September 29, 2017 Columns by John Connor One Day at a Time I was going to write about something else, then my MS got in the way. Intellectually, I know MS is very up-and-down, but often when the down hits, I think the worst has happened. I went to my exercise class this week and struggled. Got home and recovered.
September 29, 2017 Columns by Ed Tobias She Has MS and She’s Planning to Hike 500 Miles April Hester has MS. She was diagnosed in 1996, just after she turned 20 years old. Like many of us, April has balance and fatigue issues. Her legs can become tired, her foot sometimes drops and she falls a lot. But unlike many of us, April and her…
September 28, 2017 Columns by Tamara Sellman MS Alphabet: Interferon, INO, inflammation and Other āIā Terms (Editorās note: Tamara Sellman continues her occasional series on the MS alphabet with this column about terms starting with the letter I.) Symptoms of MS Incontinence A common symptom of MS, incontinence refers to an inability to control oneās…
September 28, 2017 Columns by Jennifer (Jenn) Powell Being a Caregiver with MS I pride myself on never lending power to my limitations, but when I became the primary caretaker for my husband after he underwent hip replacement surgery, my limitations were reached. Ten days later, I am slowly emerging as a somewhat functioning individual. As with most challenges, I tend…
September 28, 2017 Columns by Laura Kolaczkowski A Look Inside MS Marketplace Projections Do you ever stop and ponder the value of MS drugs? Iām not talking about if they work and the ways they improve our lives. Iām thinking of the COST of them and what their pricing means to investors. I get several market analysis reports on the pharmaceutical industry,…
September 27, 2017 Columns by Cathy Chester New Video Series Aims to Lift the MS Community When youāre living with multiple sclerosis, itās important to surround yourself with a community of people who give you the kind of support and understanding you need. When I was diagnosed in 1986, there was no internet to help me find a community,…
September 26, 2017 Columns by Teresa Wright-Johnson Retreating from the Noise: the Importance of Peace Our world is chaotic right now. I literally have to disengage from social media and periodically turn off the news just to rejuvenate my spirit and find some peace. It is difficult to remain positive in a pessimistic society. We are divided by politics and spiritual beliefs. We are…
September 26, 2017 Columns by Ed Tobias Test-Walking the New Bioness L300 Go I’ve been using a Bioness L300 for just over five years to counter my foot drop. Without the L300 strapped to my left leg, itās difficult for me to walk more than 25 or 30 steps, even with two canes. The L300 is a functional electronic…
September 25, 2017 Columns by Debi Wilson Calming the Cranky Beast That’s Irritability Irritability can strikeĀ anyone at anytime, and pain, illness, depression ā or just having a bad day ā can all lead to feelings of anxiety and irritability. To those of us with multiple sclerosis (MS), being irritable can come from all of those causes, plus a whole lot more.
September 25, 2017 Columns by Ed Tobias MS News That Caught My Eye: Diagnostic Blood Test, Fatigue, New Trials and Stem Cell Therapy IQuity Taking Orders for RNA-based Blood Test That Can Detect MS Early with 90% Accuracy Can it be that there’s now a blood test that can help diagnose MS? This company says it has one and doctors can order it. For a disease that’s always been…
September 22, 2017 Columns by John Connor MS and Retirement And so the good news is that if you have MS, then you can get an enhanced annuity in the United Kingdom. That is a higher payment for the rest of your life than if you were well. That’s because our illness may reduce life expectancy. A recent survey…
September 22, 2017 Columns by Ed Tobias It’s Time to Speak Up to Guard Your Healthcare Benefits Have you heard of a healthcare “reform” proposal in the U.S. Senate called “Graham-Cassidy?” If not, take heed because Graham-Cassidy is a last-ditch effort by Republicans on Capitol Hill, led by Senators Lindsay Graham (SC), Bill Cassidy (LA), Dean Heller (NV), and Ron Johnson (WI), to limit healthcare…
September 20, 2017 Columns by Judy Lynn Sensory Overload Occurring: Please, Do Not Disturb! The past two weekends found me venturing off on my own for some mini-road trips. Two weeks ago, I volunteered at Bike MS a hundred miles away from my house. I interacted with others during the day and then returned alone and happy to a quiet, peaceful hotel room.
September 20, 2017 Columns by Mike Knight Data Differences: Better Records, Better Care āIām sorry, these files take forever to copy,ā the woman at the registration desk says, breaking the silence that had settled between us while she uploaded MRI scans from the CD I gave her moments earlier. āI know it can be a…
September 19, 2017 Columns by Ed Tobias Winning with Deuces This is a story about sports. It’s not really about MS, it’s about playing football. But, then again, it is about MS. Stick with me and you’ll see. The story is about a young man named Jake Olson. Olson is a student at the University of Southern California,…
September 18, 2017 Columns by Debi Wilson MS Patients Deserve the Best Care As patients, weĀ deserve the best care for our MSĀ and we should accept nothing less. I have had many years of difficulty trying to find adequate MSĀ care since my diagnosis in 2010. I have gone from neurologist to neurologist, even before I knew my symptoms pointed to MS. My…
September 18, 2017 Columns by Ed Tobias MS News That Caught My Eye: Probiotics, Gut Bacteria, Ocrevus, and a Pain Pill Probiotics Consumption May Improve Certain Disease Parameters in MS Patients, Study Suggests Probiotics (bacteria that help move food through your gut)Ā have been used for years to help treat stomach disorders such as irritable bowel syndrome, inflammatory bowel disease, and some types of diarrhea. More recently, researchers have…
September 15, 2017 Columns by Jamie Hughes This Too Shall Pass I posted this meme on social media last weekĀ with the caption āCurrent Life Status,ā hoping a laugh might help matters. Iām sorry to say things didn’tĀ improve afterward. Iām not a Debbie Downer or a Sad Sack by nature, and I donāt often write about my struggles here…
September 15, 2017 Columns by John Connor MS and Incontinence Another of those things I was never warned about. Maybe if I’d been assigned a local MS nurse at the beginning of my diagnosis, then eruptions out of my pants could have been averted instead of finding out the wet way. I only discovered my local MS nurse…
September 15, 2017 Columns by Ed Tobias My Lemtrada Journey: At 9 Months, a Cane Tells a Tale Back in May, when I updated everyone about my Lemtrada treatment at six months post-infusion, I began with a question my wife asked: “Do you think you’re walking better?” And, I thought IĀ was. Maybe. Just a little. I was walking a bit more smoothly, my left foot…
September 14, 2017 Columns by Tamara Sellman The MS Alphabet: Hemiparesis, Helper T-cells, HLA and Other ‘H’ Terms (Editorās note: Tamara Sellman continues her occasional series on the MS alphabet with this column about terms starting with the letter H.) Symptoms of MS Hemiparesis (and hemiplegia) When someone with MS experiences weakness along one entire side of the body, they…
September 14, 2017 Columns by Jennifer (Jenn) Powell Choosing Happiness I find it funny when people ask how and why I am so positive and happy. Am I supposed to be sad and negative just because I have multiple sclerosis? There are certainly days when the pain and/or side effects get me down, but gratefully, these are exceptions…
September 14, 2017 Columns by Laura Kolaczkowski Thereās an App (Maybe Too Many) for That! How many hours do the pharmaceutical companies think we have in our day? I ask because almost all of them have come up with very slick tools to use, particularly mobile apps, to help us improve our daily lives with MS. Not coincidentally, these apps also provide their…
September 12, 2017 Columns by Teresa Wright-Johnson MS, Chronic Illness and Strength: When Courage Is Silent Courage is a recurring theme in my column. Many of us are familiar with the cowardly lion from the Wizard Of Oz. The lion itself is an animal known for its strength, beauty and valor. Thus, to think of a lion as a coward appears to be a…
September 12, 2017 Columns by Ed Tobias Walking the Dog, an Adventure Story It’s 7 in the morning, and it’s raining cats and dogs. I need to walk our dog and the thought of it is not very appealing. We live in a condo, so this activity requires getting dressed, squatting down to feed Joey, squatting again to get him hooked…
September 11, 2017 Columns by Debi Wilson My Thoughts on Being a Grandparent with a Disability I had always envisioned that I would be an active and healthy grandparent when the time came ā not one with a disability. I was diagnosed with primary progressive multiple sclerosis (PPMS) in the summer of 2010, which also happened to be the same year my first grandchild…
September 11, 2017 Columns by Ed Tobias MS News That Caught My Eye Last Week: Women vs. Men, Epstein-Barr, Mavenclad, Gilenya Older Women with MS Age Better Than Their Male Counterparts, Canadian Survey Finds I have to say that, as a 69 year old man with MS, this report is a bit depressing. In fact, one of its findings is that older men are depressed while older women…
September 8, 2017 Columns by John Connor Disjointed: Living the New Netflix Sitcom I was going to write about something else this week and then … I got STONED! Those aren’t words I thought I’d ever write. I’d been a kid during the 1960s, but later on had duly done my literary homage by mainlining Jack Kerouac (yes, I know that…
September 8, 2017 Columns by Ed Tobias When Do MS Symptoms Become a Relapse? Am I having an MS relapse? I saw that question asked the other day on one of the social sites I follow. At first, I thought, “Gee, doesn’t everyone with MS know when they’re having a relapse?” Then I realized thatĀ for several years after I was diagnosed, I…
September 7, 2017 Columns by Jennifer (Jenn) Powell Enjoy the Journey While Traveling with MS I have always had the travel bug, and I’ve been to a myriad of countries and cities around the world. From far-away foreign cities to exotic beach locales, I find great pleasure in refining my cultural literacy. That refinement took a back seat after my diagnosis and subsequent…