living with MS

I don’t know if you’ve heard or not, but there’s this coronavirus thing going around. And it is disrupting everything from concerts and conferences to schools and my kids’ recreation sports leagues. Don’t get me wrong, as a person who lives with multiple sclerosis (MS) and is therefore immunocompromised,…

What happens if you have MS and you’ve tested positive for COVID-19? How will the disease affect your disease-modifying therapies and your MS? Dr. Barry Singer, (@drbarrysinger), a neurologist who directs The MS Center for Innovations in Care in St. Louis, has posed…

With March being Multiple Sclerosis Awareness Month, I got to thinking: What have I done — or what do I do — to raise MS awareness? I’ll count some ways to fly the orange flag. Maybe you’ll find inspiration. Communications I’m a writer, so obviously I use my skill…

“It’s the end of the world as we know it.” — R.E.M. Welcome to the world of COVID-19. Coronaviruses aren’t new: severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) are both coronaviruses. But this uninvited guest, COVID-19, the illness caused by the novel coronavirus, has…

Older age, a greater number of health conditions, and prior hospital admissions are associated with more hospitalizations due to all causes among people with multiple sclerosis (MS). However, MS-related hospitalizations decrease as patients age, and are less frequent among women, according to a study analyzing more than two decades…

Sexual dysfunction is prevalent among women with multiple sclerosis (MS), and one way physicians can help improve their patients’ quality of life is to ask them about the problem. That finding is detailed in the study “Sexual dysfunction in women with multiple sclerosis: prevalence and impact on…

When I received my multiple sclerosis diagnosis, I was told that my immune system is a little weaker than most people’s and I am more susceptible to getting sick. But I didn’t realize how easy it would be to catch a cold until I did. No matter what…

About 85% of people with multiple sclerosis (MS) using cannabis find it to be helpful for pain, and 79% find it eases spasticity, a new study reports. The study, “Cannabis use in people with multiple sclerosis and spasticity: A cross-sectional analysis,” was published in…

A little over 20 years ago, Montel Williams learned once and for all that he had multiple sclerosis (MS). But that determination should have happened long before then, said the well-known TV personality — who’s made fighting the neurodegenerative disease his life’s mission. Williams, 63, was the star attraction…

People with multiple sclerosis have unique concerns about the new coronavirus and the COVID-19 disease that it causes. Many of us use disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) that suppress our immune systems and give us an extra element to worry about when we plan our defense against this virus. To help us…

Editor’s note: “Need to Know” is a series inspired by common forum questions and comments from readers. Have a comment or question about MS? Visit our forum. This week’s question is inspired by the post, “…

The Multiple Sclerosis Association of America (MSAA) is offering a host of educational activities on wellness strategies that address both the mind and body in its efforts to mark Multiple Sclerosis Awareness Month. Each year, a month is set aside to heighten awareness of multiple sclerosis (MS),…

Like many people with multiple sclerosis, my symptoms are mostly invisible. Many days, fatigue overwhelms me and I have pain somewhere. I tingle all over. I have weird sensory symptoms such as the feeling of water…

As multiple sclerosis (MS) patients live longer, researchers have observed similarities between changes in their brains and in the brains of Alzheimer‘s patients, a study found. Understanding whether these changes are the result of worsening MS-related neurodegeneration or co-occuring (comorbid) Alzheimer’s disease will help guide better treatment…

An multi-sensor band worn on the arm or leg, called Myo, can capture and relay difficulties with limb movement due to multiple sclerosis (MS) with an accuracy that mirrors gold standard measures of disability, like the Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS), a study reports. These findings support the…

As someone with 16 years of MS experience, I’ve grown to hate needles. I only have to give myself three shots a week now instead of seven, but I dread shot days as if they were the proverbial plague. Needles are awkward and uncomfortable. They make travel more difficult. Sometimes…

Editor’s note: “Need to Know” is a series inspired by common forum questions and comments from readers. Have a comment or question about MS? Visit our forum. This week’s question is inspired by the forum topic “Searching for a diagnosis” from May 14, 2018. Did you undergo evoked potential…

The National Multiple Sclerosis Society (NMSS) is marking Multiple Sclerosis Awareness Week, March 8-14, by sharing patients’ stories and encouraging participation in fundraising and advocacy efforts. Each year, a week is set aside to heighten awareness of multiple sclerosis (MS), a neurodegenerative disorder that affects nearly 1 million people in…

Modulating the bacteria that reside in the gut by treating multiple sclerosis (MS) patients with probiotics, fecal transplants, or gut-related microRNAs may help to ease inflammation and disease severity, researchers with Brigham and Women’s Hospital suggest. Howard Weiner, MD, a group leader at the hospital, presented his team’s findings on…

Being disabled constricts what my body does — but I’m still me. For a long time, I was trapped as I could no longer self-propel my self-propelled wheelchair. Then last summer, my powered one turned up! Wham-bam-crash-slam! Never delicate, I instantly got to slam around in my very own…

Feb. 29 is Rare Disease Day. It’s a day on which those in the rare disease community attempt to raise awareness about their diseases. I don’t think MS should be included. With about 2.5 million people worldwide in the MS community, I don’t consider it to be rare.

Editor’s note: “Need to Know” is a series inspired by common forum questions and comments from readers. Have a comment or question about MS? Visit our forums. This week’s question is inspired by the forum topic “Do you have mood swings? What helps?” from Nov. 27, 2018. Do you…

I have secondary progressive multiple sclerosis and I am rare. In honor of Rare Disease Day on Feb. 29, I honor myself. I honor you and anyone else with a rare disease. I have been asked if multiple sclerosis qualifies as a rare disease. It does if…

Being diagnosed with a chronic illness isn’t easy by any stretch of the imagination. It comes with a new medical language to learn, a plethora of lengthy appointments, an impressive amount of blood tests, and a lot of frustration. But does it lead…

There’s a story I love to tell about my dad, a retail warrior with more than 30 years of experience under his belt. And it’s one that I think is apropos for those of us dealing with multiple sclerosis. Back in the 1980s when he was a department manager…

The Spanish version of the modified Story Memory Technique improves learning and life satisfaction of Mexican patients with multiple sclerosis (MS), a new study suggests.  The tool, developed by the Kessler Foundation, has the potential to address the lack of cognitive rehabilitation interventions that are culturally…

Editor’s note: “Need to Know” is a series inspired by common forum questions and comments from readers. Have a comment or question about MS? Visit our forum. This week’s question is inspired by the forum topic “My Service Dog Changed My Life” from July 17, 2018.  One of my…

I am hyperaware of the fragility of life. More specifically, the fragility of mine. Secondary progressive multiple sclerosis is an autoimmune disease. My immune system eats away at the myelin sheath surrounding my nerves. My disease-modifying therapy is an immunosuppressant. This further weakens my immunity. I have known…

The new year brings many changes, including the last year of my clinical trial. When I think about the past seven years, I am thankful for the opportunity to join the trial when I did and receive personal care that made fighting MS easier. It may sound crazy, but…

Urinary incontinence,  associated with poor functioning of the muscles in the pelvic area, was found to have a negative impact on daily activities like walking and overall quality of life in people with multiple sclerosis (MS), a study shows. Adding pelvic floor muscle training to an MS…