pain

Noninvasive Brain Stimulation Can Ease Some MS Symptoms: Review

Noninvasive brain stimulation (NIBS) may be able to reduce fatigue, spasticity, and pain, and improve quality of life in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS), a new meta-analysis reports. The review assessed several NIBS interventions targeting different brain regions. The results suggest that these techniques can have immediate effects…

The World According to MS Ennui

Move along, move along. Nothing to read here. What a great start to a column! Last week, my worries about MS lifted as I was consumed by a glitch in my computer software. Iā€™m pleased to report that Iā€™ve found a whole series of admittedly fiddly workarounds. Iā€™m even…

On the Healing Powers of THC

I have to admit, Iā€™ve wheeled down the THC path a few times before. Yes, I know itā€™s very difficult to stay on the path when under the influence. Luckily, I’ve solved this problem by only imbibing in bed. I say imbibing, because for me, smoking the stuff is…

Assessing My Pain, From Zero to 10

Lately, I’ve been thinking about pain ā€” specifically, how to count my pain. When I was lying on a treatment table while my physical therapist Richard manipulated my shoulder, he asked me to rate my pain, on a scale from one to 10. I’m sure many of you…

Pain, Fatigue, Anxiety Common in First Year After CIS/MS Diagnosis

People newly diagnosed with clinically isolated syndrome (CIS) or multiple sclerosis (MS) frequently experience pain, fatigue, depression, and anxiety in the first year after diagnosis, a new study finds. Fatigue was reported by almost two-thirds of new patients, and half experienced pain. Many individuals experienced multiple symptoms simultaneously,…

MS Presents ā€˜Horror Weekendsā€™

I have always liked the odd horror movie, the odder the better. I was a bit of a fan of the trash Troma Studio mob, where their tongue was so firmly in their cheek it usually stuck right through it. For you youngsters out there, think the “Sharknado”…

Be Warned: Another Column All About My MS and Me!

Many years ago I thrust myself into the Edinburgh International Festival. For the many who have never heard of it: It’s the largest arts festival in the world, encompassing theater, mime, dance, comedy, film, books, and sometimes even a splash of opera. For some reason I even sat through…

My Own ‘Left Hand of Darkness’

I was listening to a BBC podcast recently titled “The Sinister Hand,” about the history of left-handers. It seems that in medieval times, left-handedness was associated with sorcery. (What wasn’t?) It was only relatively recently that left-handed children were no longer forced to write right-handed ā€” sometimes even…

What Do You See When You See Me?

If I were using a wheelchair, would you question why I use a handicapped placard? Perhaps some (or all) of the condemnation I now receive would diminish. Maybe the notes left on my windshield would not be written. Perchance, it might temper some of the ugly comments spoken to my…

Fighting the Beast

It was 3 p.m. last Thursday. Things should have been good. I had filed the copy for my previous column the day before. Ultimately, some of my outrageous musings had gone, and some I considered even worse had stayed. It’s an age-old journalism, radio, and TV writer’s trick: If…

Atlas Biotechnologies to Fund Research into Cannabis Treatment for MS, Similar Diseases

Atlas BiotechnologiesĀ will fund and provide support to three research projects at the University of AlbertaĀ to possibly identify cannabis component(s) that could help people with neurological diseases likeĀ multiple sclerosis (MS). The cannabis plant produces hundreds of biological compounds, the best-known being tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) ā€” the psychoactive compound primarily…