What can I expect after I am diagnosed?
There are no rules governing how you should feel or behave when you're told you have MS. Just as the condition affects each person differently, every individual has their own way of reacting to the news.

Nobody else - whether it's your doctor, partner, family or friends - can tell you what you should or shouldn't be feeling or how you should react. You might burst into tears or feel stunned into silence. It's not unusual to feel guilty or wonder what you've done to deserve MS. Nor is it unusual to feel relief; after years of unexplained symptoms, suspicions and fears, you finally have an answer. It's possible to feel a combination of many feelings, either together or one after the other. These feelings can take some time to settle down and may also reappear as you experience new symptoms or the MS progresses.

Adapting to life with MS can take some time, but with a generally positive attitude and appropriate health and social care, most people manage their condition well.
Where can I get more information?

Getting up-to-date, accurate and unbiased information can help you gain the knowledge needed to make informed decisions and communicate effectively with health and social care professionals. MS Society publications are based on scientific and medical evidence and cover a variety of issues relating to MS.

The internet is another resource widely used by people affected by MS. However, this rich source of information is unregulated, which means that misleading or even wrong information is out there! It is important that people are aware of this problem, and ask for help from the MS Society or a healthcare professional if they have concerns about the validity or accuracy of information downloaded.

What should I expect from the NHS?
The National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) has produced guidelines on best practice for all aspects of MS healthcare in the NHS. These guidelines are intended to help professionals improve their service, and to give people affected by MS a clearer idea of what to expect from the NHS.
If every have any questions, problems or concerns (of a non-medical kind) about the health service you are receiving, you can contact your local Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS). They will answer queries both from people with MS or those looking after them. The telephone number for PALS services is normally available from a doctor's surgery or hospital.

Counselling
Because it is known that MS can cause much distress to both the sufferer and his/her family, an increasing number of Centres offer confidential face-to-face counselling to help deal with the emotional effects and concerns which living with MS (or living with an MS person) can bring.

It is recognised that mind and body are inseparable, what affects one invariably affects the other. Hence it is equally as important to provide help and support for the emotional aspects of MS as for the physical effects and the symptoms.

That emotional stress often manifests itself in body symptoms is a medically recognised fact, similarly that illness and body changes have an effect upon feelings and emotions. When MS is newly diagnosed, or new symptoms appear, it is especially important to avoid a "downward spiral" in which feelings about the body cause emotional disturbance which in turn may worsen the body conditions.
The thoughts and feelings that MS provokes can be difficult to handle within the family situation where each member is affected in different ways. Confidential counselling provided by a qualified professionally trained Counsellor, offers time and space for these feelings and concerns to be identified, considered, explored, evaluated and understood and to help people get back in touch with a better sense of themselves.

Telephone Helplines
The MS Society operates a free & confidential* national Helpline and it’s available on 0808 800 8000. The MS Society’s specialist staff and trained volunteers are available 9am to 9pm, Monday to Friday, except bank holidays.

The MS Helpline is a good first point of contact; it provides emotional support and information to anyone affected by MS, including newly diagnosed people or those living with the condition for many years, their carers, family or friends.

All Helpline staff and volunteers are fully briefed in the latest developments relating to MS and are trained to assist with a wide range of issues, including practical concerns that may arise.

The Helpline team works closely with all other teams at the MS Society to ensure that callers' concerns can be addressed in our day-to-day work.
*Calls remain confidential but may occasionally be monitored for training purposes.

MS National Counselling
24 hour telephone helpline
020 8422 2144


Welfare
The practical problems that MS causes in the lives of you and your family can often be eased by obtaining advice on welfare rights and facilities to help in disability.

Centres are able to provide MS people with guidance and the information they need to access the various forms of assistance obtainable (including statutory aid from, for example, the DSS (United Kingdom only) both locally and nationally.

Ask your Centre first, they may have the answer from the accumulated knowledge of dealing with MS questions over many years and from keeping up to date with changes in the ‘rules’.