In multiple sclerosis, the patient's own white blood cells destroy myelin, which insulates nerve cells and thus helps them transmit nerve impulses quickly. Depending on the degree of destruction, nerve impulses can then be transmitted only slowly or not at all
© Getty Images
© Getty Images
MS nurses reduce the dropout rate
Another reason why patients sometimes stop the injections is that the effect of the immune modulator isn't immediately visible; it's a preventive measure, similar to toothbrushing. “The effect is not as direct as that of a headache tablet,” says Miegel. This is why more than a fourth of the patients who are being treated with an injection therapy but do not have the support of an MS nurse break off the treatment within the first three months. However, a thorough and continuing therapy is essential for long-term success. Thanks to the MS nurses, the dropout rate was reduced from 26 to six percent. The nurses motivate the patients and explain to them that MS is merely dormant between the flareups and that, depending on the degree of damage to the myelin, the symptoms do not recede. That's why it's so important to avoid the next severe flareup.
Melanie Dorner is convinced that the injections are helping her. She wouldn't dream of discontinuing the therapy. “The injector — this electronic hypodermic needle — is great, and it's part of my life. I use it the same way other people take the pill,” she says. Unlike her, some patients are afraid to give themselves injections. In these cases, Simone Miegel has to encourage them, work with them closely and include the patient's relatives in the process. After one year, all of Miegel’s patients are more self-confident than before, have regained their hope in the future and deal openly with their MS. That only strengthens her commitment to her job. Melanie Dorner sums up her experience in a message she wants to communicate to all MS patients: “Don't give up! There are worse things than having MS.”
Another reason why patients sometimes stop the injections is that the effect of the immune modulator isn't immediately visible; it's a preventive measure, similar to toothbrushing. “The effect is not as direct as that of a headache tablet,” says Miegel. This is why more than a fourth of the patients who are being treated with an injection therapy but do not have the support of an MS nurse break off the treatment within the first three months. However, a thorough and continuing therapy is essential for long-term success. Thanks to the MS nurses, the dropout rate was reduced from 26 to six percent. The nurses motivate the patients and explain to them that MS is merely dormant between the flareups and that, depending on the degree of damage to the myelin, the symptoms do not recede. That's why it's so important to avoid the next severe flareup.
Melanie Dorner is convinced that the injections are helping her. She wouldn't dream of discontinuing the therapy. “The injector — this electronic hypodermic needle — is great, and it's part of my life. I use it the same way other people take the pill,” she says. Unlike her, some patients are afraid to give themselves injections. In these cases, Simone Miegel has to encourage them, work with them closely and include the patient's relatives in the process. After one year, all of Miegel’s patients are more self-confident than before, have regained their hope in the future and deal openly with their MS. That only strengthens her commitment to her job. Melanie Dorner sums up her experience in a message she wants to communicate to all MS patients: “Don't give up! There are worse things than having MS.”
