The MS Wire

News, info and tips for living with multiple sclerosis

Category: Multiple Sclerosis News Columns

MS medication decisions need guidance

MS medication decisions

More than 15 MS medications, or disease-modifying therapies (DMTs), are available in most countries to treat MS. DMTs come in the form of injectables, infusions, and pills. Some are new, others have been around for more than 20 years. Some have a greater possibility of serious side effects than others. Some DMTs are highly effective at slowing or stopping disease progression; others, not so much. It’s a difficult choice to…Continue Reading

Invisible Patients Need to be Seen

invisible patients

You may have felt what Bethanee Epifani Bryant has felt in a doctor’s office. I think many patients have, but most of us can’t paint the picture of an invisible patient that Bryant can paint. And she paints it using words. Bryant is a poet. “I sit on the examination table vulnerable, openly allowing him to dissect my body and fix what had been broken I tell him where it…Continue Reading

A Bad Fall, Humpty Dumpty Style

Humpty Dumpty had a bad fall

I’ve met Humpty Dumpty, and he is me. I made that discovery the other night when I had a bad fall. It wasn’t off a wall; it was just off a chair, but it felt like I’d tumbled off Humpty’s high ledge. It shouldn’t have happened. I’ve lived with MS for nearly 40 years and I’ve had my share of trips, stumbles, and falls. I’ve even written a post about…Continue Reading

Do Mouse Studies Get Too Much Attention?

mouse studies

People who cover medical issues often write about mouse studies. These stories can regularly be found on traditional news outlets, both broadcast and print, as well as online platforms. I’m one of the people writing about mouse studies, though I try to be selective and limit my reporting to studies that seem very significant or unusual. Concerns about mouse study reporting has now generated a Twitter feed: @justsaysinmice. James Heathers,…Continue Reading

Thinking About Changing Your Neurologist?

Time to leave your neurologist?

If you’re a member of the baby boomer generation, or if you just like the music of the 1960s and ’70s, you probably know Paul Simon’s “50 Ways to Leave Your Lover“: “‘The problem is all inside your head,’ she said to me. ‘The answer is easy if you take it logically. I’d like to help you in your struggle to be free. There must be 50 ways to leave your…Continue Reading

How Many Medications are too Many?

Too many medications?

Have you ever heard of the word “polypharmacy”? I saw the word for the first time today. It’s generally defined as taking many medications together. There’s been debate over how many is “many,” but a number generally used is five or more. That describes me. I take six prescription drugs every day. Four of them are directly related to my MS, the fifth is to moderate my cholesterol, and the…Continue Reading

Things I Wish I’d Known Before My MS

Things I wish I'd known about my MS

A recent article in The New York Times hit the nail on the head when it comes to describing some things I wish I’d known about living with MS before I started living with MS. But the article isn’t about MS. The Times‘ Tessa Miller writes about Crohn’s disease, a type of inflammatory bowel disorder. Like MS, Crohn’s is an autoimmune disease. Instead of attacking the central nervous system, however, it…Continue Reading

I’d Rather Live With My MS Than Battle It

MS battle

A former colleague recently asked me, “How are you doing in your battle with MS?” It was a legitimate question, not one of those throwaway lines of mock concern that we often hear. We were discussing the death of a former colleague who had been diagnosed with MS in 1996. She was just 59 years old when she left us earlier this month.” Annie’s death and the “how are you…Continue Reading