Columns

August 7, 2020August 5, 2020

Being Freed by Who I Am

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

Every few days, I go out to our Little Free Library and change the messages on the two side walls, which are covered in chalkboard paint. One of my ... Read more

August 7, 2020August 5, 2020

It Was a Lazy Sunday Afternoon — Not!

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

It all started on the hottest day of the year here in the U.K. My phone said it was 99 F. An old friend was coming over, and my ... Read more

August 7, 2020August 5, 2020

‘Crip Camp’: Disability Looking Me Right in the Eye

Columns, The MS Wire - A Column by Ed Tobias

In early July, I wrote a column about Disability Pride Month. It’s not for me, I said. I questioned the word “pride” and asked whether we need a special ... Read more

August 4, 2020July 30, 2020

3 Ways People Respond to Your MS Diagnosis — and 3 Alternatives

Columns, DISabled to ENabled – a Column by Jessie Ace

After you get a new diagnosis and are coming to terms with a new way of life, the next part is especially tricky. You have to tell others. “Urgh. ... Read more

August 3, 2020August 4, 2020

MS News That Caught My Eye Last Week: Symptom Progression, Lower Urinary Symptoms, Tysabri, IL-17A Protein Study

Columns, The MS Wire - A Column by Ed Tobias

Order Seen in Motor Skills Affected by MS, With Walking Taking First Hit Read this headline carefully. It reports that walking takes the “first hit,” but that doesn’t mean ... Read more

July 31, 2020July 29, 2020

The Mouth That Roared and Roared

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

Strap in: This is not going to be a fun one. Even less so for me — though I’m writing this under the sort of drug load that Jack ... Read more

July 31, 2020July 29, 2020

Lemtrada and COVID-19: To Treat or Not to Treat?

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

Like others these days, I’m worried about COVID-19. In fact, I’m probably more worried than some. I’m old, I have MS, and I’ve been treated with the disease-modifying therapy ... Read more

July 30, 2020July 28, 2020

A Dog’s Love in a World of MS

Columns, Silver Linings - a Column by Jennifer Powell

I am staring at my golden retriever, Abby, as she sleeps on the lawn, the afternoon sun dancing through her fur. Lying so still, she is encapsulated in a ... Read more

July 28, 2020July 23, 2020

Managing Expectations on Your Wedding Day

Columns, DISabled to ENabled – a Column by Jessie Ace

Rose petal confetti — made from the roses my dad had given me a few days before — rained down as the people I cared about most in the ... Read more

July 27, 2020July 27, 2020

MS News That Caught My Eye Last Week: Ketamine, Arbaclofen ER, Bafiertam, UK Health Services

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

Ketamine May Help Treat MS-related Fatigue, Small Pilot Trial Suggests I’m tired — I mean really bushed. Today, despite my daily dose of modafinil, I have to sit and ... Read more

July 24, 2020July 22, 2020

The Joy of Joining the ‘Downton Abbey’ Set

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

For an espoused leftie, you might be surprised that I’ve always had the brush of the rugged individualist about me. Not quite Bear Grylls, but grabbing a rucksack and ... Read more

July 24, 2020July 21, 2020

My Cocker Spaniel, Joey, Is My MS Pal

Columns, The MS Wire - A Column by Ed Tobias

Do you ever wake up in the middle of the night thinking strange thoughts about your MS and your dog? I did the other night. I’ve written about Joey, ... Read more

July 21, 2020July 17, 2020

Putting Myself First

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

“Take the time you need,” “This too shall pass,” and “You can’t pour from an empty cup” are just a few idioms I have used to encourage others. Strong ... Read more

July 21, 2020July 20, 2020

‘You Look OK to Me’

Columns, DISabled to ENabled – a Column by Jessie Ace

“You look OK to me.” He stood, towering over me, his big belly billowing from his shirt as he straightened up and lifted his chin, glaring down at me ... Read more

July 20, 2020July 20, 2020

MS News That Caught My Eye Last Week: COVID-19 Website, Testing MS Progression, RIS, Alternative Treatments

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

MSAA Opens ‘COVID-19 and MS Pathfinder’ Online Informative Platform Information about MS and COVID-19 is dynamic and regularly changing. This has been particularly true about how to handle disease-modifying ... Read more

July 17, 2020July 14, 2020

What Will We Do?

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

I recently started writer David Sedaris’ MasterClass, and one piece of advice he keeps reiterating is the importance of keeping a diary, a daily record of your doings and ... Read more

July 17, 2020July 16, 2020

It’s a Matter of Timing and Mic Technique

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

In the U.K., stand-up comedy is currently dead. Like Python’s parrot, it “wouldn’t move if you put 4,000 volts through it!” That’s not strictly true. Our government has just ... Read more

July 17, 2020July 15, 2020

Can We Be Taught How to Avoid an MS Fall?

Columns, The MS Wire - A Column by Ed Tobias

I’d just gotten out of bed the other morning and was headed to the bathroom using just one cane when I tried to step over a dog toy on ... Read more

July 16, 2020July 14, 2020

Accepting a New Diagnosis

Columns, Silver Linings - a Column by Jennifer Powell

I have long preached the merits of acceptance. In embracing my MS, I have mitigated much of the accompanying fear. This modus operandi has enabled me to live alongside ... Read more

July 14, 2020July 9, 2020

Do You Wish You Could Return to the ‘Old’ You?

Columns, DISabled to ENabled – a Column by Jessie Ace

I saw this question asked in a group somewhere not long ago and it got me thinking. Would I go back to the way I was before my multiple sclerosis ... Read more

July 13, 2020July 13, 2020

MS News That Caught My Eye Last Week: Epstein-Barr Link, Cannabis Study, Relapses and Disability

Columns, The MS Wire - A Column by Ed Tobias

B-Cells Infected by Epstein-Barr Virus Linked to MS Relapse Risk in Study I usually steer clear of mouse studies. Mice lie and monkeys exaggerate, some researchers say. But this ... Read more

July 10, 2020July 8, 2020

Cometh the Hour, Cometh the Woman

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

In this case, the woman in question was yet again my wife, Jane. The hour in question was 4 p.m. on my usual day of writing. But on this ... Read more

July 10, 2020July 27, 2020

It’s Disability Pride Month — But Not for Me

Columns, The MS Wire - A Column by Ed Tobias

July is Disability Pride Month. Now, don’t slam me right away for writing this, but I don’t think we need a month highlighting disability pride — just like I ... Read more

July 6, 2020July 16, 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, 2020July 23, 2020

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

Columns, DISabled to ENabled – a Column by Jessie Ace

Note: This column was updated July 23, 2020, to remove erroneous information about red blood cells. We regret the error.  When I was newly diagnosed seven years ago, one ... 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, 2020July 21, 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