Hi Jessica,

I'm sorry to hear that your husband is not supportive.  It is so very important to have support at home when dealing with a diagnosis of MS and then when learning how to live with the disease. 

I searched pubmed.gov, a clearing house for medical publications, and found nothing discussing common sleep aids and brain lesions. 

I did find ONE article published in Psychology Today (2010) which discusses benzodiazepine use and changes in the brain such as enlarged cerebral ventricles. (http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/side-effects/201011/brain-damage-benzodiazepines-the-troubling-facts-risks-and-history-minor-tr)

Cerebral atrophy and ventricular enlargement can be seen even in clinically isolated syndrome and early MS.  (http://jnnp.bmj.com/content/73/2/141.full)  

I have never read any MS-related publications which would suggest that previous drug use (or abuse) might cause MS.  If you used benzo's, and have ventricular enlargement, and develop MS, then it could all be a coincidence.  I'm not a medical professional, so I don't know.  But I couldn't find any connection of brain lesions to sleeping pill use in the literature.

I hope that this helps in talking to your husband about learning what to do NOW that you do have MS.  You can contact your local NMSS chapter (http://nmss.org) to find support groups or educational seminars in your area.

So how are you doing with the MS?

Lisa