March 29, 2024 Columns by Susan Payrovi, MD Rhythms and routines to complete your MS care I used to think I was immune to illness. Getting sick was what my patients did. My multiple sclerosis (MS) diagnosis turned this belief, and many others, upside down. When the chaos of the diagnosis settled, I realized that becoming a patient was the most profound lesson I could…
September 22, 2023 Columns by Ed Tobias Have you struggled to find a neurologist who understands MS? A question that’s been bothering me lately is this: It seems that more than a few neurologists have a less than optimal understanding of multiple sclerosis (MS). Why is that?Ā In my four decades of living with MS, and during the several years I’ve written this column…
October 28, 2022 Columns by Ed Tobias Do Doctors Discriminate Against People With Disabilities? “I Am Not The Doctor For You” is the title of a shocking new study published earlier this month in the journal Health Affairs. It reports that a number of doctors acknowledged being uncomfortable with treating people with a disability. The study was conceived of by Lisa Iezzoni,…
March 4, 2022 Columns by Jamie Hughes More Than 50 Shades of Gray Spring is rapidly approaching. Itās warming up outside. The trees are starting to bloom. And inside our home, I am once again plotting to refresh the place. Out with old decorations, and in with the new! Declutter that closet! Donate the table and chairs that still look great because you…
May 17, 2019 Columns by Ed Tobias MS Is a Pain, and Doctors Should Know It Dear Doctor, Why is it that you, or at least some of your colleagues, think that multiple sclerosis isn’t painful? Did you skip the med school class where they discussed MS?Ā Are you not a neurologist, or are you a neurologist who doesn’t specialize in MS? Whatever the reason, this “MS…
April 26, 2019 Columns by Ed Tobias Is It OK for Your Doctor to Hug You? Former Vice President Joe Biden has been in some hot water recently because of his habit of hugging some of the people he meets. More generally, in today’s society, some of the casual social touching that once went on, particularly in the workplace, has become out of bounds.
May 22, 2018 Columns by Ed Tobias I Have MS and I’m Very Lucky National Nurses Week was earlier this month. I’m a little late saying it, but, āThank you, nurses.” And doctors. I’m really a lucky guy. Lucky to have had fabulous nurses. Lucky to have had a couple of top-notch neurologists. My luck began in August 1980 with Dr. Stanley…
May 4, 2018 Columns by Ed Tobias Website Shows How Much Money Your Doctor Gets from Big Pharma Biogen, a pharmaceutical company that markets half a dozen MS therapies, is accused of paying doctors to prescribe its medications. A former Biogen employee claimed that the company paid fake consulting and speaking fees to doctors who prescribed Avonex (interferon beta-1a) and Tysabri (natalizumab) in 2009 and 2010.Ā The company…
April 5, 2018 Columns by Laura Kolaczkowski Doctor Connections Have you ever been touched by the actions of one of your doctors? I hope we all have experienced special moments with our care providers because these times break down the authoritarian nature of medicine and allow us to interact as people rather than patients. A heartwarming moment took…
October 19, 2017 Columns by Laura Kolaczkowski How Doctors’ Gender Can Influence Opinions on Healthcare Quality There are two doctors. Hereās your choice: One has a patient-centered approach to care, spends more time with you during appointments, and is more empathetic with your concerns. On average, patients under this doctor live longer. The other doctor spends less time in the appointment, struggles to listen…
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 6, 2017 Columns by Mike Knight Large and In Charge: Building a Better MS Care Team āWhat else is going on?ā Matt, our family doctor of more than 15 years, asked. It was at the end of a mid-August appointment, one Iād made due to pain in my right shoulder, elbow, and hand. I wasnāt sure if it was related to MS…
April 19, 2017 Columns by Mike Knight Getting a Second Opinion: Three Heads ā or More ā are Better Than Two It was my 2015 annual check-in, and my neurologist and I were in the exam room. I was sitting on one of those little stools with wheels, he was leaning across the exam table. We had just finished discussing my steadily worsening symptoms and treatment plan, which consisted…