Columns

February 18, 2019February 15, 2019

Being Kind to Others with MS Can Help Our Own Well-being

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

Sometimes I feel that some in the multiple sclerosis (MS) community do not show kindness to each other. Perhaps they can’t relate to others’ MS realities because their symptoms ... Read more

February 18, 2019February 22, 2019

MS News that Caught My Eye Last Week: Misdiagnosing MS, Gilenya Relapse Study, Ocrevus in England, Estimate of Americans with MS Doubles

Columns, The MS Wire - A Column by Ed Tobias

Almost 1 in 5 People Wrongly Diagnosed with MS at Two Specialized Centers in US, Study Finds We know that MS is a difficult disease to diagnose, but is ... Read more

February 15, 2019February 14, 2019

Stuck in Delivery Limbo Land

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

Take a minute … and relax. It’s been a fraught few weeks of numerous solo hospital visits, as my wife was first dealing with a dying father and then helping ... Read more

February 15, 2019March 11, 2019

4 Things I’ve Learned About Paying for MS Medications

Aubagio, Columns, The MS Wire - A Column by Ed Tobias

Are you having trouble paying for MS medications? If so, you’re not alone. People change or lose their insurance, and plans change the medications they cover from year to ... Read more

February 14, 2019February 20, 2019

Need to Know: Do Children Get Multiple Sclerosis?

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 multiple sclerosis? Visit our forum. This ... Read more

February 14, 2019February 20, 2019

There Are Angels Among Us: I’m Grateful for the Helpers

Columns, Silver Linings - a Column by Jennifer Powell

I like to keep my life as normal as possible. This can be difficult given the physical challenges multiple sclerosis and chronic pain pose. Nevertheless, I try. Saturday was ... Read more

February 11, 2019February 13, 2019

MS Boosts the Importance of Avoiding a Sedentary Lifestyle

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

Multiple sclerosis (MS) can make our bodies experience pain, become weak, and easily fatigue. We can find it difficult just to walk. These challenges can steal our motivation to ... Read more

February 11, 2019February 14, 2019

MS News that Caught My Eye Last Week: Marijuana and MS, MS Solutions Contest, MS Diagnosis Delays, Medicare DMT Costs

Columns, The MS Wire - A Column by Ed Tobias

Medical Marijuana ‘Can Help Everyone,’ Says Director at Maryland Cannabis Facility Keeping in mind that the person quoted in this article, Mr. Castleman, is growing medical marijuana to make ... Read more

February 8, 2019February 12, 2019

I Want to Be Alive, Rather Than Just ‘Not Dead’

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

“I’m alive,” said Shadow. “I’m not dead. Remember?” “You’re not dead,” Laura said. “But I’m not sure you’re alive, either. Not really.” This snippet of a longer conversation in ... Read more

February 8, 2019February 14, 2019

Wrap Up Warm: It’s Colder than Mars!

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

OK, I’ve used a typical tabloid headline to draw you into a column about dealing with lymphedema. Well, the topic is not exactly sexy! Though my calves are now ... Read more

February 8, 2019March 11, 2019

DMT Approvals for Medicare Users Decline While Costs Rise, Study Shows

Aubagio, Columns, The MS Wire - A Column by Ed Tobias

This probably won’t come as a surprise to you if you’re on Medicare: It’s getting harder to obtain approval for many of the disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) prescribed for people ... Read more

February 7, 2019February 5, 2019

Need to Know: The Importance of Self-advocacy

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

February 7, 2019February 12, 2019

Asking for Help with Secondary Progressive MS

Columns, Silver Linings - a Column by Jennifer Powell

I have a hard time asking for help. Even when it’s offered, my knee-jerk reaction is to decline. Only in desperation do I reach out for, or accept, much-needed ... Read more

February 5, 2019February 8, 2019

The Moment I Realized Things Could Get Worse

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

Life never lets me forget its fragility. Sometimes my challenges seem like mountains to be scaled. Adversity has become the elephant in the room; it is ever present even ... Read more

February 5, 2019February 1, 2019

Have You Joined Our MS Forums Yet?

Columns, The MS Wire - A Column by Ed Tobias

It’s been about nine months since we created the MS Forums section on the Multiple Sclerosis News Today website. It’s a place designed to host conversations about our MS experiences ... Read more

February 4, 2019February 6, 2019

Is There a Connection Between Fibromyalgia and MS?

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

I’ve often wondered if there may be a connection between fibromyalgia, multiple sclerosis (MS), and other neurological conditions. Back in the early 1990s, my doctor suspected fibromyalgia as the culprit ... Read more

February 4, 2019February 8, 2019

MS News that Caught My Eye Last Week: MS Pain Research, Myelin Studies, Antibody Trial

Columns, The MS Wire - A Column by Ed Tobias

MS Patients Sought to Test Alternative Chronic Pain Treatment Methods Do you have serious pain issues along with your MS? If so, you might be interested in this study ... Read more

February 1, 2019January 30, 2019

The Hospital Trilogy

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

If MS was just about MS, it wouldn’t be easy, but it would be a lot easier. It’s different for all of us. For me, MS means ambulation is practically ... Read more

February 1, 2019March 11, 2019

Why Aren’t You Using an MS Medication?

Aubagio, Columns, The MS Wire - A Column by Ed Tobias

  I see a lot of answers to the question about why people stop, or refuse to start, an MS medication.   “Thinking of stopping the…meds. Sick of the ... Read more

January 31, 2019January 29, 2019

Need to Know: High-dose Biotin Protocol

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

January 31, 2019January 30, 2019

Creative Deconditioning for Behavior Modification

Columns, Silver Linings - a Column by Jennifer Powell

I watched the sunrise with dread, my peaceful time disquieted by my own internal chatter. An 80-degree day would soon replace the cool mid-January morning. Not my favorite. I am ... Read more

January 30, 2019February 4, 2019

 My Progressive MS Moment of Truth

Columns, MS in Motion - A Column by Mike Knight

“If I were you two, I think I’d plan for the worst,” Amy, my physiatrist, said to my wife and me as we sat in the examination room. It ... Read more

January 29, 2019January 31, 2019

New Study Supports Hitting MS Fast and Hard

Columns, The MS Wire - A Column by Ed Tobias

The question of how quickly to start a disease-modifying therapy (DMT) after a multiple sclerosis (MS) diagnosis is one that I frequently see when I browse online. It goes ... Read more

January 28, 2019February 5, 2019

I’m Keeping Aware of Fall Risks with MS

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

“Oh no, not again.” My mind races and time slows as I crumble to the floor. Every downward movement is magnified, and so too is the pain of my ... Read more

January 28, 2019February 1, 2019

MS News that Caught My Eye Last Week: Herbicide and MS, ‘Incredible’ Foot Stimulators, Tysabri and Brain Shrinkage

Columns, The MS Wire - A Column by Ed Tobias

Herbicide Called Linuron Seen to Trigger Inflammatory Signals Linked to MS in Study This is only a mouse study, but this herbicide has been banned in Europe because of ... Read more

January 25, 2019January 24, 2019

‘Clean Up, Clean Up (Everybody, Everywhere)’

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

I’d be lying if I said I enjoyed the endless hours of Barney I was forced to endure when I babysat kids in the 1990s, but “The Clean Up ... Read more

January 25, 2019January 23, 2019

A Voyage Round My Father-in-law

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

This is going to be a hard column to write, and quite possibly it breaks all the rules of column writing by being a tough one to read! I’ve ... Read more

January 25, 2019January 22, 2019

MS News that Caught My Eye Last Week: HSCT vs. DMTs, Mindfulness for MS, Ocrevus and T-cells, Pregnancy Guidelines

Columns, The MS Wire - A Column by Ed Tobias

Blood Stem Cell Transplant Better than DMTs at Reducing Risk of Disease Progression in RRMS Here’s more evidence that hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT) works better than some disease-modifying ... Read more

January 24, 2019January 31, 2019

Need to Know: The Link Between the Epstein-Barr Virus and 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 multiple sclerosis? Visit our forum. This ... Read more

January 24, 2019January 24, 2019

I Make Myself OK: Musings with Secondary Progressive Multiple Sclerosis

Columns, Silver Linings - a Column by Jennifer Powell

Not everyone is going to get it. And by “it” I mean our disease and the way it affects our lives. Few understand our limitations or the ramifications of ... Read more

January 22, 2019January 24, 2019

Selma Blair Is Posting About Her MS Again — Is This Good or Bad?

Columns, The MS Wire - A Column by Ed Tobias

Last October actress Selma Blair revealed that she’d been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS). She did it by posting the announcement on her Instagram account. Back then she wrote, ... Read more

January 21, 2019January 25, 2019

Recognizing Pseudo Exacerbations in MS

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

My readers have recently brought something to my attention: They informed me that not all MS exacerbations (flare-ups, relapses, and attacks) are created equal. I have learned that along ... Read more

January 18, 2019January 28, 2019

Do What You Can

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

One of the hardest things I’ve had to accept with MS is the necessity of asking for help. Pride and self-reliance dissipate remarkably quickly when you find yourself splayed ... Read more

January 18, 2019January 17, 2019

Mindfulness: Putting Mind Over MS

Columns, The MS Wire - A Column by Ed Tobias

Can you use your mind to attack your MS, just as you use things such as medications and physical therapy? Some people who believe in the benefits of mindfulness ... Read more

January 17, 2019January 21, 2019

Seeing Through Solu-Medrol — Miracle, Menace, or Both?

Columns, Silver Linings - a Column by Jennifer Powell

Today I came back to myself. For two months, I have been encapsulated in a hazy bubble. I could not kick this persistent bronchial condition and began to get ... Read more

January 15, 2019January 11, 2019

US Hospitals Are Now Required to List Service Prices. But Does That Help?

Columns, The MS Wire - A Column by Ed Tobias

Since the first of this year, hospitals in the U.S. have been under new government orders. They must make their “list price” for specific services — things like an ... Read more

January 14, 2019January 21, 2019

Vitamin D May Help Lessen MS Symptoms, Some Studies Suggest

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

To grasp the connection between vitamin D and multiple sclerosis (MS), it is first important to understand this vitamin’s power. It is one of the “superhero” vitamins needed to ... Read more

January 14, 2019January 17, 2019

MS News that Caught My Eye Last Week: Stimulator for Spasticity, Tysabri Dosing Trial, Mobility Devices Contest, Stem Cell Phase 2 Trial

Columns, The MS Wire - A Column by Ed Tobias

WeHealth, PathMaker Collaborating to Develop MyoRegulator as Noninvasive Treatment for Spasticity I’m one of the many people with multiple sclerosis (MS) for whom spasticity is a significant problem. This ... Read more

January 11, 2019January 8, 2019

Focus on the Flowers, Not the Weeds

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

Ah, it’s a new year. And what would a new year be without a few resolutions and goals to kick it off? Rather than a set of instructions, a ... Read more

January 11, 2019January 9, 2019

It’s Back-to-School Time

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

Well, it feels like it, at least. I just had the whole of the Christmas-New Year’s period off because of how the dates fell. If you only have to ... Read more