15 per cent never have distinct relapses and remissions, and from the start experience steadily worsening symptoms and progressive disability. This may level off at any time, or may continue to get worse.

SECONDARY PROGRESSIVE:About 40 per cent of sufferers have this type, which starts as relapsing-remitting but after repeated attacks the remissions stop and the MS moves into a progressive phase. This usually happens 15-20 years after the onset of MS.

BENIGN MS:This type of MS generally starts with mild attacks, followed by a recovery. It does not worsen over time, and there is rarely permanent disability.

World MS day takes place tomorrow