Receiving a multiple sclerosis diagnosis can certainly create balance problems – in more ways than one!

However, it’s possible to continue to fill your life with the activities you enjoy – and work you love – with some realistic accommodations and adjustments.

A good example is independent video producer and businesswoman Betsy Rich. Twenty years ago, Betsy wasn't feeling well. Fearing the worst, she went to the doctor to find out why she had suddenly lost the vision in her left eye.

“You have multiple sclerosis,” she was told.

"It sounds crazy," said Betsy. "But I was thrilled to find out it wasn't a brain tumor!"

MS Symptoms Drove Career Change
Looking back after the diagnosis, Betsy began to remember symptoms that she had overlooked—problems with her hands and balance issues, among others.

A video producer at ABC Network News for 14 years, Betsy began to find it hard to balance family life with the demands of her job. Eventually she decided to leave ABC to work at a less high-pressured video production company.

"About six years ago, I started to go downhill and was using a cane full time," said Betsy. "My doctor started me on Novancrone, a chemotherapy drug used to stabilize people with MS. It worked for about two and one-half years; I got better!"

During that time, Betsy left the corporate world to start two businesses with John Uphill, her business partner. "John and I have worked together for 28 years. We started Strategic Video LLC, which is a corporate video production firm. One year later we started Blue Horse Digital, a digital video archiving company. I work countless hours, but I love every minute of it.”

Dealing with the Unpredictability of MS Symptoms
On most days, Betsy finds that the symptoms do not bother her. "The biggest problem is never knowing what to expect on a daily basis. MS is a weird disease that is constantly changing. Today, for example, I’m really dizzy and having problems focusing. When I’m sick or having my monthly IV infusions, I just have to adapt. I work from bed on my laptop or bring work to the infusion site. We’re lucky to have technology that allows us to function from anywhere.”

Betsy credits her husband and business partner with providing support on the days that she needs it. She also makes time to go horseback riding and snowboarding with her family, which includes her adult children, Alex and Lindsey.

“When I was first diagnosed, I thought I would be in a wheelchair in no time,” Betsy shared. “So we discussed selling our house to move to a more affordable place than suburban New York. Thank goodness we didn’t, because I would have lost my work and wouldn’t have started my two businesses!”

Betsy encourages others with MS to take a deep breath and not to panic when receiving a diagnosis. “There is so much that a person with an illness can do. I started two businesses and took up snowboarding since my diagnosis. It’s not about what you can’t do, but what you can and should do!”

Strategies for Handling Balance Problems, Physical and Lifestyle
Betsy’s choices represent some of the best strategies for managing MS symptoms. For example:

  • If possible, arrange your work life to provide some flexibility. That way you won’t feel pressured to perform at 100 percent on days when your body isn’t up to it.
  • Reconsider high-stress job environments, as these will aggravate your MS symptoms.
  • Line up your support troops: a supportive spouse, business partner, friend, or colleague will help ease the way during days when you’re experiencing a flare-up of MS symptoms.
  • Engage fully on your good days, and let yourself take a bit of a breather on difficult days.
  • Let yourself say no. Being over-committed means being over-stressed.

By consciously taking control of your life, you can keep MS balance problems from throwing the rest of your life “off-kilter.”

See Related Articles
If you have MS, you know fatigue is a side effect.  Learn how to combat this issue in Living with MS is Easier if You Learn to Conserve Energy.

See MS Treatment: Advances in MS Therapy for more information about currently approved Multiple Sclerosis (MS) medications and therapies.