Posts by: Laura Kolaczkowski

Laura Kolaczkowski

Laura Kolaczkowski comes from Beavercreek, Ohio, and worked at the University of Dayton for over 25 years until MS challenged her enough to go onto full-time disability. She is active in the MS community on multiple levels, and writes for her own personal blog, InsideMyStory and as a patient expert for MultipleSclerosis.net. Laura is the Lead Patient Representative and co-principal investigator for iConquerMS™, a patient powered MS research network. Laura freely admits her Liberal Arts background fuels her interest in patient engagement and empowerment and she struggles with the science of MS.

May 23, 2019May 22, 2019

MS Study Looks at Minimizing and Preventing Falls for Wheelchair and Scooter Users

Columns, Engaging Thoughts

When I think of multiple sclerosis and falls, I tend to think about people who are upright and walking when it happens. I hadn’t considered the risks for people ... Read more

March 28, 2019April 4, 2019

Is CBD Becoming Accepted as a Useful Product by the Mainstream?

Columns, Engaging Thoughts

You know that the use of marijuana as a medicine and its derivative cannabidiol (CBD) is close to being widely accepted as a useful natural product when articles about ... Read more

February 28, 2019February 27, 2019

Breaking Down the Silos in the MS Community

Columns, Engaging Thoughts

In the research world, references to breaking down silos abound, and we’re not talking about those found on the farm. These figurative silos are where information is contained and ... Read more

January 10, 2019January 15, 2019

STEP for MS to Study ‘Telerehab’ Exercise Programs

Columns, Engaging Thoughts

Exercise and multiple sclerosis are a natural pair and shown by research to be an important part of our MS care plan. We all can benefit from getting an ... Read more

November 29, 2018November 27, 2018

iConquerMS, National MS Society Collaborate to Amplify Patient Voices

Columns, Engaging Thoughts

I am excited and thankful to share with you a new collaboration between iConquerMS and the National Multiple Sclerosis Society (NMSS). For several years, I have worked with the people ... Read more

October 11, 2018October 10, 2018

Circumvention Tourism, Revisited

Columns, Engaging Thoughts

In a previous column, I wrote about circumvention tourism, in which patients travel to another country to access a medical treatment that is unavailable in their home country. I ... Read more

September 6, 2018September 7, 2018

Stem Cell Therapy and Circumvention Tourism

Columns, Engaging Thoughts

Medical tourism is a term describing when people seek medical care by traveling from home countries to somewhere else. It’s an area of commerce that has existed for centuries, ... Read more

August 30, 2018September 4, 2018

The Dilemmas Facing Medical Cannabis Prescribers

Columns, Engaging Thoughts

Medical cannabis has created a dilemma for medical providers who care for people who might benefit from its use. I’ve been thinking more about this lately because my home ... Read more

August 23, 2018August 30, 2018

Using Medical Marijuana for MS Symptoms May Affect Your Employment

Columns, Engaging Thoughts

Ohio, my home state, is wrestling with the nuances of medical marijuana laws that become effective on Sept. 8, 2018. My husband’s work email had an important notice from ... Read more

August 16, 2018August 23, 2018

Getting Out, Despite the Crowds

Columns, Engaging Thoughts

Last week, my husband and I attended an outdoor concert in a small venue that we used to regularly attend just a few years ago, before my MS affected ... Read more

August 2, 2018August 6, 2018

The Many Uses of Botox for MS Care

Columns, Engaging Thoughts

There are many things that confuse me, particularly in the medical area. Perhaps that’s why I am more comfortable thinking about MS patients’ quality of life rather than being ... Read more

July 12, 2018July 16, 2018

My Sticker Shock From Ocrevus MS Clinic Bill

Columns, Engaging Thoughts

I was talking on the phone with a friend who also happens to have MS. I warned her the extra noise was from me opening the stack of mail ... Read more

May 3, 2018May 21, 2018

Ocrevus Shows Promise for Cognitive Function in Relapsing MS

Columns, Engaging Thoughts, Ocrevus

One thing we’ve all hoped for with our disease-modifying therapies (DMT) is a treatment that will improve our multiple sclerosis (MS) and not just keep it from worsening. The ... Read more

April 26, 2018April 25, 2018

The Need for Follow-through with REAL MS

Columns, Engaging Thoughts

I’m a great starter. How about you? I start projects but often lack the time or motivation to finish them. Hence, I have bins full of yarn waiting to ... Read more

April 12, 2018May 21, 2018

An Ocrevus Update Has Me Cautiously Optimistic

Columns, Engaging Thoughts, Ocrevus

After a delay in treatment in late December thanks to a nasty head cold, and the after-effects of contracting the flu in February necessitating another delay, I finally received ... Read more

April 5, 2018April 3, 2018

Doctor Connections

Columns, Engaging Thoughts

Have you ever been touched by the actions of one of your doctors? I hope we all have experienced special moments with our care providers because these times break ... Read more

March 22, 2018March 21, 2018

Modafinil or Amantadine: Who Decides?

Columns, Engaging Thoughts

Fatigue. That No. 1 symptom that a large majority of people with multiple sclerosis are affected by. MS fatigue. It can be crushing, numbing, and stop the hardiest person ... Read more

March 15, 2018March 14, 2018

Earworms and Multiple Sclerosis

Columns, Engaging Thoughts

Sometimes they are called “sticky songs,” better known by their common name “earworms.” Earworms are those musical phrases that get stuck in our head that we hear over and ... Read more

March 8, 2018March 6, 2018

Oscar the MS Monkey and His Buddies

Columns, Engaging Thoughts

While at the ACTRIMS Forum 2018 (which stands for Americas Committee for Treatment and Research in MS), I was surprised to see a colorful display of orange-and-teal colored sock ... Read more

March 1, 2018February 28, 2018

MS Education and Advocacy Are as Important as Awareness

Columns, Engaging Thoughts

I fell out of sight in February, thanks to a case of the flu. Influenza B and its lingering side effects took me out of action from almost everything ... Read more

February 1, 2018January 31, 2018

Minority Engagement in MS Research

Columns, Engaging Thoughts

Engaging all types of people for research isn’t just a nice thought. It is critical to obtaining research results that will be meaningful. Middle-aged white women are often the ... Read more

January 18, 2018January 18, 2018

What We Can Learn from Longevity’s Link to Quality of Life

Columns, Engaging Thoughts

Quality of life. These three words conjure different images for people, depending on their needs. Quality of life could mean having improved health, good relationships with others, and stress-free ... Read more

January 11, 2018May 21, 2018

My Ocrevus Treatments: The Next Round Is Delayed

Columns, Engaging Thoughts, Ocrevus

  By now, I had planned to give you an update on my current multiple sclerosis disease-modifying therapy Ocrevus (ocrelizumab). But one thing living with multiple sclerosis teaches us is ... Read more

December 21, 2017December 20, 2017

My Holiday Gift Wish

Columns, Engaging Thoughts

It’s that time of year when everyone is asking: What would you like for Christmas? Shopping for the perfect gift for me is a challenge because I’ve been around ... Read more

December 7, 2017December 6, 2017

Advances in MRI Readings

Columns, Engaging Thoughts

My neurologist orders an annual MRI to see if any major changes have occurred, and last year my imaging included NeuroQuant software. NeuroQuant is still relatively unknown in the ... Read more

November 16, 2017November 15, 2017

A JC Virus Primer

Columns, Engaging Thoughts

There is often alarm and confusion about the JC virus, how we get it, and what it means to people with multiple sclerosis. This is my quick primer to ... Read more

November 9, 2017May 21, 2018

Ocrevus Q&A, Part 2

Columns, Engaging Thoughts, Ocrevus

Editor’s note: This is the second of a two-part series on readers’ comments about Ocrevus (ocrelizumab). Read part one here. Last week, I responded to a few comments on ... Read more

November 2, 2017May 21, 2018

Ocrevus Q&A, Part 1

Columns, Engaging Thoughts, Ocrevus

Editor’s Note: First in a two-part series on readers’ comments about Ocrevus (ocrelizumab). I switched disease-modifying therapies and began treatment with Ocrevus (ocrelizumab) in June. I previously wrote about my ... Read more

October 19, 2017October 18, 2017

How Doctors’ Gender Can Influence Opinions on Healthcare Quality

Columns, Engaging Thoughts

There are two doctors. Here’s your choice: One has a patient-centered approach to care, spends more time with you during appointments, and is more empathetic with your concerns. On ... Read more

October 12, 2017October 11, 2017

Did You Wash Your Hands?

Columns, Engaging Thoughts

I’ve been at a conference the last few days where scholars from around the world are discussing health literacy. It’s a subject much more complicated than just wondering at ... Read more

October 5, 2017October 4, 2017

Discovering MS Research

Columns, Engaging Thoughts

When talking about MS research, we tend to focus on drug development because improved therapies, and even the cure for MS, will come from pharmaceuticals. But what do we ... Read more

September 28, 2017September 27, 2017

A Look Inside MS Marketplace Projections

Columns, Engaging Thoughts

Do you ever stop and ponder the value of MS drugs? I’m not talking about if they work and the ways they improve our lives. I’m thinking of the ... Read more

September 14, 2017September 13, 2017

There’s an App (Maybe Too Many) for That!

Columns, Engaging Thoughts

How many hours do the pharmaceutical companies think we have in our day? I ask because almost all of them have come up with very slick tools to use, ... Read more

September 7, 2017September 7, 2017

#Sleeptember is Here!

Columns, Engaging Thoughts

What better time of year to talk about getting good sleep than heading into the fall season, which is followed by the dark days of winter? Although we are ... Read more

August 31, 2017May 21, 2018

Ocrevus and Sweating Out MS

Columns, Engaging Thoughts, Ocrevus

Many of you are considering making the switch to Ocrevus (ocrelizumab) as your disease-modifying therapy for multiple sclerosis. This is a switch I made recently. There are so many ... Read more

August 24, 2017August 23, 2017

MS Advocacy Resources are Many

Columns, Engaging Thoughts

Advocacy comes in many forms, and recently I wrote about what advocacy by individuals might look like. The other type of advocacy we have going for those of us ... Read more

August 17, 2017August 17, 2017

Digging Deeper for a Cure

Columns, Engaging Thoughts

I stood at the front door of my house and could only shake my head as I watched the backhoe digging a deep trench in my yard. A sewer ... Read more

August 10, 2017August 9, 2017

Faces of MS Advocacy

Columns, Engaging Thoughts

Do you ever stop to wonder about the people who write these great columns for Multiple Sclerosis News Today? I have the honor of knowing several of them via ... Read more

August 3, 2017August 2, 2017

The Importance of Patients Having a Voice in MS Research

Columns, Engaging Thoughts

I recently spent time at the annual meeting of the Drug Information Association (DIA), listening to presentations and talking with industry representatives about the multiple sclerosis community’s needs. DIA is a ... Read more

July 27, 2017July 27, 2017

Got Questions? iConquerMS Seeks Answers

Columns, Engaging Thoughts

If you’ve followed my writing, you already know I am committed to advancing patient-centered research and care. I am the lead patient representative and co-principal investigator for iConquerMS. One ... Read more