I knew a man once who had worked in a nursing home and he reported that aged people with MS really liked quiet corners and spending time alone. I imagine those people were down so many brain cells that the TV room at an old folks home would feel like Dave and Buster’s.
I was glad to hear him say that some people made it to old age without dying from the MS. Not a likely outcome before there was interferon or immune-modulating meds.
Evidently they’ve done studies, and the current thinking is that elderly people with MS might not need their meds at some point for one of two reasons:
- It’s not working well enough for them, or
- It’s working too well for them.
I think I might end up shunted into that second category next time I see the neurologist. They’ve already cut my dose in half. Why feed me drugs that shut down my immune system if my body’s shutting it down on its own anyway?
Of course, the prospect is scary. Fight a disease by not fighting? I can’t imagine being that Zen.