‘I lost vision in one eye’ – woman’s life-changing diagnosis

Yasmin Neves believed she was in the best physical condition of her life when she suddenly developed strange, unexplained symptoms a decade ago. Yasmin, who was in her 20s and looking forward to getting married, had lost her 10th birthday after overhauling her diet, so she was stunned and shaken when she found herself in hospital awaiting a diagnosis.

“I woke up one morning and the vision in my left eye was blurry,” recalls HR consultant Yasmin from Brecon Beacons. “I continued working, but after five days my vision went from slightly blurry to not being able to see the hand in front of my face,” recalls Yasmin, now 37.

When she notified her boss, he immediately sent her to the hospital; He spent a week there anxious and confused while being scanned, tested and administered high doses of intravenous steroids; Doctors suggested he may have had a stroke. Later, a doctor visited the ward and asked if he knew anything about Multiple Sclerosis (MS).

Yasmine, who struggled with her weight for much of her adulthood, dropped an estimated 10 kilos, going down from a size 26 to a size 12. When he started having vision problems, he was exercising regularly and was proud of the progress he was making.

So when the doctor suggested MS, he couldn’t believe it. “I said: ‘No, what’s this? I’m fit, I’m healthy, I’m young, what are you talking about?’ “I was just in a state of shock,” he says.

Yasmin was organizing her wedding with husband Matthew, developing a property business, working in a challenging HR role and also setting up her own consultancy. He didn’t have time to be sick.

But when Matthew started researching the condition, he noticed a few symptoms that looked recognizable. MS is a chronic autoimmune disease that affects the central nervous system, causing the protective myelin sheath surrounding nerve fibers to deteriorate and disrupting communication between the brain and body.

The condition affects around 150,000 people in the UK, with around 7,100 new diagnoses each year; An average of 135 people per week and this figure is increasing. However, Yasmin completely denied this and was discharged from the hospital early to attend a Beyoncé concert and a friend’s wedding.

As his vision improved, new problems arose. Every time he got a little too hot, his eyesight would disappear again.

While preparing meals, she found herself tripping, bumping into objects, and accidentally cutting her fingers. He also developed bladder problems, which meant he often needed to go to the toilet urgently and frequently, and fatigue was a problem.

“I was having a great night’s sleep, then the next day I woke up and felt brain fog and couldn’t make decisions or move around during the day,” she says. He also suffered from a condition called ‘MS hug’, where “every time you breathe it’s as if someone is tightening a belt around your upper chest”.

According to the diagnostic criteria in force at the time, medics had to witness several relapses before officially confirming the diagnosis, leaving Yasmin facing two years of uncertainty. During this period his symptoms worsened and his psychological health declined sharply.

“I thought my life was over and I found myself in a very dark place,” he says. The diagnosis finally came in 2018, when she heard the words “incurable” and was told to “go and live your life.”

This statement deeply upset Yasmin, who immediately feared the worst.

“‘Is there anything I can do? How about changing my diet?’ I said. “They said, ‘Not really,’ and handed me a brochure with treatment options.”

Yasmin began a medication regimen that worsened her condition, causing digestive problems and additional side effects. But in the same week the pair completed the purchase of a small plot of land in the Brecon Beacons and moved from their home in Cwmbran in Wales, determined to reduce their stress levels.

Friends questioned whether it was wise to move to such an isolated place after such a significant diagnosis. “I was like, ‘Damn it. I’m going to do it,'” Yasmin says.

Yasmin then left her full-time corporate position to focus on HR consultancy and researched lifestyle changes after discovering a program supported by the charity Overcoming MS, which promoted meditation, exercise such as yoga and walking, and healthy eating. He was previously heavily dependent on ultra-processed foods.

“I thought I was cooking, but I wasn’t. I was taking things out of the freezer and putting them in the oven,” she recalls.

That’s why he opted for a plant-based diet full of fresh ingredients, instead of ready-made meals. According to Overcoming MS, a high-quality diet was associated with a 50 percent reduction in disability progression over 7.5 years, and recent research has shown that regular exercise or physical activity may help reduce the likelihood of MS relapse in some individuals.

Thousands of people living with this debilitating condition may be taking measures to manage pain, reduce fatigue and even slow the progression of the disease, but inadequate knowledge and awareness is preventing them, according to the charity. Three months after starting the medication, Yasmin quietly stopped taking her prescription without even telling Matthew and was scolded by the neurology nurse for doing so.

However, Yasmin started to feel remarkably better. He recalls waking up one day, two years after accepting the new regime, feeling “as if the fog had cleared.” Many symptoms have since subsided.

The vision problems triggered by the heat have disappeared to the extent that he now enjoys regular saunas. The fatigue has disappeared and her balance has improved so much that she now teaches yoga. Today, Yasmin says she feels better than before her diagnosis.

Although he no longer takes medication, he admits it’s not an option for everyone. He is careful not to suggest that his methods will be effective for everyone.

MS affects each individual differently and the condition remains impossible to predict, but she hopes her experience will provide comfort to others facing the same worrying diagnosis.

“I feel the fittest, healthiest and happiest I have ever been,” he says. “I would say you just have to take it one day at a time and be really kind and gentle with yourself. It’s very scary and we don’t like the unknown and it’s one of those situations where you don’t know where everything is going to go because it affects everyone so differently.”

“But I’m trying to show by living my own life that a diagnosis doesn’t mean you have to be completely dependent on others and go on to live a full life. No one wants a diagnosis. It’s a terrible thing. But there is hope and choice, and you can do positive things with it that will help you live well.”

Consultant neurologist Dr D., of South Tyneside and Sunderland NHS Foundation Trust. Kate Petheram said: “As well as medical interventions, providing patients with information about proven ways that lifestyle changes can help manage their specific symptoms and give them a greater sense of responsibility in their treatment can be hugely empowering. With growing evidence of the positive impact of lifestyle changes on those living with MS, it is crucial that these discussions are had with more people as part of their clinical care.”