Poll: How old was your mother when you were born?

[agate]

I don't know if anyone has ever studied this, but if MS might be something we're born with a predisposition toward, could it be connected with the age of our mothers when we were born?

I've seen some research suggesting that women who bear children after the age of about 35 are at greater risk of having a child with birth defects, for instance.

I'm not planning to do any research on this topic. I'm just curious.

My own mother was 37 when I was born. About how old was your mother when you were born?

[Anonymous]

My mother was 44, and I was her first & only. Probably an accident, I think. She was a career woman (artist/art teacher) and a Bohemian who had had several long-term affairs & intended never to marry.

Then she met--or perhaps I should say ran afoul of--my father, also an artist (sculptor) & magazine editor who similarly had no intention of marrying. They were together for several years in Carmel (California) before deciding to marry, and I came along a couple of years later.

zenna

[Snoopy]

I was born 2 weeks before my mothers 15th Birthday.

[ewizabeth]

Hi Agate,

My Mom was 33 when I was born, and I was her last (of five).

She had a lot of symptoms in her lifetime that, in restrospect, looked an awful lot like MS. Such as, slurred, confused speech, dropping things, difficulty using her hands or pain, slipping and falling (resulting in several incidents of broken bones), depression/fatigue, etc... Later in her life she developed a foot drop and gait problem.

I think MS might be very prevalent in my family, because there is one case, maybe two on my Dad's side (that I'm aware of).
_________________
Ewizabeth
DX 01/28/03 RRMS
Formerly Avonex, Rebif & Copaxone
Tysabri 06/07 through 09/09
On Copaxone again since 12/09 and hoping for oral meds to come out!

[agate]

Hi ewizabeth,

Did your mother see these symptoms as problems, or were they something other people might notice but she didn't worry about?

It seems odd no medical professional ever thought of checking her for MS.

I've never had a relative with MS, at least not that I know of. But I've heard of a lot of people with MS who also have relatives with MS.

[ewizabeth]

Hi Agate,

My Mom was often treated for these problems, but for them as problems in themselves, and not symptoms of a bigger illness.

She had double carpal tunnel surgery, which did not change a thing.

She laid on the couch for years with headaches and depression, I was sort of her caretaker oftentimes. I don't know if she had medicine for that or not, but I really doubt it.

If she broke a bone, it was repaired. The slurring/poor speech was I think just considered a consequence of her unfortunate upbringing, but it would occur in varying degrees over the years.

There was always an explanation for everything, and I think it would have been considered mild even with her problems, because it didn't affect her walking ability very much.

My half-sister (my Dad's first daughter by a previous marriage before my Mom) had polio as a child, and my Mom adopted her and nursed her back to health. As an adult, her mobility began to suffer, and it was called post-Polio syndrome. But, it also looked an awful lot like MS.

Today she also has Crohn's disease (another auto-immune disease)... and her oldest daughter has extremely severe MS and is bedridden with only use of her right hand.

So, there is only one confirmed case in my family (besides me) but two others that look an awful lot like MS. My Mom passed away nearly a year ago, so we'll never know for sure. I doubt we'll ever find out for sure about my half-sister.
_________________
Ewizabeth
DX 01/28/03 RRMS
Formerly Avonex, Rebif & Copaxone
Tysabri 06/07 through 09/09
On Copaxone again since 12/09 and hoping for oral meds to come out!

[agate]

I'm not sure this is still true, but the experts used to say that the only way to know for sure about an MS diagnosis was at an autopsy.

The relatives of mine that I thought might possibly have had MS (but probably didn't) didn't have autopsies done.

I'm sorry about your half-sister and her daughter. That must be really difficult for them both.

[ewizabeth]

I've heard that too, and there was no autopsy done on my Mom, unfortunately. I feel very bad for my half-sister and her daughter. My half-sister is a very difficult person and makes it impossible for people to communicate with her, so nobody in the family is currently speaking with her.

I was the only one doing so for many years, and then she broke that off after our Dad died. I wish I could fix that relationship, but she gives me so much stress that I had to stop calling her. I can't even write to her, I got an awful letter from her after our Mom died this year so she has sort of cut herself off from everybody for now.

I can't even call her daughter anymore because it's too exhausting for her to talk on the phone. So I try to write her a long letter periodically. We have another relative (distant) who keeps us up to date with my half-sister and her family though.
_________________
Ewizabeth
DX 01/28/03 RRMS
Formerly Avonex, Rebif & Copaxone
Tysabri 06/07 through 09/09
On Copaxone again since 12/09 and hoping for oral meds to come out!

[agate]

Too bad you can't choose your relatives sometimes....

But there's no such choice.

It's sad that your half-sister's daughter gets too tired even talking on the phone.

I had a friend with MS who was like that too. She'd call me and want to talk, but I could tell it was too difficult for her. Her voice would fade out, and she'd be less and less coherent.

She was a remarkably nice person, too, and that just made it sadder.

[ewizabeth]

I live in Illinois and they live in Texas, if I was close I'd go and visit my niece. She has a good husband who takes care of her, but her life must be very, very difficult regardless.
_________________
Ewizabeth
DX 01/28/03 RRMS
Formerly Avonex, Rebif & Copaxone
Tysabri 06/07 through 09/09
On Copaxone again since 12/09 and hoping for oral meds to come out!