January 16, 2018 Columns by Teresa Wright-Johnson The Stigma Surrounding Depression Lots of columns and articles look at issues surrounding the topics of depression and mental health-related disorders. I have referenced them in various columns. What saddens me is the stigma surrounding depression that prevails in our society. There are many who struggle with depression and other forms of…
January 16, 2018 Columns by Ed Tobias A Tough Year to Fight the Flu I’m fighting a cold. I’m coughing and I’m congested. I’m hoping it’s not the flu. This is not a year to get the flu. The type of flu circulating in most of North America right now is the H3N2 variety. And, in the words of Helen Branswell…
January 15, 2018 Columns by Tamara Sellman The MS Alphabet: Phosphenes, Plegridy, Plasticity, and Other ‘P’ Terms (Part 7 of 7) Editorās note: Tamara Sellman continues her occasional series on the “MS alphabet” with this column referencing terms starting with the letter “P.” Last in a series of seven. Symptoms of MS Phosphenes If you’ve ever noticed bright, flashing, swirling, or circular light patterns on the…
January 15, 2018 Columns by Debi Wilson Grieving the Loss of a Loved One One year ago, I wrote “Grief, Self-preservation and Multiple Sclerosis.” My…
January 15, 2018 Columns by Ed Tobias MS News that Caught My Eye Last Week: Rituxan, Medical Marijuana for Canadians, Extavia, Atira Trial Newly Diagnosed MS Patients Stay Longer on Rituxan Than Other Therapies, Study Finds This is a study that identifies which disease-modifying drugs new MS patients stuck with and which they gave up. And, why they made those choices. But the study is small and was limited to…
January 12, 2018 Columns by John Connor A Quiet Week I could be in a fancy restaurant in central London rather than sitting at home writing this. Don’t feel sorry for me, I chose to stay in. The Christmas month ofĀ DecemberĀ is very hard. Extreme partying is allied with extreme levels of work. In my game,Ā they are as…
January 12, 2018 Columns by Ed Tobias Worrying About the Dye Used in My MRIs The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a safety alert about gadolinium, the dye that’s injected when our doctors order a brain MRI “with and without” contrast. The dye provides the contrast that “lights up” areas of MS inflammation in the brain. But the FDA advisory is…
January 11, 2018 Columns by Tamara Sellman The MS Alphabet: Prednisone, Ptosis, PwMS, and Other ‘P’ Words (Part 2 of 7) Editorās note: Tamara Sellman continues her occasional series on the MS alphabet with the second column in a series of seven referencing terms starting with the letter “P.” Symptoms of MS Ptosis Commonly referred to as “droopy eyelid,” ptosis (pronounced TOE-sis) sags…
January 11, 2018 Columns by Jennifer (Jenn) Powell Moving into the New Year with MS: Resolute to Live Each Day I have always loved the start of New Year’s;Ā tabula rasa,Ā clean slate. Much like a snake shedding its skin, we leave behind the old and embrace the new, or at least accept such. While Dec. 31 is ripe with well-intentioned resolutions, I avoid promising myself anything simply because…
January 11, 2018 Columns by Laura Kolaczkowski My Ocrevus Treatments: The Next Round Is Delayed By now, I had planned to give you an update on my current multiple sclerosis disease-modifying therapyĀ Ocrevus (ocrelizumab). But one thing living with multiple sclerosis teaches us is to not count on plans always working out as we had hoped. Timing really is everything…
January 9, 2018 Columns by Teresa Wright-Johnson Feeling Good and My Jar of Happiness āItās a new dawn, itās a new day and Iām feeling good.ā As I am writing my column this song is playing in my head. I enjoy listening to Nina Simone because her voice is distinctive and telling. Her songs chant her feelings of despair and…
January 9, 2018 Columns by Ed Tobias Diagnosing MS Faster and Better As we all know, MS is difficult to diagnose. Put another way, it’s easy to misdiagnose. There’s no single diagnostic test for MS. Neurologists use their clinical examination, the patient’s medical history, and lab tests. They also rely on MRI imaging of the brain and sometimes of the…
January 8, 2018 Columns by Ed Tobias MS News That Caught My Eye Last Week: MRI Dyes, Diagnosis Criteria, Handwriting and MS, Progressive MS Research FDA Warns of Risks Linked to Gadolinium-based Contrast Agents Used in MRI Scans I had a brain MRI a couple of weeks ago and I asked the technician about the FDA warning about the dye that she was going to inject. She wasn’t aware of it. I…
January 5, 2018 Columns by Jamie Hughes We Are Streams that Sing Wendell Berry, a novelist, poet, farmer and environmental activist, has written a number of superb books. Donāt believe me? Go read “Jayber Crow” and shoot me a message. I would love to discuss it with someone again! As a person who happens to have multiple sclerosis, I…
January 5, 2018 Columns by John Connor New Year’s Resolution: Do What You Can, While You Can There ‘s a top 10 list of New Year’s resolutions that are most commonly made and then most commonly broken. Lose weight, get fit, stop smoking (well, never touch hard drugs like tobacco), and spend more time with the family (they have no choice unless they leave…
January 5, 2018 Columns by Ed Tobias My Lemtrada Journey: A New Year’s Update Happy new year to all. The start of the new year seems like a good time to assess what my journey has been like since my first round of Lemtrada (alemtuzumab)Ā back in December 2016. The road has had bumps and hills and dips. But, overall, Lemtrada has…
January 4, 2018 Columns by Tamara Sellman The MS Alphabet: Paroxysms, Plasmapheresis, and Other ‘P’ Words (Part 1 of 7) Editorās note: Tamara Sellman continues the MS alphabet with the first in a series referencing terms starting with the letter “P.”Ā Symptoms of MS Paroxysms This term describes sudden and violent occurrences of symptoms in those who are chronically ill. The symptoms…
January 3, 2018 Columns by Mike Knight Turning Corners with MS: Ocrevus, Biotin, and 2018 Like a lot of people with MS, I took part in the āGreat Ocrevus Rush of 2017,ā with the fanfare surrounding the release of the first therapy in the United States known to have some ability to stem the advancement of primary and secondary progressive MS.
December 25, 2017 Columns by Teresa Wright-Johnson My ABCs of Gratitude: Reflections of an MS Warrior (Continued) In last weekās column, I shared what I called my ABCs of gratitude. In the past few days, Iāve had to revisit my list several times. This was a distressing week. Even more perplexing is my inability to determine the exact cause of my anguish. I could not…
December 22, 2017 Columns by John Connor Santa and His Helpers The trouble with being a mythological supernatural being is that you begin to doubt your own existence. It was all “Marvel this” and “DC that” over kids’ toy choices these past few years. Dads tried to be above that sort of thing, but He knew how thrillingly pleased…
December 22, 2017 Columns by Ed Tobias Young MSers Keeping Dreams Alive This will be my final column for this year because of the Christmas and New Year holidays. Rather than ending 2017 with another 500 or so fascinating words from me, I’d like to leave you, instead, with this video. It was produced by a group of young Europeans…
December 21, 2017 Columns by Tamara Sellman The MS Alphabet: Optic Neuritis, Occupational Therapy, and Other ‘O’ Words Editorās note: Tamara Sellman continues her occasional series on the MS alphabet with this column referencing terms starting with the letter “O.” Symptoms of MS Optic neuritis This is a common symptom of MS, though not everyone who experiences optic neuritis…
December 21, 2017 Columns by Jennifer (Jenn) Powell A Year in Review with Progressive MS Ā They say a near-death experience will invoke a montage of your life in a matter of seconds. Gratefully, I have not had the experience to find out if this is indeed a truism, but I recently experienced a mini-mĆ©lange of my own. I read the mail, more specifically the…
December 21, 2017 Columns by Laura Kolaczkowski My Holiday Gift Wish Itās that time of year when everyone is asking: What would you like for Christmas? Shopping for the perfect gift for me is a challenge because Iāve been around long enough to have most of the things I want or need. In fact, we have so much that at…
December 20, 2017 Columns by Cathy Chester The Relationship Between Gut Bacteria and Multiple Sclerosis This year, I wrote several articles about gut health because, in addition to MS, thatās what Iām currently battling. Writing is cathartic, so when an issue hits close to home, pouring words onto paper … er, a laptop, is a godsend. Itās like having a…
December 20, 2017 Columns by Judy Lynn Free Your Fascia! One of the most frustrating aspects of my MS is a frequent feeling of tightness and pain. The sensations may be in my arms, legs, or even in the trunk of my body in the form of the “MS hug.” Gabapentin helps to keep the pain…
December 19, 2017 Columns by Ed Tobias Monkey See, Monkey Do: Helping Hands for People with MS I was just monkeying around while on vacation a few weeks ago, amazed that the animals jumping between my wife and myself were actually listening to the commands of their owner. I knew that chimps and apes were smart, but seeing monkeys respond to commands was new to me.
December 18, 2017 Columns by Ed Tobias MS News that Caught My Eye Last Week: MS Pain, Your Bioclock, Remyelination Chronic and Neuropathic Pain in MS Patients Should Be Routinely Evaluated, Study Says The next time a doctor tells you that there’s no pain associated with MS, point them to this study. Yes, MS can cause chronic pain and, yes, the pain can be caused by nervous system lesions.
December 15, 2017 Columns by Jamie Hughes The Greatest Gifts Christmas is just around the corner, and thatās why many people are on the fruitless quest for Fingerlings or hocking an organ to buy the new iPhone. Both might be the āhotā presents of the season, but neither of them holds a candle to the great gifts we…
December 15, 2017 Columns by John Connor On the Road It’s 4 a.m. and, unsurprisingly, I’m laying flat on my back. Yesterday, I had a whale of a time and now I feel like a beached one. I’m not in my own bed because I’m staying in a tres jolie bed-and-breakfast in Northern France. The trouble is the bed…