October 29, 2020 Columns by Jennifer (Jenn) Powell Seeking Permission to Escape I have been living in the land of Netflix. It went from a place I would visit from time to time to a home away from home. In between life’s moments, I find myself teleported to the land of escape. I become lost amid the complexity of characters and the…
September 29, 2020 Columns by Jessie Ace Internal Conflict Could Be Affecting Your Symptoms āIām just lazy,ā I told myself. āWhy can’t I do the things I need to do? Iām so exhausted and in pain all the time, I just want to sleep. Are my MS symptoms getting worse?ā My body was driving…
September 25, 2020 Columns by Ed Tobias Moving Madness Means MS Stress We’re moving and I’m stressed. That’s redundant, I know, as moving is simply stress on wheels ā which isn’t good for someone with MS. Studies have shown a link between stressful life events and MS exacerbations, known as flares. Researchers, if you’re reading this, please keep a watch on…
September 4, 2020 Columns by John Connor Einstein Said Time Is Relative, but Not For This Relative Albert Einstein proved that the faster you go, the less you’ll age compared with those you left at home. This effect, however, is imperceptible unless you have the ability to approach light speed or hang out near the gravity well of a black hole, which is another part of his…
June 2, 2020 News by Marisa Wexler, MS Pain and Disturbed Sleep May Be Earliest Symptoms of MS, Study Suggests Symptoms including sleep disorders and pain may precede by as many as five years the onset of the more well-known symptoms of multiple sclerosis (MS), a study suggests. Understanding these first symptoms could aid in an early diagnosis, allowing treatment to begin at initial stages of disease. The…
May 28, 2020 Columns by Tamara Sellman Need to Know: What Does MS Progression Mean? 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 “Number, Location, Size of Lesions on MRI Can Predict Progression to MS,”…
May 8, 2020 Columns by John Connor Putting Down the Ritz My stomach is grumbling. Iāve just had the worst weekend ever. And that includes when I had my first sclerosis and smashed my shoulder to pieces on a tennis court. I mentioned last week that I didnāt want to write about C. diff., but this appalling infectious bacteria…
April 14, 2020 Columns by Jessie Ace An April Fools’ Joke that Wasn’t Very Funny “I canāt move my head,” I thought.Ā It was 5 a.m. on April 1, and the realization of my full bladder prompted my wakening. But I soon realized I had a more significant issue that only became apparent when I tried to get up and couldn’t. What on…
April 2, 2020 Columns by Tamara Sellman That Time When MS Left Me at a Loss for Words Editor’s note: This week’s column is inspired by the forum topic “7 Strange and Unusual Symptoms of Multiple Sclerosis” from Nov. 8, 2019. Post your concerns, questions, or experiences in the comments below or at the original forum entry. People with MS often share the symptoms that prompted…
November 26, 2019 Columns by Jessie Ace From New Hope Emerged an Old Nightmare I was bruised, broken, and in pain. I had been struggling with Rebif (interferon beta-1a) side effects for over a year, ever since my diagnosis. It was the first multiple sclerosis medication doctors put me on, and it did not work…
November 15, 2019 Columns by John Connor This Could Be the Last Time Fear grips me. Marijuana relaxes, eases pain, and helps my body work better. It also stirs paranoia, but only when you let it. In bed, a fretful waking dream. This is a problem when you actually have something to be paranoid about! I don’t remember all my last times…
November 8, 2019 Columns by John Connor MS Really Enjoys Hitting Below the Belt I didn’t file a column last week due to medical reasons. It’s a perfect excuse for a patient columnist ā we don’t need a dog to blame for eating our homework. The multiple sclerosis dog is more than happy to put us on the floor; in my case, even three…
November 8, 2019 News by Mary Chapman āSoothie Cushionā Designed to Regulate Body Temperature in Travelers With MS, Other Disabilities Newly launched, theĀ Soothie Cushion is designed to provide seating comfort and help regulate the body temperature of travelers with disabilities, including multiple sclerosis (MS) and myasthenia gravis, says its official retailer, Special Needs Group/Special Needs at Sea (SNG). The product is said to offer enduring comfort…
October 18, 2019 Columns by John Connor This Week, I Feel Like I’m Growing Up Again As I sit down (nothing unusual there ā all I do these days is sit down!) and write this, I’m 62 years and one day old. On Saturday morning, it felt like I still had a few days to go before I reached the heady height of a 2-year-old. I’m…
October 11, 2019 Columns by Ed Tobias It’s Not All in Your Head Several days ago, the headline “It’s All in Your Head” jumped out at me. The author of the Journal of the American Medical Association article, Matthew Burke, is a neurologist at Harvard Medical School who specializes in neuropsychiatry. According to Burke, the problem of physicians telling patients that unexplainable…
September 6, 2019 Columns by John Connor Under Pressure There’s always something. The trouble with a mĆ©lange of complex medical issues is that one good action often can lead to a bad secondary one. It’s like a game of consequences that unfortunately not only injures your psyche, but also leaves a mark on the body. In my case, it…
June 5, 2019 News by Mary Chapman 12-part Video Series, ‘Understanding Multiple Sclerosis,’ Available Online In partnership with @Point of Care, the Multiple Sclerosis Association of America (MSAA) is offering a comprehensive educational video series about multiple sclerosis (MS). The concise, 12-part series ā titled āUnderstanding Multiple Sclerosisā ā Ā features neurologist and MS expert Michelle T. Fabian, MD, and covers…
May 9, 2019 Columns by Tamara Sellman Need to Know: What Is the ‘Barber Chair Phenomenon’? 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 topicĀ “Lhermitte’s Sign…” from May 4, 2018. What is the barber chair phenomenon? This…
December 14, 2018 Columns by John Connor Betwixt and Between Usually, I have an idea of what I’m going to write. Today, all I feel is a bit meeeeughĀ … Which is more a sound of ennui than a recognizable word. In these days of multimedia, I suppose I should record it and insert the clip into the text, but…
December 14, 2018 News by Santiago Gisler MS Patients Report Beneficial Effects of Cannabis With Few Side Effects, Survey Shows Many multiple sclerosis (MS) patients report that cannabis has beneficial effects on their symptoms with minimal side effects, according to a survey that also showed that varying effects on health may be due to differences in how users consume cannabis. Findings from the survey were reported in the…
November 9, 2018 News by Alberto Molano, PhD Study Highlights Need for Better Engagement Between MS Patients and Healthcare Providers Multiple sclerosis (MS) relapses can be challenging for some patients, and better engagement is needed between patients and their healthcare providers, a study focused on patient experiences has found. The study, titled āRelapse prevalence, symptoms, and health care engagement: patient insights from the Multiple Sclerosis in America 2017 survey,ā…
August 2, 2018 News by Ana Pena PhD Multiple Sclerosis Patients Identify Symptoms that Worsen Quality of Life Loss of health-related quality of life is caused mostly by balance problems, muscle stiffness, and depression in people with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS),Ā and for those with progressive MS, the causes are muscle rigidity, paralysis, weakness, and pain, according toĀ a…
August 1, 2018 News by Diogo Pinto Pregnancy Worsens Symptoms in MS Patients, Study Finds Pregnancy, including successful delivery or miscarriage, worsensĀ symptoms of multiple sclerosis (MS), as well as onset of the disease, a retrospective study shows. Researchers found the same effect of pregnancy on neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorders (NMOSD), an inflammatory disorder of the central nervous system characterized by demyelination and damage of…
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 21, 2018 News by Kara Elam Webinar Focuses on Importance of Maintaining Independence for Progressive MS Patients When a progressively debilitating disease like multiple sclerosis (MS) causes a patient to feel physically āwiped outā after a simple daily activity, such as a shower, it is of utmost importance for these individuals and the people in their support system to understand how they can maintain independence for…
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…
March 27, 2018 Columns by Ed Tobias Is MS Keeping Me from Smelling the Roses? For years, my wife and I have disagreed about smells. She smells something and I don’t. I tell her that her nose is too sensitive. She tells me to get out the air freshener. Over the 37 years since my MS diagnosis,Ā this conversation has happened thousands of times.
March 22, 2018 Columns by Laura Kolaczkowski Modafinil or Amantadine: Who Decides? Fatigue. That No. 1 symptom that a large majority of people with multiple sclerosis are affected by. MS fatigue. It can be crushing, numbing, and stop the hardiest person in their tracks. I know MS fatigue all too well because it affects me all the time. Combating MS…
February 20, 2018 Columns by Ed Tobias Looking for Healthcare Answers on the Internet Can Drive You Nuts I know, I know. I write about health issues on the internet, so I shouldn’t be discouraging people from looking for answers here. But, searching the internet to match symptoms with a diagnosis can be a real anxiety booster. Emily Sohn makes a solid case for that…
February 8, 2018 Columns by Jennifer (Jenn) Powell Mercury Rising: Heat and MS My favorite season is fall, which is almost tied with winter, then spring, and finally, summer. I love fall for being the beginning of the holiday season as well as for the change in temperature. Although, since moving to Southern California, it…