News, info and tips for living with multiple sclerosis
I thought I finally had this bladder thing licked. After years of urinary urgency and frequency, I’d been doing much better. I was sleeping at least seven hours a night without having to go to the bathroom, and bathroom trips were less frequent in the daytime, too. When traveling by car, the once common question “How long to the next rest area?” became less of a concern. During our annual…Continue Reading
A couple weeks ago, my wife and I rolled up our sleeves and got our shots again. No, not the COVID-19 vaccine. We’ve already had two of those shots, and expect to receive a third before Thanksgiving. Our latest shot was the seasonal flu vaccine, which we’ve gotten every year for as long as I can remember. With all of the attention on COVID-19 vaccines, you may have forgotten about…Continue Reading
I take a bunch of pills every day. Most of them are generics. I’ve used baclofen to treat my leg spasticity, oxybutynin for my bladder, and modafinil to fight my MS fatigue. There’s also atorvastatin to keep my cholesterol in check, and levothyroxine to do the same for my thyroid levels. All are generics. Over the years, I’ve read many social media comments from people questioning whether generics are as…Continue Reading
I’ve had pee problems for as long as I’ve had multiple sclerosis. Many folks with MS have these issues, including urinary urgency, frequency, or both, bladders that don’t empty completely, or streams that don’t start when you need to go. There are medications to treat these problems. The best known is probably Ditropan (oxybutynin), which has been around for quite a while. I’ve been taking the generic oxybutynin once a…Continue Reading
Could a cannabis spray be just what the doctor ordered to treat our MS symptoms? I’m talking about Sativex (nabiximols), which has been developed as a treatment for moderate and severe MS spasticity. Sativex combines THC, the chef intoxicant in marijuana, with CBD, marijuana’s nonpsychoactive component. It’s sprayed under the tongue or inside the cheek several times a day. The treatment has been approved in several countries, including the U.K.…Continue Reading
Sometimes it seems as if people with MS are asked to flip a coin to make what’s arguably the most important decision they make about their treatment: which disease-modifying therapy (DMT) to use. More than 20 DMTs are approved in the U.S. and many of those are available in the rest of the world. There are pills, injections, and infusions, and their efficacy, side effects, and costs vary significantly. One…Continue Reading
As comic Rodney Dangerfield might have said, older people with MS “just don’t get no respect.” By older, I mean those of us who are 55 and up. By respect, I mean attention from researchers and from some neurologists. So, as I approach my 73rd birthday, I have to tip my cap to doctors Eva Strijbis, Anne Kerbrat, and John Corboy for some respect they’re showing to us older people…Continue Reading
The journal JAMA Neurology recently reported that a 78-year-old man with progressive multiple sclerosis died after being diagnosed with the brain disease progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML). The man, diagnosed with MS about 30 years ago, had been treated for two years with Ocrevus (ocrelizumab), and had no previous immunotherapy. As of last December, 10 cases of PML had been reported in people being treated with Ocrevus since the U.S. Food…Continue Reading
If you’re having trouble paying for your MS drugs, you’re not alone. I regularly see social media posts from people whose insurance has changed or whose insurance company has suddenly dropped a medication from its formulary (the list of medications it will pay for). Or, it has decided that you must change from a brand name drug to a generic one. Sometimes the problem is that the person with MS…Continue Reading
The advice issued last week by the U.S.-based National Multiple Sclerosis Society about COVID-19 vaccination couldn’t be clearer: “Get your vaccine as soon as it is available to you.” The new MS Society guidelines say that the two COVID-19 vaccines currently available in the U.S., both of which use an mRNA model, are “safe and effective.” The risk of contracting severe COVID-19 far outweighs any potential vaccination risks, they add.…Continue Reading