July 17, 2018 Columns by Ed Tobias My Lemtrada Journey: A Little Dip on the Roller Coaster I’m now three months past my second round of Lemtrada treatments, so it’s time for an update. I began Lemtrada (alemtuzumab) in December 2016, hoping it will be the last disease-modifying therapy that I’ll ever need to use. I’ve had peaks and valleys since this treatment began, thus…
July 13, 2018 Columns by John Connor Steering My Own Boat and Making a Splash The U.K.’s National Health Service (NHS) turned 70 last week. In England, yes, we are mourning our semi-final defeat by Croatia in the World Cup, but to most of us, the NHS is the U.K.’s crowning glory. There are innumerable problems and proposed solutions involving the institution, yet…
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 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…
April 17, 2018 Columns by Ed Tobias I Hope My MS Treatments Are Done for Good With apologies to Edgar Allan Poe, quoth the Lemmie, “Nevermore.” As I write this, the final brown bag of Lemtrada (alemtuzumab) has just begun to drip into a vein in my left arm. If all goes “as advertised,” this will be the final disease-modifying therapy I’ll ever receive.
April 16, 2018 Columns by Ed Tobias MS News that Caught My Eye Last Week: New Lemtrada Side Effect, MS Cooling Vests, and Drug Infection Risks Acute Acalculous Cholecystitis Linked to Lemtrada Use in RRMS Patients, FDA Reports The makers of Lemtrada have added the possibility of another serious side effect to the warning carried on the therapy’s label. The addition follows a Food and Drug Administration review that discovered a potentially serious…
April 10, 2018 Columns by Ed Tobias Lemtrada Round 2: My Drip Stops Here As you read this, I likely will be in the middle of, or finished with, my second round of Lemtrada (alemtuzumab). Hopefully, this will be the final round of this disease-modifying therapy (DMT), and the final MS treatment of any kind, for me. Though some have required more,…
February 12, 2018 Columns by Ed Tobias MS News that Caught My Eye Last Week: 3rd Round of Lemtrada, Ampyra’s Possibilities, Long-term MD1003, Possible PML Treatment #ACTRIMS2018 ā Third Course of Lemtrada Improves Relapse, Disability in MS Patients, CARE-MS II Trial Shows The normal treatment regimen with Lemtrada is a series of two treatment courses, with the second infusion course given 12 months after the first. A “selling point” for this disease-modifying therapy (DMT) is…
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…
October 30, 2017 Columns by Ed Tobias MS News That Caught My Eye Last Week: #MSParis, Biotin, Tysabri, Lemtrada, Propionic Acid Reports There’s been a lot of interest in the treatments (including natural treatments) for progressive MS that were presented at the ECTRIMS-ACTRIMS conference in Paris last week. Here are a few of our reports involving that research. #MSParis2017 ā MedDayās High-Dose Biotin, MD1003, Improves Disability in Progressive MS…
October 9, 2017 Columns by Ed Tobias MS News that Caught My Eye Last Week: Lemtrada, Copaxone Generic, ATL1102 Trial, and Brain Stimulation Lemtrada Prevented Progression of Multiple Sclerosis for Five Years, Study Shows Full disclosure: I’m being treated with Lemtrada, so any news about it lights up my radar like a Christmas tree. I’m 10 months post-round 1 and am doing well ā and this news looks like it’s…
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…
June 30, 2017 Columns by Ed Tobias My Lemtrada Journey: A 6āMonth Report It’s been a little over six months since I completed Round 1 of my Lemtrada infusions, so it’s time again to ask myself, “How am I doing?” The answer: I’m not sure. For many years, my brain MRI has remained unchanged. I can’t remember the last time…
May 2, 2017 Columns by Ed Tobias My Lemtrada Journey: Do You Think You’re Walking Better? “Do you think you’re walking better?” The question came from my wife, Laura. It’s now about 4 1/2 months since my first round of Lemtrada infusions and I’ve had ups and downs physically. The day she asked, I was feeling pretty good. I also think I’ve been…
January 10, 2017 Columns by Ed Tobias Lemtrada for My MS: First Month Report It’s been a month since I completed my first round of Lemtrada infusions, so it’s time to bring everyone up to date on how things are going. I was told to expect a roller coaster of side effects. I’m pleased to say that, at least so far, it’s…
December 13, 2016 Columns by Ed Tobias My Lemtrada Infusion: Five Days Done I’ll admit I was nervous as I sat in the infusion chair for Day 1 of Round 1 of my Lemtrada (alemtuzumab) infusions. I’d read a lot, and talked with my neurologist a lot, about the drug. I knew the benefits of Lemtrada could be great. My multiple sclerosis…