Selma Blair announced back in October of this year that she had been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis.
She shared the news in an Instagram post, where she wrote that she was disabled, that she falls sometimes, and that her memory is foggy.
This week she posted an Instagram update showing her crying after being reunited with her horse for the first time in more than four months. She had not been able to see him due to her MS symptoms.
The National Institutes of Health explains that multiple sclerosis, also simply known as MS, is a neurological disease that happens when the brain doesn’t communicate properly with other parts of the body.
But what symptoms do people who have the condition experience?
According to Health Line, MS can have unpredictable symptoms. Mild symptoms can include things such as fatigue and numbness, while severe symptoms could include paralysis, vision loss, and even diminished brain function. Blair points out in her Instagram post above that her left side is like a broken GPS, asking for directions.
Health Line reveals that common early signs of multiple sclerosis include vision problems, tingling and numbness, pains and spasms, weakness and fatigue, balance problems, dizziness, bladder issues, sexual dysfunctions, and cognitive problems.
According to Women’s Health Magazine, Selma actually thought she had a pinched nerve as she saw a doctor. The website reports that the main difference between a pinched nerve and MS is that a pinched nerve is often in a specific area of the body. MS, however, can cause a whole area, such as half the body, or a limb to go numb.
Blair has revealed that she has actually experienced symptoms for years. In her Instagram post where she announced the news, she thanked the producers at Netflix for understanding her situation and helping her through this rough time. In her post, she explains that she guesses that she’s had the disease for 15 years and she’s happy that she now knows what she’s dealing with.
There are 400,000 people in the United States who suffer from MS. Around 2.1 million people have the disease worldwide. Jack Osbourne, Montel Williams, and Jamie-Lynn Sigler have spoken out about having the disease.
I was diagnosed in 1996, before symptoms started. I am a pianist, suddenly unable to open my hands wide enough to get 8 keys. Nobody in my family had MS, nor my grandparents. Last year a cousin younger than me had MS, she is 40. I have primary progressive MS. I do not walk for the last 18 years, I was born in 1962. I have had 6 strokes and 1 heart attack.The Rebif (beta-1a) did very little to help me. The medical team did even less. After roughly five unending years of trauma in the family my MS developed into progressive. There have been many changes in the last 3 to 4 years. Many falls, many fractured bones, and three moves all in five years. I have gone downhill. Considerably. We tried every shot available but nothing was working. There has been little if any progress in finding a reliable treatment for Multiple Sclerosis, I started on MS Herbal Treatment from Kycuyu Health Clinic, the herbal treatment immensely helped my Multiple Sclerosis condition, i had huge improvements.