The MS Wire

News, info and tips for living with multiple sclerosis

Category: Living with MS

Time for the beach, if we can reach it

Wheelchair at the beach

Memorial Day, the unofficial start of summer vacation in the U.S., is fast approaching. It’s almost time for some summer beach fun — if we can get there. Beaches can be difficult, if not impossible, to access for many people with multiple sclerosis. But times seem to be slowly changing. A disability-friendly beach house Last summer, my friend Sara Loud, the CEO of the nonprofit Accelerated Cure Project for MS…Continue Reading

5 hopes for the MS future

never lose hope for the ms future

A recent post on the MS-Selfie blog asks and answers this question: What is the “greatest unmet need” concerning multiple sclerosis? Professor Gavin Giovannoni, the London-based neurologist who writes that blog, lists five unmet needs, many of which I agree with. But those needs are from the viewpoint of someone who treats MS. Here are some thoughts from someone who has lived with MS for nearly 43 years. These are…Continue Reading

Does artificial intelligence have a place in your doctor’s office?

artificial intelligence

Is artificial intelligence (AI) intelligent enough to help with a multiple sclerosis (MS) diagnosis? Apparently so, and more. In the U.K. a project named AssistMS is studying whether AI can be used to detect and highlight changes on brain MRIs. An algorithm called icobain ms is said to be able to to detect lesions in the brain, measure brain volume, and report on how each changes over time. “Neurologists will…Continue Reading

Stupid on my scooter and over it goes

My mobility scooter

Oops! I took a turn too fast in the parking lot of my condo the other morning and tipped to the left. And with that, my mobility scooter and I headed for a fall. Do you know the feeling when something bad is about to happen and there’s nothing you can do to stop it? I had that feeling. Five seconds seemed like 50 as the 325-pound scooter began to…Continue Reading

Will layoffs change the MS focus at Biogen?

Biogen layoffs

Biogen has been a top dog in the multiple sclerosis treatment field for decades. The pharmaceutical giant developed Avonex (interferon beta-1a), approved in the U.S. in 1996 as one of the first disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) for MS. I remember how excited I was to be participating in its Phase 3 clinical trial. “Finally, there’s a medication that might stop my MS,” I thought. MS medications, such as Avonex, have long…Continue Reading

Was it my MS or some meat that caused my urinary tract infection?

urinary tract infection

Many people with multiple sclerosis have experienced a urinary tract infection (UTI) at some point. It’s a common problem with MS and can be caused by a number of things, such as the inability to fully empty the bladder or the need to self-catheterize. Symptoms can include urinary frequency and urgency, a burning pain while urinating, abdominal pain, and foul-smelling urine that looks milky or cloudy. Urinary tract infections can…Continue Reading

Who’s in Charge, You or Your Neurologist?

To be in charge be a boss

Is treating multiple sclerosis only about being treated with a medication? At least one neurologist thinks so, and probably more. The other day, posting in an MS Facebook group, a woman named Debbie wrote about her first visit with a new neurologist: “He asked if I was on a DMD [disease-modifying therapy] and I told him not anymore. I’ve had bad experiences. He told me that he wouldn’t treat me…Continue Reading

Saving With an ABLE Account for Disabled Folks

An ABLE savings account for disabled

Have you ever heard of an ABLE savings account? I hadn’t until a couple weeks ago. The acronym stands for the Achieving a Better Life Experience Act, a law passed by the U.S. Congress in 2014. It created special savings accounts that allow disabled Americans, including people with multiple sclerosis, to save money without jeopardizing their public benefits such as Medicare, Supplemental Security Income (SSI), and food stamps. People in…Continue Reading