Learn what a typical Multiple sclerosis prognosis is at Consumer Reports Health.

Multiple sclerosis

What will happen to me?

It's hard to say how multiple sclerosis (MS) will affect you. It affects people in different ways.

A lot depends on which type of MS you have. (To learn more about the different kinds of MS, see Types of multiple sclerosis.)

Your symptoms may come and go for many years.

If you have the most common type, relapsing-remitting MS, your symptoms may come and go for many years.

If you have primary or secondary progressive MS, your symptoms will probably worsen more quickly.

In most people, the relapsing-remitting type of MS turns into the secondary progressive type as time goes by.

Source:
O'Connor P.
Key issues in the diagnosis and treatment of multiple sclerosis.
Neurology. 2002: 59 (supplement 3): S1-S33.

If your relapsing-remitting MS was diagnosed 10 years ago, your chances of having secondary progressive MS are about 5 in 10 (50 percent).
If your relapsing-remitting MS was diagnosed 25 years ago, your chances of having secondary progressive MS are about 9 in 10 (90 percent).

Here are some more things we know about how MS may affect you.

The longer you have MS, the more symptoms you're likely to have. You may gradually need more help getting around.
But some people with MS have very little disability even after 15 years to 20 years.
Don't assume you'll need a wheelchair. Many people with MS can walk short distances but need walking aids and perhaps a motorized chair or scooter to help them with longer trips.
More and more people with MS are now taking drugs to reduce relapses (flare-ups) and slow the disease. These drugs haven't been around long enough for doctors to see their effects over many years.
MS doesn't change how long you live by much. You'll probably live almost as long with MS as you would if you didn't have the disease.

Source:
Nicholas R, Chataway J.
Multiple sclerosis.
August 2007. Clinical Evidence (Based on January 2006 search). Available at http://clinicalevidence.bmj.com/ceweb/conditions/nud/1202/1202.jsp (accessed on 7 November 2007).

²
It's hard for doctors to say what will happen to you, but certain things about your MS can help your doctors roughly predict what might happen. For more, see What your MS can tell you about your future.

Sources for the information on this page:

O'Connor P.Key issues in the diagnosis and treatment of multiple sclerosis.Neurology. 2002: 59 (supplement 3): S1-S33.

Nicholas R, Chataway J.Multiple sclerosis.August 2007. Clinical Evidence (Based on January 2006 search). Available at http://clinicalevidence.bmj.com/ceweb/conditions/nud/1202/1202.jsp (accessed on 7 November 2007).

This information was last updated on Jul 25, 2008

This information is for educational use only, and is not a substitute for prompt professional medical advice. Readers should always consult a physician or other professional for advice and treatment.
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