Columns

April 18, 2019April 17, 2019

Need to Know: Do I Need Contrast Dye for an MRI?

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 question ... Read more

April 18, 2019April 17, 2019

The DMT Decision: Tried and True or Shiny and New?

Columns, Silver Linings - a Column by Jennifer Powell

I spend a great deal of time in my head. I think. A lot. Perhaps I do so more than I should, but then again, it is a haven ... Read more

April 16, 2019April 17, 2019

Cancer Medication Shows Promise in Treating Dangerous Brain Infection PML, Small-scale Study Finds

Columns, The MS Wire - A Column by Ed Tobias

Progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy, more commonly referred to as PML, is a brain infection that’s frequently fatal. PML is particularly dangerous to people with MS, which is why I’m interested in ... Read more

April 15, 2019April 15, 2019

MS News that Caught My Eye Last Week: MS Misdiagnoses, Mineral Intake Risk Study, Hormonal Changes, Rituximab and Vitamin D

Columns, The MS Wire - A Column by Ed Tobias

MS Misdiagnosis Too Common, Puts Patients in Unnecessary Peril from Therapies, Study Reveals Many people who have multiple sclerosis (MS) report that it’s taken doctors years to come up ... Read more

April 12, 2019April 11, 2019

The Drugs Do Work … Better Than My Right Hand

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

Last weekend a mother brought 4,000£ ($5,200 U.S.) of medicinal cannabis from Holland into the U.K. for her daughter with severe epilepsy. It was confiscated by customs. Last year ... Read more

April 12, 2019April 11, 2019

Immunocompromised? Watch Out for the C. Auris Fungus.

Columns, The MS Wire - A Column by Ed Tobias

Most healthy people probably don’t have to worry about a fungus called Candida auris, or simply C. auris. But if your immune system is compromised, it’s a different story. ... Read more

April 11, 2019April 9, 2019

Need to Know: What Is a Tremor?

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 question ... Read more

April 11, 2019April 10, 2019

The Unlikely Warrior: Finding Purpose with SPMS

Columns, Silver Linings - a Column by Jennifer Powell

I am balancing my laptop on one pillow and a leg brace. I have myriad MS-related health issues; alas, this is not among them. After meniscus surgery, aggressive arthritis, and ... Read more

April 9, 2019April 5, 2019

3 Strategies for Dealing with the High Costs of Medications

Columns, The MS Wire - A Column by Ed Tobias

  It’s tough paying for medications. Whether they’re for multiple sclerosis (MS) or another illness, Americans are having a hard time coming up with the cash needed to cover ... Read more

April 8, 2019April 8, 2019

MS News that Caught My Eye Last Week: Mayzent Approval Surprises, Myelin Repair, Monitoring Nerve Inflammation

Columns, The MS Wire - A Column by Ed Tobias

Cleveland Clinic Neurologist Applauds Mayzent’s FDA Approval, But Surprised by Those It May Not Treat When I wrote my “MS Wire” column a few days after Mayzent’s approval, I ... Read more

April 5, 2019April 5, 2019

The Unplayable Piano

A Life in Letters -- A Column By Jamie Hughes, Columns

What do a broken-down, out-of-tune piano and multiple sclerosis have in common? Well, they’re both disorderly and confusing, to say the least. But there’s something else — they have ... Read more

April 5, 2019April 3, 2019

Going Mobile

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

In February of last year, I stopped. Walking more than a few steps was suddenly impossible. I’d fought, taken every medication and supplement possible, but I’d lost. Maybe positive ... Read more

April 4, 2019April 5, 2019

Need to Know: What Can I Do About Tinnitus?

Columns, MS in Moderation, a column by Tamara Sellman

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

April 4, 2019April 3, 2019

Be the Change with Walk MS 2019

Columns, Silver Linings - a Column by Jennifer Powell

  Fatigue falls hard as I look out on the first hot day of the year. I struggle to focus as my head bobs. This is my new normal. ... Read more

April 2, 2019March 29, 2019

Mayzent Joins the MS Medication Arsenal, But I Have Questions

Columns, The MS Wire - A Column by Ed Tobias

As you might have heard, a disease-modifying therapy (DMT) for patients with active secondary progressive multiple sclerosis (SPMS) was approved a few days ago. That’s great news. A medication ... Read more

April 1, 2019March 28, 2019

My Reluctant Journey Toward Using Mobility Devices

Columns, Faith of the Mustard Seed - a Column by Debi Wilson

When I was younger, I assumed that I wouldn’t require a mobility device until much later in my life. I wasn’t prepared for needing to use a cane or ... Read more

April 1, 2019April 1, 2019

MS News that Caught My Eye Last Week: Reaction to SPMS DMT Approval, Ozanimod’s FDA Application, Caregiving Partnerships, a New Preventive Medication?

Columns, The MS Wire - A Column by Ed Tobias

MS Patient Groups React Favorably to Mayzent Approval, But Question Therapy’s Price Tag The approval of this medication is very good news. However, as the headline indicates, it comes ... Read more

March 29, 2019March 27, 2019

Always in the Kitchen at Parties

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

My nephew James has taken an interest in this column since having a starring role in it a few weeks ago. We were at his mum’s 60th birthday party. ... Read more

March 29, 2019April 4, 2019

Some Thoughts About Controlling Your MS Bladder

Columns, The MS Wire - A Column by Ed Tobias

There are two types of people with MS: Those who have bladder problems and those who will have them. That may be an oversimplification but I’d be willing to ... Read more

March 28, 2019March 25, 2019

Need to Know: What Exactly Is Cognition?

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

March 28, 2019March 26, 2019

Losing Fear of Change with SPMS

Columns, Silver Linings - a Column by Jennifer Powell

I am a strategist. I think things through. This attribute is borne of necessity. A birthday dinner is not complete without my exit plan. As I wait to be ... 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

March 25, 2019March 25, 2019

MS News that Caught My Eye Last Week: Walking Med Trial Recruiting, DMT Risk Tolerance, Sex and MS

Columns, The MS Wire - A Column by Ed Tobias

Phase 3 Trial of ADS-5102 Recruiting Participants of All MS Types This medication is similar to Ampyra (dalfampridine) because its goal is to improve walking in those with MS. ... Read more

March 22, 2019March 20, 2019

Remember, Remember

A Life in Letters -- A Column By Jamie Hughes, Columns

When I first learned that I had multiple sclerosis in late January 2004, the thing I worried about most was losing my mind. No, I’m not referring to stressing ... Read more

March 22, 2019March 20, 2019

Singing the Bureaucracy Blues

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

You think getting a chronic illness is as bad as it’s going to get, but then you quickly realize that you’ve been catapulted into a netherworld. There’s no stepping ... Read more

March 22, 2019March 26, 2019

Things to Know If You’re Thinking About Leaving Your Neurologist

Columns, The MS Wire - A Column by Ed Tobias

If you’re a member of the baby boomer generation, or if you just like the music of the 1960s and ’70s, you probably know Paul Simon’s “50 Ways to Leave ... Read more

March 21, 2019March 27, 2019

Need to Know: Why Do I Have Facial Pain?

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 ... Read more

March 21, 2019March 28, 2019

Intimacy and MS: A Lesson in Discovery

Columns, Silver Linings - a Column by Jennifer Powell

Living with secondary progressive multiple sclerosis is a lesson in discovery. I strive to manage life with MS one day at a time. My disease touches all aspects of my ... Read more

March 20, 2019March 18, 2019

Dealing with Seizures and Multiple Sclerosis

Columns, Making a Difference - a Column by Cathy Chester.

When you’ve lived with multiple sclerosis (MS) for as long as I have, you sometimes forget or block out negative experiences you’ve had over the years. As The Rolling Stones put ... Read more

March 19, 2019March 22, 2019

DMT Choice for Your MS Is Your Decision

Columns, The MS Wire - A Column by Ed Tobias

About 15 disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) are available to treat MS these days. So, choosing which to use can be daunting. I’ve been treated with four DMTs since I was ... Read more

March 18, 2019March 22, 2019

Dealing with MS Personality and Emotional Swings

Columns, Faith of the Mustard Seed - a Column by Debi Wilson

I have always found group settings to be challenging because of my shy and quiet personality. While I do fine talking to people one-on-one, gatherings of three or more ... Read more

March 18, 2019March 18, 2019

MS News that Caught My Eye Last Week: Non-contrast MRIs, Stem Cell Study Seeks Subjects, Postpartum Relapses, Which DMT?

Columns, The MS Wire - A Column by Ed Tobias

Non-contrast MRI Effective in Monitoring Progression of MS, Study Shows There’s been increased interest in the risks versus the benefits of using gadolinium to make lesions more visible on ... Read more

March 15, 2019March 19, 2019

The Antibiotic Time Loop-the-Loop

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

Julian, the doorman at the London Comedy Store, is giving me his biweekly telling off about drinking. It’s biweekly because he and the other regular doorman, Mark, take turns ... Read more

March 15, 2019March 20, 2019

Pediatric MS Can Be ‘Diagnostic Odyssey’

Columns, The MS Wire - A Column by Ed Tobias

A post in one of the MS social media groups I follow recently asked whether kids can have MS. The writer was worried about her 3-year-old. One commenter replied ... Read more

March 14, 2019March 19, 2019

Need to Know: What Is Chair Yoga?

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

March 12, 2019March 19, 2019

Visibly Me, Visible MS

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

Multiple Sclerosis Awareness Month has arrived, lasting throughout the month of March. All things orange and popular hashtags flood social media sites. Awareness months like this have great value, ... Read more

March 12, 2019March 15, 2019

Are MS Patients Using Too Many Medications?

Columns, The MS Wire - A Column by Ed Tobias

Have you ever heard of the word “polypharmacy”? I saw the word for the first time today. It’s generally defined as taking many medications together. There’s been debate over ... Read more

March 11, 2019March 13, 2019

What to Consider When Supplementing B Vitamins for MS Symptom Relief

Columns, Faith of the Mustard Seed - a Column by Debi Wilson

Research finds that a deficiency of B vitamins may play a role in multiple sclerosis (MS) symptoms. On the other hand, supplementation of the vitamins may help. There are eight ... Read more

March 11, 2019March 12, 2019

MS News that Caught My Eye Last Week: A Cure for MS?, MS App, Robot for Balance, Botox for Spasticity

Columns, The MS Wire - A Column by Ed Tobias

All of the stories in this week’s column come from the recently held Americas Committee for Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis (ACTRIMS) forum, held Feb. 28 to March 2 ... Read more

March 8, 2019March 7, 2019

Sometimes You Have to Skip the Whaling Chapters

A Life in Letters -- A Column By Jamie Hughes, Columns

Playing Billy Beane in “Moneyball,” Brad Pitt utters the now famous line, “Adapt or die.” (Warning: The scene linked here has a few naughty words in it.) He’s referencing ... Read more