Free enquiry service for people with MS in the UK.

"I was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis by letter. It was a copy of the results from my recent brain scan. When I read that I had lesions in my brain that “suggested demyelination”, I had a pretty good idea what it meant. There was a number I could call for more information, but I tried and never got through.

"From the day that letter dropped in, back in 2008, I lost two stone. I couldn’t eat from the stress and anxiety. I just felt like I was going to get worse and worse and die within months. I couldn’t go out, couldn’t get dressed, couldn’t work; I didn’t know where to turn.

"A month later, when I was sent for a lumbar puncture, I picked up the MS Trust’s newsletter at the hospital. I rang the MS Trust and can’t explain the relief I felt when the person on the end of the phone said “we have people here who you can talk to”. It was as though I was on a boat adrift out in a wide ocean, then I threw a line out and somebody caught it.

"The lady I spoke with was extremely informative and more importantly for me, very understanding and empathetic. She told me that every single person with MS is different and took the time to talk with me about my concerns.

"I felt much better after the call. It’s really comforting for me knowing there’s somebody out there with the expertise about my condition that I can contact easily. For me, that’s all I need to put my mind at rest and enable me to get on with my life. I will be forever in debt to the MS Trust, for helping me at what was such a terrible and upsetting time."

Thank you for supporting this project, which helps people like Amanda every day,