June 20, 2012
Written By: Cherie C. Binns RN BS MSCN
Last week, I had the opportunity to participate in a Town Hall Discussion on Aging in Multiple Sclerosis presented by the IOMSN (International Organization of Multiple Sclerosis Nurses). Marijean Buhse, PhD RN NP MSCN was the featured speaker. As a Nursing Researcher and faculty member at Stonybrook School of Nursing on Long Island, she has spent several years observing aging patterns in the MS patient. I will provide a link at the end of this article so that those who wish may listen to her presentation on Podcast.
One of the things that she said that really struck me was that most of us living with MS, will live with the condition for more than 50 years before we die. She said that at least 90% of us will live a lifespan that meets or exceeds that of our age group in general. HOWEVER, those of us with a Chronic illness such as MS or Lupus or RA are only now being looked at as Aged NOT at age 65 or 70 but starting as early as 55 because of the long term strain on our bodies from having a chronic illness and also from the aging of the kidney or liver from processing the symptom management and disease modifying treatments to improve our quality of life. For us, this may mean Drugs are not metabolized as safely or efficiently and we may need lower dosing or avoidance of certain substances altogether.
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