Columns

November 12, 2020November 10, 2020

Fighting Through Grief While Moving Forward

Columns, Silver Linings - a Column by Jennifer Powell

Overachieving is my jam. Go big or go home. I strive to be the best at whatever it is I do. Currently, I am achieving greatness in my ability ... Read more

November 10, 2020November 6, 2020

Brain Fog and Changing Clocks

Columns, DISabled to ENabled – a Column by Jessie Ace

Annually, I’m frustrated by the changing of our clocks due to the end of daylight saving time. It seems so straightforward: Time either goes backward or forward by an ... Read more

November 9, 2020November 9, 2020

MS News That Caught My Eye Last Week: Age and DMTs, Tysabri or Gilenya, Sativex Trial, Ocrevus and Mayzent

Columns, The MS Wire - A Column by Ed Tobias

Phase 3 Trial of Sativex, Cannabis Extract Treatment for MS Spasticity, Opens in US This is a major step toward making a clinically tested, cannabis-based medication available in the ... Read more

November 6, 2020November 4, 2020

5 Ways to Let Go of the Stress

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

Well, folks, we made it to the end of a very long political season and an even longer week. I don’t know about you, but I don’t feel a ... Read more

November 6, 2020November 5, 2020

45 Minutes in the Life of John Peter Connor

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

I have two regular carers at the moment. The first to arrive greets me with her usual efficacious, “Good morning, John!” She’s loud enough to wake the whole street. ... Read more

November 3, 2020November 2, 2020

6 Types of Fatigue and How They Might Affect Us

Columns, DISabled to ENabled – a Column by Jessie Ace

Did you know that there are various types of fatigue, and each makes us feel slightly different than the others? A long while ago, I was at an MS ... Read more

November 2, 2020November 2, 2020

MS News That Caught My Eye Last Week: Biotin, Opicinumab, Myelin, Tele-exercise

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

MD1003 Fails to Prevent Disability Progression in Progressive MS Patients, Trial Shows This is discouraging news for people taking high-dose biotin, many who have been buying it over the ... Read more

October 30, 2020October 29, 2020

The Long and Winding Road to My Urologist’s Door

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

Last week’s column, “The Loneliness of the Long-distance UTI Patient,” dealt with my dive into the Eastern (bloc) world of bacteriophages. It would be a fun exercise (and boy, ... Read more

October 30, 2020October 29, 2020

aHSCT Gets a Boost in US With NMSS Recommendations

Columns, The MS Wire - A Column by Ed Tobias

Is the United States a step closer to approving a form of stem cell transplantation as a treatment for multiple sclerosis? I believe it may be. That’s because the ... Read more

October 29, 2020October 27, 2020

Seeking Permission to Escape

Columns, Silver Linings - a Column by Jennifer Powell

I have been living in the land of Netflix. It went from a place I would visit from time to time to a home away from home. In between ... Read more

October 27, 2020October 23, 2020

Managing Feelings of Uncertainty

Columns, DISabled to ENabled – a Column by Jessie Ace

It doesn’t take much for us to feel uncertain. It could be the result of a new symptom or doing something you’ve never before done, such as attending a ... Read more

October 26, 2020October 26, 2020

MS News That Caught My Eye Last Week: Caregivers, VX-765

Columns, The MS Wire - A Column by Ed Tobias

Majority of MS Patients in US Report Mistreatment by Caregivers in Survey This is a serious issue, but it’s not as pervasive as this headline makes it appear. The ... Read more

October 23, 2020October 22, 2020

On Theme and Variations

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

A few weeks back, I listened to a segment on NPR’s “Here & Now” featuring superstar pianist Lang Lang and his latest recording project. I’m still thinking about it. He ... Read more

October 23, 2020October 28, 2020

The Loneliness of the Long-distance UTI Patient

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

When did I first become aware of the word “phage”? “Star Trek,” of course! It was an episode about a disease that was destroying a race somewhere in the ... Read more

October 23, 2020October 27, 2020

Diagnosing MS During a Pandemic: UK vs. US

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

Editor’s note: Previously, this piece stated that Dr. Ide Smets theorized a transition to telemedicine as the standard of care could cause decreased life expectancy in the U.K. of ... Read more

October 22, 2020October 20, 2020

Learning to Navigate Cog Fog

Columns, Silver Linings - a Column by Jennifer Powell

The cog fog (cognitive fog) is thick and heavy. I cannot seem to extract words from the alphabet soup that fills my head. This is torturous for a self-described ... Read more

October 20, 2020October 20, 2020

Finding Support in an Online Community

Columns, DISabled to ENabled – a Column by Jessie Ace

Finding an understanding community makes such a difference to people diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS).  Our partners, families, children, and friends do their best to listen and empathize, but ... Read more

October 19, 2020October 20, 2020

MS News That Caught My Eye Last Week: Mayzent in the UK, Aubagio and Other DMTs, Unemployment

Columns, The MS Wire - A Column by Ed Tobias

Mayzent Approved for Active SPMS Patients in England and Wales This is great news for people with MS in England and Wales. Mayzent (siponimod) is a needed weapon in ... Read more

October 16, 2020October 22, 2020

Peace, My Heart, Peace

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

Despite the melatonin and Kava tea, the hot baths and weighted blanket, I’m not sleeping very well these days. I haven’t been for months actually. In addition to the ... Read more

October 16, 2020October 14, 2020

Resistance May Be Futile, but the Borg Taught Me Something

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

OK, you’re not all science fiction nuts, so I’ll explain: The Borg are a cybernetic race and the lead baddies in the “Star Trek” universe — or, the way ... Read more

October 16, 2020October 14, 2020

Disability Employment Awareness Isn’t Enough to Keep You Working

Columns, The MS Wire - A Column by Ed Tobias

My multiple sclerosis (MS) was diagnosed 40 years ago in August. I never kept my MS a secret, but I didn’t go around advertising it, either. I’ll bet, for ... Read more

October 13, 2020October 12, 2020

How to Make Subcutaneous Injections Less Painful

Columns, DISabled to ENabled – a Column by Jessie Ace

When I was first diagnosed with MS, I didn’t have a choice about what disease-modifying therapy (DMT) I could take. My neurologist held up his hand and pointed one ... Read more

October 12, 2020October 12, 2020

MS News That Caught My Eye Last Week: Comparing DMTs, Myelin Repair, Hypertension

Columns, The MS Wire - A Column by Ed Tobias

Gilenya and Tecfidera Similarly Effective at Treating RRMS, Real-world Study Says Gilenya and Tecfidera are both oral disease-modifying therapies. Both meds attempt to limit the inflammatory action of the ... Read more

October 9, 2020October 7, 2020

Fighting the Beast

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

It was 3 p.m. last Thursday. Things should have been good. I had filed the copy for my previous column the day before. Ultimately, some of my outrageous musings ... Read more

October 9, 2020October 7, 2020

Could Too Many Tattoos Cause MS Trouble?

Columns, The MS Wire - A Column by Ed Tobias

Many people with multiple sclerosis (MS) get tattoos. Often it’s a way to deliver a statement about MS to the world, or perhaps it’s a personal message to the ... Read more

October 6, 2020October 2, 2020

What No One Tells You After a Diagnosis

Columns, DISabled to ENabled – a Column by Jessie Ace

A multiple sclerosis diagnosis is hard to process. Our body that we once knew so well suddenly feels untrustworthy. The truth is that the malfunctioning of our body is ... Read more

October 5, 2020October 5, 2020

MS News That Caught My Eye Last Week: Amalgam Fillings, COVID-19 and MS, Tecfidera Generic

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

MS Patients Should Avoid ‘Silver’ Tooth Fillings Due to Mercury, FDA Advises Concerns about the possible danger of amalgam dental fillings have been floated for years. Several European countries ... Read more

October 2, 2020September 30, 2020

Balance Is Relative

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

Multiple sclerosis has taught me many lessons over the last 16 years, and one of the most lasting ones has been about finding balance. I can’t run like a ... Read more

October 2, 2020September 30, 2020

Everything You Wanted to Know About Poo, but I Was Afraid to Write

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

Eurgh! Poo is what I fear most at the moment. I thought turning this column into a diary was cool. Following the greats, such as John Diamond, who chronicled ... Read more

October 2, 2020October 5, 2020

Is the FDA Changing Course on Amalgam Dental Fillings and MS?

Columns, The MS Wire - A Column by Ed Tobias

For years, some people have warned of a possible connection between multiple sclerosis (MS) and the amalgam fillings many of us have in our teeth. The concern has been ... Read more

October 1, 2020October 1, 2020

Reclaiming Our Sexual Health

Columns, Silver Linings - a Column by Jennifer Powell

I am often so preoccupied with the daily maintenance of MS that I forget where the disease ends and I begin. It is too easy to lose our identity ... Read more

September 29, 2020September 25, 2020

Internal Conflict Could Be Affecting Your Symptoms

Columns, DISabled to ENabled – a Column by Jessie Ace

“I’m just lazy,” I told myself. “Why can’t I do the things I need to do? I’m so exhausted and in pain all the time, I just want to ... Read more

September 28, 2020September 28, 2020

MS News That Caught My Eye Last Week: Global MS Numbers, Pregnancy and MS, ANK-700

Columns, The MS Wire - A Column by Ed Tobias

MS Prevalence at Over 2.8 Million Worldwide, Update to Atlas Reports With almost 3 million of us around the world, we’re not really rare, but we’re rare enough that ... Read more

September 25, 2020September 23, 2020

The Terrible 62s, or the Rage of the Non-toddler Adult

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

It’s usually best to write with time for reflection. I often feel like a foreign correspondent reporting from the front line of my own bedroom! The shells of multiple ... Read more

September 25, 2020September 23, 2020

Moving Madness Means MS Stress

Columns, The MS Wire - A Column by Ed Tobias

We’re moving and I’m stressed. That’s redundant, I know, as moving is simply stress on wheels — which isn’t good for someone with MS. Studies have shown a link ... Read more

September 24, 2020September 22, 2020

Restarting Rituxan: One Down, and a Lifetime to Go

Columns, Covid-19, Silver Linings - a Column by Jennifer Powell

Last week, I again started my twice-annual infusion of Rituxan (rituximab). After 384 days without my disease-modifying therapy, my team decided I could no longer wait. In its absence, ... Read more

September 22, 2020September 17, 2020

Why You Need to Be Tracking Your Symptoms for Your Medical Team

Columns, DISabled to ENabled – a Column by Jessie Ace

Multiple sclerosis is an unpredictable disease that can fluctuate at any time. It’s difficult to predict something that behaves so unexpectedly, but one thing you can do to feel ... Read more

September 21, 2020September 21, 2020

MS News That Caught My Eye Last Week: Economic Impact Survey, Fatigue, DMTs

Columns, The MS Wire - A Column by Ed Tobias

National MS Society Launches Survey to Assess Economic Impact of MS We know that managing MS is expensive. It can cost us money out of our pockets and also ... Read more

September 18, 2020September 16, 2020

Who We Are and What We Do

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

We’re now moving into the sixth month of quarantine, and it’s looking more and more like the world isn’t going to snap back to the way it was before ... Read more

September 18, 2020September 16, 2020

Like Iggy Says, ‘All Aboard for Funtime’

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

I’ve been a moderator at MS News Today Forums for a while. One of my jobs, besides rejecting the interminable bots that try to become members, is to promote ... Read more