Delicate Balance - Leigh Anne Nelson

Leigh Anne Nelson is a professor at the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Pharmacy and a board-certified psychiatric pharmacist. She was diagnosed with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (MS) approximately 10 years ago. She hopes her column, “Delicate Balance,” will help people living with MS become more aware of MS symptoms and learn to advocate for themselves by providing personal stories of her journey with MS. Leigh Anne is passionate about educating others about MS.

Featured Post
Columns

Why I’m researching clinical trials as I prepare to switch my DMT

I wrote in the summer about changing the disease-modifying therapy (DMT) for my multiple sclerosis (MS). I’ve familiarized myself with the available DMTs, and I plan to ask my neurologist for her recommendation next week and then make a decision. As I’ve researched my options, I’ve become interested…

Columns

Setting an attainable New Year’s resolution as someone with MS

Happy New Year! Did anyone make resolutions? I’ve always tried to make one resolution every January, though I missed a few years when I was in a rut. At the time I’d thought, what’s the point? I knew I wouldn’t stick with it. That’s because my resolutions used to feel…

Columns

Changing neurologists yet again to treat my MS

I was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS) in 2014. Over the past 10 years, my MS has been managed by five healthcare providers. That’s not how I envisioned my MS care. I’ve had the same primary care provider for almost 20 years, and I naively thought I’d be…

Columns

How the symptoms of multiple sclerosis affect my hands

My last column described how multiple sclerosis (MS) affects my feet, so today I’m writing about how it affects my hands. I don’t believe MS has affected my wrists or palms, but my fingers and thumbs aren’t “normal” anymore. My most prominent symptom is loss of sensation,…

Columns

How foot symptoms of MS affect my balance, quality of life

Most people take for granted the feeling of stability while standing on their feet. My invisible multiple sclerosis (MS) symptom is unsteady gait, one of my biggest struggles, but you likely wouldn’t know it just by looking at me. My unsteady gait is associated with the effect that…

Columns

Why I chose to get vaccinated for COVID-19 and the flu

Well, it’s that time of the year again: flu season. I guess you could say it’s COVID-19 season, too, though confirmed and probable cases of COVID-19 started increasing in late June here in Kansas City, Missouri, and continued to rise at least through August. Detection of COVID-19 through wastewater…

Columns

I have MS symptoms that occur during and after exercise

I’ve been trying to improve my health through lifestyle changes, which I hope will have a positive effect on my multiple sclerosis (MS). In an earlier column, I discussed my struggles to eat a healthy diet. An update: I now eat more fish (not just salmon) and vegetables.

Recent Posts


Explore more columns