Columns

I didn’t file a column last week due to medical reasons. It’s a perfect excuse for a patient columnist — we don’t need a dog to blame for eating our homework. The multiple sclerosis dog is more than happy to put us on the floor; in my case, even three…

What worries you most about living with multiple sclerosis? I’m catching up with a small survey by Can Do MS, an organization that promotes health and wellness education programs. The survey results, released in September, show that disease progression, financial concerns, and loss of independence are at the top…

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 is inspired by the forum topic “Grey Matter Atrophy in MS Shown to Follow a Pattern” from July…

Living with secondary progressive multiple sclerosis is a lesson in adaptation. The constant is change. This disease has given me sea legs. Nevertheless, some days have me fooled. When I think I finally have it in check, MS calls “checkmate!” And I remember. Let go of the reins, Jenn.

The times we’re living in feel surreal to me. I’m not talking about the current state of U.S. politics, though my opinions could fill a book. I’m talking about how I feel when I read about advances that have been made since my diagnosis three decades ago, and…

Vumerity Approved in US as Treatment for RRMS and Active SPMS By my count, Vumerity is the 18th disease-modifying therapy (DMT) that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved for multiple sclerosis (MS). It’s one of very few approved for secondary progressive MS (SPMS). I find…

It’s time for another update on how I’ve been doing with my Lemtrada (alemtuzumab) treatments. The bottom line is that I’m doing well. Lemtrada is a disease-modifying therapy (DMT) delivered in two stages. The first stage entails a series of five daily infusions, while the second stage involves…

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 is inspired by the forum topic “MS Lesions and Silent Inflammation” from Aug. 16, 2018. Have an experience you…

If I told you that standing on your head would cure multiple sclerosis (MS), would you do it? I am fairly sure you would find a way to do so. At least once a week, I hear of a miracle cure for MS. Well-meaning individuals tout the latest and greatest…

Higher Intellectual Ability, Early-life Physical Activity May Protect Against Cognitive Impairment in MS, Study Suggests The finding that physical activity provides a protective effect for cognitive abilities makes sense to me. I recently listened to a webinar discussing brain atrophy, which has a direct relationship with cognitive impairment, and…

If there’s one thing the internet is good for, it’s inspirational quotes. They’re usually paired with a picture of a woman at the beach, her arms open to the sunrise, walking through a field of flowers, or raising her eyes to a sky full of stars. Or kittens. Kittens are…

By 2017, over 50,000 people with disabilities in the U.K. had lost their accessible vehicles due to reassessments required by Personal Independence Payment (PIP), a financial assistance program for people with disabilities. Motability Scheme is a program that provides financial assistance to help people lease an accessible…

A question raised by neurologist Gavin Giovannoni on the Barts-MS blog lit up my radar recently. Dr. G asked whether “elderly” people with MS should be treated differently than those who are younger. The question arises because a case of progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML), a serious brain disease,…

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 is inspired by the forum topic “Do you experience memory loss? Do you feel it is due to MS?”…

I am in a state of anxious exhaustion. Anxiety has been a lifelong companion that has presented itself in various ways since childhood. In hindsight, I can recognize triggers and reactions. During times of anxiety, I’ve felt as if I was losing my mind. Over the years, I’ve learned…

Why is my body betraying me? As an advocate and a person with chronic illness, this question surfaces often. Many people with chronic illness feel that their body has failed them. I can understand the reasoning behind the question. At times, the very things many take for granted are the…

#ECTRIMS2019 – Are Injectables Inappropriate for Active Relapsing MS Treatment? Injectable disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) have been around for a long time. I took part in a Phase 3 clinical trial for Avonex (interferon beta-1a) in the mid-1990s. These treatments were the only game in town back then, and…

As I sit down (nothing unusual there — all I do these days is sit down!) and write this, I’m 62 years and one day old. On Saturday morning, it felt like I still had a few days to go before I reached the heady height of a 2-year-old. I’m…

This is not the week to tell me how good I look … even if I look and feel good. The week of Oct. 13 is Invisible Disabilities Week. As we all know, multiple sclerosis (MS) can be as invisible as Casper the Ghost. Invisible Disabilities Week isn’t limited…

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 is inspired by the forum topic “Is it the summer or winter weather that impacts your MS the most?”…

Marriage is hard. It is also the most beautiful, sacred, and honest of all my experiences. Our vulnerable reality is a far cry from the blissful naivete of our wedding day. We had no idea how trying our future would become or how deeply our devotion would grow. I credit…

Mavenclad, Ocrevus Use Rising in EU as Injectables and Tysabri Decline, Spherix Reports I’m not surprised at reports that the use of Mavenclad (cladribine) and Ocrevus (ocrelizumab) is increasing in Europe, or that the use of injectable disease-modifying therapies appears to be declining there. Mavenclad and Ocrevus are approved…

I recently read “The Animal Family” by Randall Jarrell. It’s considered a children’s book, but like many stories written for kids, it has much to offer grown-up readers. The story is a simple one. A hunter is lonely. He has no one to share his life with and no…

Many of us live with a reality that we’re too embarrassed to talk about, even with medical professionals. Multiple sclerosis (MS) prevents us from pooing properly — no matter how much fiber we consume or how much water we drink. I wrote about this in a recent column. As…

Several days ago, the headline “It’s All in Your Head” jumped out at me. The author of the Journal of the American Medical Association article, Matthew Burke, is a neurologist at Harvard Medical School who specializes in neuropsychiatry. According to Burke, the problem of physicians telling patients that unexplainable…

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 is inspired by the column,”Tips to Fend Off Invasion of the Common Cold” from Jan. 30, 2017.

In this week’s column, I’ve changed the format a little to focus on one subject: rituximab. This is an approved cancer medication that some U.S. neurologists use as an off-label treatment for multiple sclerosis (MS). Rituximab is similar to Ocrevus (ocrelizumab). When the latter disease-modifying therapy (DMT) became available in…

For the last few months, urinary tract infections (UTIs) have been the main subject of this column. My current disease-modifying therapy, Ocrevus (ocrelizumab), has had a significant impact on my multiple sclerosis (MS). The only downside is that Ocrevus attacks B-cells in the body, increasing the risk…

The other night, I had an MS dream. In it, I was able to lift my left leg as well as I can my right one, regardless of my weak hip flexor. I don’t usually know what’s triggered a dream, but this time I did: My Bioness L300 had…

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 is inspired by the forum topic “Do you use pain meds to get through day to day life?” from…