I hadn’t played it up (my birthday was on a Monday this year, and I’m also a bit long in the tooth for a birthday bender), but my body felt like I’d spent the day windsurfing, horse riding, trampolining, and boxing a much better opponent.

What’s Normal at My Age?

Most of the feelings subsided over the ensuing week or so, but others have lingered as they fade. It’s making me wonder if any of the bits that are hanging around are a result of multiple sclerosis (MS), or if they’re just part of normal aging. As I have passed the halftime show of life, it’s one of the questions I find that I both ask myself and answer for others. As we all want to be “normal” even in our abnormality, it feels like a natural question as we age along with our disease. One might think the answers should be easy to come up with, but they can be complex in nature. RELATED: How Age Affects Multiple Sclerosis Symptoms and Progression

A Couple of Clues to Look For

The easy part is to ask yourself if you think it’s an exacerbation or a pseudoexacerbation. Technically, an exacerbation has to do with a new symptom (or worsening of an existing one beyond when it was at its peak) that lasts longer than 24 hours and is not related to fever, overheating, or other, similar factors. The “pseudo” version is the worsening of an old or existing symptom, within the parameters of how you’ve experienced it before, that may be brought on by the above factors and usually lasts less than a day. The second part of answering the question of age versus MS would be to look back a few days or weeks prior to when you noticed the symptom in question. If you could do it before and can’t do it now (as in rather suddenly), then it may be MS-related. If it’s been a slow progression of something that might naturally “wear out,” then it may be age.

MS Progression Can Feel a Lot Like Aging

But then we get into the secondary-progressive MS conundrum. The gradual worsening of a symptom or the reduced ability to do something physical, mental, et cetera, can be how some people experience the secondary-progressive phase of MS. Because as many as 80 percent of people with relapsing-remitting MS later transfer to this progressive phase, SPMS is a possible (even likely) suspect. But we should never assume that a new symptom is just an MS thing.

Certain Signs and Symptoms Should Not Be Ignored

There are aspects of MS that are annoying, but only rarely are they directly life-threatening. On the other hand, certain aspects of aging — having to do with cardiovascular health, in particular — should never be fobbed off as just our MS being its normal, annoying self. Never assume that chest pain, shortness of breath, dizziness, sudden difficulty speaking, or other signs of stroke are just MS symptoms with which you’ll have to learn to live. They might be, but they could also be warning signs of something more dire indeed.

Ask Your Medical Team to Weigh In on the Question

It’s never a bad idea, if you are asking yourself “Is it MS or is it age?” to ask the same question of your MS medical team. They may suggest a baseline evaluation from a neuropsychologist or physiotherapist, or they may simply review their notes to see if there are signs of the symptoms of concern in previous visits. You never know what they may have noticed and jotted in your chart that you were unaware of experiencing.

Ask Those Who Know You Best What They’ve Noticed

Speaking of which, those closest to you are also a good resource. When I “suddenly” realize that I’m doing something quite differently than I remember — be it stammering when I speak, lifting something oddly, or doing any of the scores of things I know I do strangely, I ask my wife if that’s how I’ve been doing them for a while. I am usually surprised-cum-horrified to find that’s how I do things now, or that yes, I often look like I’m throwing down gang signs as I try to balance myself as I walk. That’s a particular favorite to notice myself doing …

Sometimes It’s Just Hard to Tell

The short answer to the question “Is it age or is it MS?” is “Yes.” It’s either one or the other or both … yeah, it may just be both, but probably not. How’s that for an answer befitting political debate? Wishing you and your family the best of health. Cheers, Trevis