July 3, 2018 Columns by Ed Tobias ‘Low T’ and MS Risk in Men Statistics show that men are three times less likely than women to develop multiple sclerosis. Research has shown that men also develop MS at a later age than women and that their disease is more progressive. Could this all be related to “low T,” or low testosterone? Researchers…
June 29, 2018 Columns by Jamie Hughes Personality Test, Smershonality Test Recently, I was required to take a āquickā 100-question test to determine what my Enneagram number is. (Iām a 5, in case youāre curious.) These questions ā answered by clicking āagreeā or ādisagreeā ā werenāt complicated in any sense of the word. I honestly think I learned more…
June 29, 2018 Columns by John Connor ‘Always Look on the Bright Side of Life’ I started out in my professional life as a journalist. This only lasted about eight years and feels like a lifetime ago ā which it was. Though I was not a news hound, I learned to smell a story. Last week’s column,Ā “A Tale of Two Halves,”Ā juxtaposed bad MS…
June 28, 2018 Columns by Jennifer (Jenn) Powell Life After Whole30: Nutrition and MS Last month, I challenged myself to conquer Whole30:Ā 30 days of no gluten, grain, dairy, sugar, or sulfites. Forty days later, I am proud to say I not only survived, I thrived. I am still thriving. Friends have long been touting the merits of adopting a synonymous eating plan.
June 26, 2018 Columns by Ed Tobias MS Patients Can Dress For Success When you have MS, finding a way to dress for success means more than just looking sharp. It means dressing to both look good and feel good about yourself while wearing clothing that’s easy to wear. Finding those clothes takes a little more effort than simply going into a…
June 25, 2018 Columns by Debi Wilson You Can Decrease Your MS Symptoms: Just Add Water The benefits of drinking water (H2o) are many ā and not only in the summer months. If you have multiple sclerosis (MS) drinking an adequate amount of water is essential. I know what you are thinking: “More water intake, equals more trips to the bathroom.” That is what used…
June 25, 2018 Columns by Ed Tobias MS News that Caught My Eye Last Week: A Genetic MS Link?, Spinal MRIs, MRI Payment Help, PPMS Study Researchers Discover How Key Genetic Risk Factor for MS Operates A genetic link to MS is something that some scientists have suspected for years. Now, there’s new research that targets a variation of a specific gene as possibly being that link. Scientists have uncovered the molecular mechanism…
June 22, 2018 Columns by John Connor A Tale of Two Halves For those reading this in the U.S., part of what I’m going to write will likely be incomprehensible, as it involves the World Cup. That’s football, not soccer. The rest of the world is in thrall to this sporting event. Even if your country doesn’t qualify, you grumpily…
June 22, 2018 Columns by Ed Tobias Do People Think Your MS Problems Are All in Your Head? Have you ever had a friend, spouse, or even a doctor tell you that you’re imagining your MS pain, your fatigue, or even your sexual problems? “You’re not trying,” they might say. Or, “You just need to exercise.” It happens all the time for many of us, and it’s…
June 19, 2018 Columns by Teresa Wright-Johnson The Importance of a Positive Support Network In July 2017, I participated in a Facebook chat for MS News Today entitled āThe Importance of Support And Positive Influences.” The chat was created to prompt a discussion on the necessity of support and resources for a person living with MS or other chronic illnesses. And now…
June 18, 2018 Columns by Debi Wilson Heat and Humidity’s Effects on My MS When I awaken and start each day, I feel like a hygrometer (a humidity-monitoring device). My body is so in tune to any rise in humidity that I can visualize a red line slowly climbing higher and higher. With each rise of the red humidity line, I can feel…
June 18, 2018 Columns by Ed Tobias MS News That Caught My Eye Last Week: A Myelin Discovery; Comparing Gilenya and Tecfidera; Measuring a Fall Risk; Smoking, Obesity, and MS Discovery of āFieryā Cell Death Mechanism May Be MS āGame-Changerā Researchers at the University of Alberta have discovered a process that may be responsible for destroying myelin. Better than that, they also think they have a way of limiting that process using a medication. The inhibitor, known…
June 15, 2018 Columns by Jamie Hughes Mind Your Mind I donāt know about you, but oftentimes my thoughts are as unruly and irrepressible as Mickeyās broomsticks in “The Sorcererās Apprentice.” Whether I’m worried about the tingling in my left foot or the fact it took me five minutes to remember the word āexpeditor,ā thereās always some…
June 15, 2018 Columns by John Connor Anyone for Golf? A family wedding in the gardens of a grand country house some 30 minutes from Oxford sounds idyllic. And indeed it was. Not, though, for anyone in a wheelchair. A deep pebble driveway at the front was impassable.Ā It took very strong men to drag me backwardĀ a few yards. Going…
June 15, 2018 Columns by Ed Tobias Getting Help Paying for Your MRIs It’s not unusual for someone with MS to have an annual MRI exam. Sometimes it’s even semiannual. And it’s not cheap. According to the website Healthcare Bluebook, an MRI of the brain, with and without contrast, can cost you anywhere from $826 to $4,780, depending on where youĀ live…
June 14, 2018 Columns by Jennifer (Jenn) Powell How I Deal with the Reality of Depression With the recent suicides of Kate Spade and Anthony Bourdain, I feel called upon to write about something many of us are all too familiar with: depression. While these high-profile deaths made the headlines, thousands of others took their own lives during that same seven-day period. Depression is…
June 13, 2018 Columns by Cathy Chester Multiple Sclerosis, Comorbidities, and How to Live with Them Iām doing all I can to remain calm and keep stressors at bay all in the name of wellness. So Iām trying to meditate at least five minutes a day ā find a quiet room to sit tall, close my eyes, and focus on my…
June 12, 2018 Columns by Ed Tobias Is Your MS Ready for a Disaster? Hurricane season began on June 1 in the Atlantic region. For people living along the coast, as I do, it’s time to plan for moving quickly. For people with mobility problems, planning is essential since, as you know, moving isn’t something that we do quickly. I wrote…
June 8, 2018 Columns by John Connor MS and My Experience with the Allergy Medication Clemastine I’ve just dived into the misty world of the allergy medicationĀ clemastine. My, there’s a lot already written about it on this site. I was prompted by an article I’d saved on Facebook last year. In an idle moment ā which have been pretty scarce lately…
June 8, 2018 Columns by Ed Tobias My MS Medical Bills: Trust, but Verify the Charges “Trust, but verify” was a key concept during the U.S.-Soviet nuclear negotiations of the 1980s. “Trust,” President Ronald Reagan would say, “but verify” that what’s being said is actually being done. I apply that same concept to my bank, trusting that it has all of my checking account information…
June 7, 2018 Columns by Jennifer (Jenn) Powell Dog Hair? Who Cares. How MS Freed Me I just saw a couple of āgolden tumbleweedsā swirl past my feet. My attempts at keeping a clean house are no match for Abby’s ever-falling golden locks, and I am OK with that. There was a time when those two balls of hair would have elicited profound anxiety. The anxiety…
June 5, 2018 Columns by Ed Tobias Music and MS Are a Duet for This Inspirational Concert Pianist My philosophy about living with MS is written on a plaque hanging on the wall in my home. It reads: “Life isn’t about waiting for the storm to pass. It’s about learning to dance in the rain.” Olga Bobrovnikova doesn’t dance in the rain. Instead, she plays the piano.
June 5, 2018 Columns by Teresa Wright-Johnson Claiming My MS and Accepting the Reality of My Disease Growing up in a spiritual family, I can remember hearing the words āwe are not going to claim it.ā These were words of comfort, hope, and support when a catastrophic event was impending. The dictum was to pray, believe in what you pray for, and to “not claim” whatever…
June 4, 2018 Columns by Debi Wilson A Day on the Beach, Yet So Much More! The royal blue kite struggled to stay in flight; the winds remained fickle on our day at the beach. I was mesmerized while watching a man and woman so fervently trying to manage the small diving diamond in the sky. The more I watched, the clearer the metaphor…
June 4, 2018 Columns by Ed Tobias MS News that Caught My Eye Last Week: Remyelination, Predicting SPMS, Switching DMTs, MS and a Virus Chemical that Stimulates Estrogen Receptors Seen to Promote Myelin Repair Through āGoodā Inflammation in Mouse MS Model Caution: This is only a mouse study. However, anything that might repair the damaged myelin of people with MS catches my eye. In this case, researchers are building on earlier…
June 1, 2018 Columns by Jamie Hughes How Dare You? If you read my last column, youāre well aware that there has been some drama around Casa de Hughes over the last few weeks. I can now happily say that the situation has been resolved and weāre trying to get things back to a more normal, humane pace.
June 1, 2018 Columns by John Connor Dear Diary I never kept a diary.Ā I did sometimes muse about itĀ but reckoned I’d never become famous enough for one to be useful. Well, at least in that I was right. Until the rise of the smartphone, anniversaries and birthdays were flagged by my oldest son, who has the gift…
June 1, 2018 Columns by Ed Tobias MS Patients Are Getting Caught in an Insurance Deductible Snag MS medications are expensive. Many people with MS are able to afford their high prices only because their insurance covers most of the cost, and what remains as their copay is often covered by many of the pharmaceutical companies that produce those meds. The companies offer patient assistance…
May 31, 2018 Columns by Jennifer (Jenn) Powell With Multiple Sclerosis, I Do Not Have to Feel Fine to Be Fine Yesterday, the clerk at the grocery store asked how I was feeling. Having known her for 15 years, I glanced at her over the rim of my sunglasses and we shared a knowing laugh before moving onto inane topics. She knew exactly how I was feeling without my saying a…
May 29, 2018 Columns by Ed Tobias Pressure in the UK Helps Lower MS Therapy Costs. But What About the US? In the United States, the government can do very little to control the costs of our expensive MS medications. In the United Kingdom, it’s a different story. The U.K. has an organization called the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, better known as NICE. NICE provides healthcare…