Columns

July 6, 2020July 6, 2020

Here Comes the Sun, and It’s All Too Much

Columns, Fall Down, Get Up Again- a Column by John Connor

Yup, it’s the annual whinge about what heat does to most of us, this time livened up by a headline that includes two Beatles’ song titles. (Yes, I did ... Read more

July 6, 2020July 6, 2020

MS News That Caught My Eye Last Week: Wearable Sensors, COVID-19, Tecfidera

Columns, Covid-19, The MS Wire - A Column by Ed Tobias

PROTXX, University of Alberta Collaborate to Develop Remote Healthcare Platform for MS Patients As more and more neurologists turn to telemedicine for routine patient visits, I expect we’ll see ... Read more

July 2, 2020June 29, 2020

How to Feed Your Soul and Find Positivity Amid MS

Columns, Silver Linings - a Column by Jennifer Powell

Our thoughts influence our being. The stories we tell ourselves frame our reality. They affect the decisions we make, our behaviors, and ultimately our overall mindset. These serve to ... Read more

June 30, 2020June 25, 2020

3 Things to Do If You’re Freaked Out by Blood Tests

Columns, DISabled to ENabled – a Column by Jessie Ace

When I was newly diagnosed seven years ago, one of the hardest things to deal with was the idea of having regular blood tests. I was petrified of needles.  ... Read more

June 29, 2020June 29, 2020

MS News That Caught My Eye Last Week: Mayzent, Hookworm Therapy, Walking and Falling, ADS-5102

Columns, The MS Wire - A Column by Ed Tobias

NICE Does Not Favor Adding Mayzent to NHS England for Active SPMS Currently, the only disease-modifying therapy approved for use in the National Health Service is Betaferon (interferon beta-1b). ... Read more

June 26, 2020June 24, 2020

A Morning With No Opera but Enough for a Small Choir!

Columns, Fall Down, Get Up Again- a Column by John Connor

Last Wednesday my days of rest suddenly smashed to a halt. At one point it seemed like the majority of those who work for my local council’s social services ... Read more

June 26, 2020June 24, 2020

Updating the Shifting MS-COVID-19 Treatment Equation

Columns, Covid-19, The MS Wire - A Column by Ed Tobias

It’s been a few weeks since I’ve written about the impact that COVID-19 is having on people with MS. Since then, the picture has changed — not a lot, ... Read more

June 24, 2020June 22, 2020

Actress Selma Blair’s Response to MS Motivates Me

Columns, MSunderstood Millennial - a Column by Stephanie Towler

Over the years, I have observed how others deal with multiple sclerosis and its symptoms. This disorder is not one-size-fits-all, and it doesn’t discriminate. Recently, I came across a ... Read more

June 23, 2020June 19, 2020

Being Free from Symptom Flares Makes Me Feel Like a Fraud

Columns, DISabled to ENabled – a Column by Jessie Ace

I’m a fraud. Or at least I feel like one.  When writing for a site about multiple sclerosis and setting up a business focused on my diagnosis to help ... Read more

June 22, 2020June 29, 2020

MS News That Caught My Eye Last Week: Gilenya and COVID-19, Depression, Switching from Tysabri

Columns, Covid-19, The MS Wire - A Column by Ed Tobias

Gilenya May Help Control Severe Respiratory Disease in COVID-19 This story caught my eye, but not because of the possibility that Gilenya may help someone recover from COVID-19. It ... Read more

June 19, 2020June 17, 2020

Beach, Please!

A Life in Letters – a Column by Jamie Hughes, Columns

My family just returned from a lovely week-long vacation on the Gulf of Mexico. It’s always a wonderful time (and one perfectly suited to socially isolating) because we literally ... Read more

June 19, 2020June 17, 2020

All Quiet on the MS Front

Columns, Fall Down, Get Up Again- a Column by John Connor

It hasn’t been that quiet in my surrounding world! Last week there was a crow fight so loud in our back garden that it echoed down the chimney into ... Read more

June 19, 2020June 17, 2020

My Review of 2 New MS Apps: icompanion and BelongMS

Columns, Covid-19, The MS Wire - A Column by Ed Tobias

A couple new mobile apps for people with MS have caught my attention. Icompanion is among the best symptom and treatment trackers I’ve found. BelongMS combines patient forums with ... Read more

June 18, 2020June 16, 2020

Need to Know: What Is Nystagmus and How Does It Affect MS Patients?

Columns, MS in Moderation – a Column by Tamara Sellman

Editor’s note: “Need to Know” is a series inspired by common forum questions and comments from readers. Have a comment or question about MS? Visit our forum. This week’s ... Read more

June 18, 2020June 16, 2020

When You Become the Caregiver, You Must Push Past MS for Love

Columns, Silver Linings - a Column by Jennifer Powell

I like my husband. I like his generous heart, his humility, and his penchant for Tommy Bahama shorts, T-shirts, and flip-flops. Sure, I love him. Yet our love has ... Read more

June 16, 2020June 12, 2020

Advice for Helping a Loved One Through a Diagnosis

Columns, DISabled to ENabled – a Column by Jessie Ace

Last week, the U.K. marked Carers Week, which got me thinking about how a chronic illness diagnosis often affects a patient’s entire family.  I also was reading how the ... Read more

June 15, 2020June 16, 2020

MS News That Caught My Eye Last Week: Myelin, Mavenclad, Online Stress Relief, Rehab Aids

Columns, Covid-19, The MS Wire - A Column by Ed Tobias

Note: A story mentioned in this column, “Prime Signs Agreement With EMD Serono to Improve Mavenclad’s Cost-benefit Value,” was updated on June 15, 2020, to clarify that the agreement ... Read more

June 12, 2020June 10, 2020

So, Where Do I Start?

Columns, Fall Down, Get Up Again- a Column by John Connor

Ah, it’s not the blank page that all writers fear that I’m worried about. Those days have long left me. Now it’s applying the discipline to stop! When I ... Read more

June 12, 2020June 13, 2020

I’m Tired Again, and I’m Sure You’ve Been There

Columns, The MS Wire - A Column by Ed Tobias

Are you tired? Really tired? Me, too. Most of us with multiple sclerosis are. How many is most? A small new study of 44 people with one of the ... Read more

June 11, 2020June 9, 2020

Need to Know: What Participating in MS Research Entails

Columns, MS in Moderation – a Column by Tamara Sellman

Editor’s note: “Need to Know” is a series inspired by common forum questions and comments from readers. Have a comment or question about MS? Visit our forum. This week’s ... Read more

June 11, 2020June 9, 2020

Laughter Is Good Medicine: Levity in an MS Life

Columns, Silver Linings - a Column by Jennifer Powell

If laughter is the best medicine, then I have a functional pharmacy. I love to laugh and enjoy humor. If you are a friend of mine, then you know ... Read more

June 9, 2020June 5, 2020

How to Go on Holiday Without Leaving Your House

Columns, DISabled to ENabled – a Column by Jessie Ace

Who wants to go on holiday?!  I know, I know, we can’t physically go anywhere right now, but what if I told you that you could go anywhere you wanted while ... Read more

June 8, 2020June 8, 2020

MS News that Caught My Eye Last Week: Ofatumumab, Zeposia, Early Symptoms, New App

Columns, Covid-19, The MS Wire - A Column by Ed Tobias

FDA Extends Review of Ofatumumab for Relapsing MS to September The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) was expected to make a decision about ofatumumab, a self-administered injection of ... Read more

June 5, 2020June 3, 2020

When Roses Change, Color Me Surprised

A Life in Letters – a Column by Jamie Hughes, Columns, Covid-19

Right now, it’s tempting to feel hopeless. COVID-19 is still out there with no vaccine in sight. Millions of people are out of work. And regardless of how you ... Read more

June 5, 2020June 3, 2020

Retirement: My Very Own Blackstar

Columns, Fall Down, Get Up Again- a Column by John Connor

“At the center of it all” is the dignity of allowing myself to retire with grace. And it only took a world-shattering event to get me to come to ... Read more

June 5, 2020June 3, 2020

Another Medication, Zeposia, Joins the MS Treatment Arsenal

Columns, Covid-19, The MS Wire - A Column by Ed Tobias

By my unofficial count, disease-modifying therapy No. 19 has just become available to people with multiple sclerosis in the U.S. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Zeposia ... Read more

June 4, 2020June 2, 2020

Need to Know: Does Air Pollution Cause MS?

Columns, MS in Moderation – a Column by Tamara Sellman

Editor’s note: “Need to Know” is a series inspired by common forum questions and comments from readers. Have a comment or question about MS? Visit our forum. This week’s ... Read more

June 4, 2020June 2, 2020

Connecting Through MS on World MS Day 2020

Columns, Silver Linings - a Column by Jennifer Powell

May 30 was World MS Day 2020, an annual initiative for the MS community worldwide to unite. The Multiple Sclerosis International Federation created this global campaign to educate, raise awareness, ... Read more

June 2, 2020May 29, 2020

Are You Sincere When You Ask, ‘How Are You?’

Columns, Patiently Awakened - A Column by Teresa Wright-Johnson

How are you? These three words are ingrained in our vernacular. The question is often asked as a kind gesture, a greeting of sort. Are we truthful in our ... Read more

June 2, 2020May 29, 2020

Starting a Podcast: How I Fought Past Mental Barriers to Help Others

Columns, DISabled to ENabled – a Column by Jessie Ace

You’re chronically ill, super anxious, crazy shy, unconfident, and have no interviewing skills. To some, that recipe may sound like a terrible concoction to start a podcast. However, for ... Read more

June 1, 2020June 1, 2020

MS News that Caught My Eye Last Week: Pollution and MS, ATA188, Ofatumumab, Zeposia

Columns, The MS Wire - A Column by Ed Tobias

Air Pollution of Urban Life Raises MS Risk, Study from Italy Suggests I grew up in New York City. It’s hard to get more urban than that. There weren’t ... Read more

May 29, 2020May 27, 2020

Growing Up to Be a Strapping Big Baby

Columns, Fall Down, Get Up Again- a Column by John Connor

It was 4 a.m. and a crisis was brewing. I knew that this time, I’d be a nincompoop if I tried to deal with the situation myself, as I’d ... Read more

May 29, 2020May 27, 2020

Am I Having an MS Relapse?

Columns, The MS Wire - A Column by Ed Tobias

As I sit down to write this week’s column, it’s hard for me to concentrate. I’d planned to write about new MS mobile apps, but I can’t get my ... Read more

May 28, 2020May 26, 2020

Need to Know: What Does MS Progression Mean?

Columns, MS in Moderation – a Column by Tamara Sellman

Editor’s note: “Need to Know” is a series inspired by common forum questions and comments from readers. Have a comment or question about MS? Visit our forum. This week’s ... Read more

May 28, 2020May 26, 2020

Words to Live by: ‘I Am Fine’

Columns, Silver Linings - a Column by Jennifer Powell

“I am fine.” Three words I know as rote. I say them frequently and without hesitation. I utter them as much for others as I do for myself. My ... Read more

May 26, 2020May 22, 2020

We Are What We Tell Ourselves

Columns, DISabled to ENabled – a Column by Jessie Ace

There’s something we need to address, right here, right now. Not all of you will like it or agree with what I’m about to say, and that’s OK. I ... Read more

May 26, 2020May 22, 2020

MS News that Caught My Eye Last Week: Vascular Disease, Glatopa vs. Copaxone, Exercise Tips, MS App

Columns, The MS Wire - A Column by Ed Tobias

Higher Risk of Vascular Disease Among MS Patients in the UK, Population-based Study Reveals You’d think that people with multiple sclerosis (MS) would be likely to have vascular disease ... Read more

May 22, 2020May 21, 2020

Eugene Peterson and Lessons About Intentional Living

A Life in Letters – a Column by Jamie Hughes, Columns

The last few months have been interesting for obvious reasons. All of our routines have been toppled over like a stack of blocks, things that were once mundane now ... Read more

May 22, 2020May 21, 2020

Short and Sharp

Columns, Covid-19, Fall Down, Get Up Again- a Column by John Connor

This column will be short as I am quite ill. That’s nothing too unusual for those of us with MS. Oh, the joys of a relapse. A while back, ... Read more

May 22, 2020May 21, 2020

Giving My Laptop the Weekend Off

Columns, Covid-19, The MS Wire - A Column by Ed Tobias

My favorite line in the “Downton Abbey” TV series, uttered by the dowager played by Maggie Smith, is “What’s a weekend?” When you’re retired, if you’re working as a ... Read more