June 17, 2022 Columns by John Connor Five Years of Writing This Column. What a Surprise Compared with living with multiple sclerosis (MS), the anxiety of what on water (Earth has always struck me as a misnomer as water comprises 71% of our planetās surface) I’m going to write about next week is but a slight fluttering. Yer, yer, I know; underneath itās…
June 16, 2022 Columns by Stephen De Marzo The Journey Toward My Primary Progressive MS Diagnosis When I turned 50 in 2013, I blew out the candles, and bam! I was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. I started seeing an endocrinologist and a neurologist, taking daily diabetic medications, and testing my blood sugar every day. At that point, I was not physically disabled in any…
May 27, 2022 Columns by John Connor How I Get Through My Days ā More Importantly, Please Tell Me How You Get Through Yours Todayās youth have to accumulate a range of skills. Everything changes so fast. Parents often have no idea what career their kids even want to follow. Do you know what a UX designer is? Me, neither. This latest social change was revealed to me in a recent Guardian article,…
May 9, 2022 Columns by Ed Tobias MS News That Caught My Eye Last Week: Cannabis, Keto Diet, Tysabri, MS Unknowns Cannabis āHighly Effectiveā Against MS Symptoms, Some Users Report I would’ve expected many users to report that cannabis has been highly effective at treating MS symptoms, not just some. But comments about this study on the MS News Today Facebook page indicate that people have mixed results. Even…
April 29, 2022 Columns by Ed Tobias Remembering My First MS Symptom What was your first MS symptom? Mine ā the one that made me realize something was really wrong ā was my inability to squeeze the toothpaste tube with my left hand one morning. Of course, there were earlier hints of trouble. I was unusually tired while attending a business…
April 11, 2022 Columns by Ed Tobias MS News That Caught My Eye Last Week: Herpes, COVID-19, Exercise, DMT Studies No Link Between Herpes Infection and MS Risk in Genetic Study This is interesting because the Epstein-Barr virus is a member of the herpes family, and recently, a major study indicated a link between Epstein-Barr and MS. Yet, the study reported here concludes there is no link between herpes…
March 11, 2022 Columns by Ed Tobias Can My Wife’s Keto Diet Help My MS? For the past few months, my wife, Laura, has been following a ketogenic diet, and she’s lost a bunch of weight. But in addition to helping people slim down, the low-carb keto diet may have other benefits, including potentially for those with MS. A small study that will be…
March 1, 2022 News by Mary Chapman Patient Experience Takes ‘Shape’ for MS Awareness Month From celebrating artistsā works to sharing stories that bring to life the experience of multiple sclerosis (MS), Multiple Sclerosis Awareness Month is designed to call attention to this neurodegenerative disorder and the nearly 1 million U.S. residents itās thought to affect. MS can cause a host of physical…
February 11, 2022 Columns by John Connor The Big Blue Bag and a ‘Cast Away’ Bed Once upon a time, long, long ago, when I was very young, we British children would be asked, “Whatās through the round window?” The line was from a TV series called “Play School.” The swinging ’60s may have been breaking in London, but culturally, this was the happening show…
February 9, 2022 Columns by Beth Ullah The Jagged Edges of My Altered Reality “You know that place between sleep and awake, that place where you still remember dreaming?ā ā James Matthew Barrie Being diagnosed with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis significantly changed my perception of myself and the surrounding world. This drastic shift has been overwhelming and difficult to accept in many ways. The…
December 16, 2021 News by Yedida Y Bogachkov PhD Management Programs May Help Keep Fatigue Stable Over Long-term Fatigue management ā whether through a symptom-specific self-management program or through general education regarding managing multiple sclerosis (MS) ā may help people with MS in keeping fatigue levels stable in the long term, a recent study suggests. Indeed, the benefits of such programs were found to remain in effect…
November 10, 2021 Columns by Beth Ullah MS Advocacy Gives Me Strength and Purpose I want to help in any way I possibly can. My lonely confusion in the early days after being diagnosed with aggressive relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis was mentally and physically paralyzing. However, this column isnāt about how āHurricane MSā battered my body. Instead, it’s about why I chose to…
October 13, 2021 Columns by Beth Ullah Falling Into Fall: How the Changing Seasons Affect My MS Symptoms “You’re my summer that fades/ To these cold autumn days/ You’re my keepsake, my friend, and my fears/ You’re the strength that’s inside and I swear on my life/ I will always be there by your side.” ā Amber Pacific Autumn has always been my favorite time of year. I…
September 22, 2021 Columns by Beth Ullah Overcoming the Loneliness and Isolation of Aggressive MS āHurricane MS,ā which is how I refer to the aggressive nature of my MS progression, happened quickly and mercilessly. I am aware that my case is particularly unusual, given how aggressive its onset was. This is one of the reasons I feel a sense of purpose in sharing my story…
August 12, 2021 Columns by Jennifer (Jenn) Powell Next Time, Ask Me Why I Need an Accessible Parking Placard To the person who left the note on my windshield: I wish you would have asked. I would have told you that I have secondary progressive multiple sclerosis, a neurological disease that impairs my ability to walk. My MS has worsened over time and will continue to progress. I can’t…
July 27, 2021 Columns by Jessie Ace Focusing on What I Can Do Rather Than What I Can’t This year, Iāve been acutely aware that my body isn’t perfect. Sometimes it doesnāt move well. Sometimes it cuts off sensation in my limbs without notice. Sometimes it gets wiped out from fatigue. Sometimes itās like MS shakes up my head so hard, like a can of soda, that I…
July 16, 2021 Columns by Ed Tobias Using Cannabis to Treat Your MS? A Word of Caution People with MS who are using cannabis take heed: A research letter published in May in JAMA Network Open reports that calls to poison control centers about people intentionally or inadvertently using plant-based or processed cannabis products have been increasing over the past several years. Public health officials are…
February 23, 2021 Columns by Jessie Ace Why It’s Important to Promptly Address Changes in MS Symptoms Tingling fluttered down my spine and into my butt.Ā āWhat on earth was that?ā I thought. I bent my head forward again, andĀ the same thing happened.Ā āOK, thatās weird.ā I sat on our spare…
January 21, 2021 Columns by Jennifer (Jenn) Powell Comparing Ourselves With Others Doesn’t Improve Our Symptoms Almost every characteristic of multiple sclerosis differs for each of us who has the disease. While we share commonalities inherent to multiple sclerosis that make us similar to one another, much about the way our disease manifests is unique. This is why MS is sometimes referred to as the “…
October 15, 2020 News by Joana Carvalho, PhD New Immune Cells Therapy Found to Suppress MS Symptoms in EAE Mice Scientists developed a new therapy for multiple sclerosis (MS) that prevents immune cells from exiting the lymph nodes and entering the spinal cord of mice with experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) ā a condition that mimics MS in humans. The therapy, which consists of a…
September 17, 2020 News by Joana Carvalho, PhD #MSVirtual2020 – Tysabri Better Than Other DMTs at Easing Some MS Symptoms Tysabri (natalizumab) is superior to other disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) at improving balance and vision, easing bladder problems and sexual dysfunction, and alleviating anxiety in people with multiple sclerosis (MS), according to data from an Australian study. The study’s findings were presented at…
August 4, 2020 Columns by Jessie Ace 3 Ways People Respond to Your MS Diagnosis ā and 3 Alternatives After you get a new diagnosis and are coming to terms with a new way of life, the next part is especially tricky. You have to tell others. “Urgh. I donāt want to tell anyone! Why do I have to?” Iāve had this conversation with myself more than once.
August 3, 2020 Columns by Ed Tobias MS News That Caught My Eye Last Week: Symptom Progression, Lower Urinary Symptoms, Tysabri, IL-17A Protein Study Order Seen in Motor Skills Affected by MS, With Walking Taking First Hit Read this headline carefully. It reports that walking takes the “first hit,” but that doesn’t mean it’s the first MS symptom people experience. My first symptoms involved vision, fatigue, and hand strength. But true to the…
July 10, 2020 News by Joana Carvalho, PhD Trial of Cannabis Derivatives in Treating MS Spasticity to Open in Canada The Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada and its partner, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), have invested CA$1.5 million to open a clinical trialĀ that will investigate the potential of two cannabis derivatives ā cannabidiol (CBD) and tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) ā in treatingĀ spasticity (muscle stiffness) and other…
June 18, 2020 Columns by Tamara Sellman Need to Know: What Is Nystagmus and How Does It Affect MS Patients? Editor’s note: “Need to Knowā 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 post, āDo you have eye issues due to MS?,ā published Oct. 28, 2018.
April 10, 2020 Columns by John Connor Becoming Self-absorbed with MS During the Pandemic With everything being so awful, the goal is to write uplifting copy. OK, sounds like my sort of gig. One way of dealing with things is to become self-absorbed with the old MS. I think it’s getting jealous. How can a mere virus get all this attention? MS: “I’m far…
September 6, 2019 Columns by Ed Tobias Social Cognition: Does It Impact MS Symptoms? Feeling tired, depressed, or anxious? Maybe it has to do with your social cognition. Social cognition involves empathy and recognizing the emotions that are revealed by someone’s facial expression. That expression may show fear or disgust. Or it may warn us of danger. Social cognition also involves the…
August 1, 2019 Columns by Tamara Sellman Need to Know: Is My Vertigo Caused by MS? Editor’s note: “Need to Knowā 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 topicĀ “Multiple Sclerosis-related Vertigo: What Can You Do?” from Nov. 23,…
March 11, 2019 Columns by Debi Wilson What to Consider When Supplementing B Vitamins for MS Symptom Relief Research findsĀ that a deficiency of B vitamins may play a role in multiple sclerosis (MS) symptoms. On the other hand, supplementation of the vitamins may help. There are eight essential B vitamins: B1, B2, B3, B5, B6, B7, B9, and B12. The large variety can be confusing when…
January 14, 2019 Columns by Debi Wilson Vitamin D May Help Lessen MS Symptoms, Some Studies Suggest To grasp the connection between vitamin D and multiple sclerosis (MS), it is first important to understand this vitamin’s power. It is one of the “superhero” vitamins needed to help keep our bodies functioning properly. According to the Cleveland Clinic, vitamin D is essential for us to absorb the…