Lisa Emrich is well known here on the MS sight, but she is also an expert on the RA site.  She also recommends reading Lene Anderson to learn more about RA.

Osteoporosis
I have heard of Osteoporosis for years, but I never took it too seriously.  Now I know better. Osteoporosis, low levels of calcium and other minerals, leaves weak, brittle bones, ready to fracture with the slightest misstep.  There is a relationship between MS and Osteoporosis because an awkward gait or, in my case, transferring from a wheelchair to a car may fracture a bone with an audible pop.  This is serious. It affects both women and men, and especially MSers. 

MSers are particularly at risk because of inactivity, lack of weight-bearing exercise, and steroids prescribed for other symptoms.  In addition, apparently doctors often do not test.  Doctors Bowling and House wrote an article on Disaboom of hidden conditions such as osteoporosis when coupled with MS, emphasizing the role that health care professionals play by overlooking the possibility. Ask your doctor.


Multiples
Each of the conditions in this list commonly co-exist with MS. What if a person has MS plus another, plus another, plus even another?  Denise Coleman , right here on Health Central, tells of her plight with MS plus multiple disorders in her post One Step Forward, Two Steps Back.  Denise tells us of her disorders and symptoms, then she describes the confusion of multiple diagnoses.  She is not alone.

As we see with Denise's post, there are other conditions added to MS.  One diagnosis does not exclude another.  We must remain aware of our bodies and new symptoms that may indicate another invading condition -- any condition.

Whether we have more than one condition or we are simply trying to discover what is wrong, MS is confusing. Many of us know, after spending long periods of time in limbo, that identifying MS alone is complicated and time consuming; MS plus another condition adds confusion and time.  Here is a landmark guideline for distinguishing MS from other conditions.  It was developed by the National MS Society to increase diagnosis accuracy among MS and its look-alikes.  It's about time.

 

Next I will talk about treatment.

Notes and Links
* from Boston Legal, executive producers Bill D'Elia, Janet Leahy, David E. Kelley
** All About Multiple Sclerosis, Trigeminal Neuralgia
NMSS  http://www.nationalmssociety.org/index.aspx
http://vvbms.blogspot.com/2006/11/is-this-all.html