The MS Wire

News, info and tips for living with multiple sclerosis

Category: Drugs

My MS Routine Changes – Blame it on COVID-19

N95mask. Blame it on covid-19

I canceled my April blood draw. The protocol for Lemtrada (alemtuzumab) requires lab work each month because the treatment can have serious side effects. But I spoke with my neurologist and we decided that I could skip it. Blame it on COVID-19. My legs are stiffer than they were two months ago. My walking is slower. I’ve postponed my semiannual neurologist visit. Blame it on COVID-19. But my decisions have…Continue Reading

MS Meds or Food: A Tough Choice

ms meds or food

Forced by medication costs to choose between regularly taking their medications or buying groceries, some people with multiple sclerosis are choosing the groceries. Some are skipping doses and others have stopped taking their disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) entirely. This troubling news is reported in a survey by the National Multiple Sclerosis Society (NMSS). The results show that about 40 percent of those surveyed have skipped or stopped taking their DMTs because…Continue Reading

Stem Cell Transplants Versus DMTs – A trial seeks participants

Stem cell therapy

People with multiple sclerosis have been waiting for this: A full-scale clinical trial testing the effectiveness of stem cell transplans as an MS treatment. The trial is being conducted by the U.S. National Institutes of Health, and it’s enrolling people with MS at several centers in the United States and one in the United Kingdom. The U.S. has been behind the curve when it comes to approving stem cell transplants for…Continue Reading

Are You Willing to Accept More Risk Than Your Neuro?

Weighing risk

As more high-efficacy disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) are being made available, people with multiple sclerosis have to decide how much risk they’re willing to accept in exchange for the treatment’s potential benefits. It’s a tough decision, not made any easier if a patient’s neurologist is unwilling to accept much risk. According to researchers at the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf in Germany, when it comes to one highly effective DMT, patients are…Continue Reading

My Lemtrada Journey: Round 2 Plus 18 Months

Lemtrada journey

It’s time for another update on how I’ve been doing with my Lemtrada journey. The headline is I’m doing well. Lemtrada (alemtuzumab) is a disease-modifying therapy (DMT) delivered in two stages. The first stage entails a series of five daily infusions, while the second stage involves three daily infusions, given a year later. The medication has shown some success in slowing or halting MS disease progression in many, and has…Continue Reading

How Old is Too Old for Aggressive MS Treatment?

Aggressive MS treatment

A question raised by neurologist Gavin Giovannoni on the Barts-MS blog lit up my radar recently. Dr. G asked whether “elderly” people with MS should be treated differently than those who are younger. The question arises because a case of progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML), a serious brain disease, was recently reported in a 76-year-old MS patient. According to the blog, citing Roche Pharmaceuticals, the man has had MS a long…Continue Reading

Flu Shots and Vaccines: Neuros Say Benefits Outweigh Risks

New vaccine guidelines from neurlogists' association

This is the time of year when my wife and I start thinking about getting our flu shots. We’ve already had the pneumonia and the older shingles vaccine and hope to soon update with the new shingles vaccine, Shingrix (recombinant zoster vaccine). These vaccines are OK with my neurologist and my primary care doctor. They’re also OK with the American Academy of Neurology. The academy has updated its vaccine guidelines…Continue Reading

Making the Right MS Medication Decision

Making right MS medication decisionn

An MS medication decision is one of the most difficult decisions for someone with MS and their neurologist to make. After 39 years with MS, and with four disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) on my medical chart, I’m definitely on the hit-it-fast, hit-it-hard side of that treatment decision. So, I was pleased to read an article in Brain & Life magazine reporting that “doctors today are less likely to wait to start…Continue Reading

Marijuana May Complicate Surgery

marijuana complicate surgery

If you’re using marijuana and have surgery scheduled, take heed. In Colorado, where medical marijuana was legalized in 2000 and recreational use was okayed in 2012, medical personnel are discovering that marijuana may complicate that surgery. The concern, according to an article in Kaiser Health News, is that marijuana use may “affect patients’ responses to anesthesia on the operating table” and “either help or hinder their symptoms afterward in the…Continue Reading

Does Your Neuro Consider Your MS Medication Costs?

medication costs

Does your doctor think about what your medication costs will be when prescribing your MS meds? A few months ago I wrote a post about why some people stop, or skip, their MS meds. One of the reasons is that they can’t afford the out-of-pocket MS medication costs. A suggested solution is to talk with your doctor about cost whenever a new medication is suggested. But, according to the Centers…Continue Reading