How fast has your progression been from the time of your diagnosis?

I've had several people comment on this lately and I don't know how to respond without going into detail....which nobody wants to hear.

I was diagnosed in 2005 but I've probably had MS for the past 20 years. Once I got the dx it explained alot of things that I had just accepted in the past as "weird".

That being said, I really don't feel like I've progressed at an excessive rate. The past 7 years have been difficult and yes, I've probably progressed more during these 7 years than I did during the first 15 but that's kind of par for the course.

I don't seem to have a response for those who say "wow, you've really gone down hill quickly" or "you seem to be getting worse". I know, it's not a nice thing to say to someone with a chronic illness like MS but you'd be surprised at what comes out of the mouths of some folks.

To me, it seems just the opposite. For years I wondered what was wrong and now I have an answer. And an explanation for some of the strange and weird symptoms I'd had for years but just never had an answer for.

Maybe I should just agree with them and say "yes, well, I do seem to be getting worse" and leave it at that. But I don't want to!!