The MS Wire

Making the Right MS Medication Decision

Posted on September 4, 2019September 3, 2019

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

Posted on August 26, 2019August 23, 2019

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

Why I Write The MS Wire

Posted on August 19, 2019August 18, 2019

I’ve been writing The MS Wire for about three years now and it isn’t always easy to come up with fresh subjects. The other night my “idea well” was bone dry but then I came across something that primed the pump. In a private social media group for patient advocates, someone asked, “How do you keep a positive attitude with advocacy when dealing with chronically ill people? My main advocacy is…Continue Reading

Water Exercise for My MS

Posted on August 12, 2019August 11, 2019

After a period of temperatures of 95 degrees or more making it too hot to swim, early August has been comfortable enough for me to get back into my water exercise routine. The water temperature has been close to perfect and cool enough to keep me refreshed, though sometimes cooler than most people like. I’ve just finished two of the best workout I’ve had this season: 30 lengths swimming punctuated…Continue Reading

This is My MS

Posted on August 5, 2019August 5, 2019

Have you ever read something and thought, “This is me, this is my MS?” It happened to me the other day as I read a post by Rachel Horne on the BartsMS blog. Horne writes about how some of us adapt to our MS diagnosis better, or at least differently, than others. She says that “some people with MS manage to adapt and even thrive despite all the disease takes…Continue Reading

Does Your Neuro Consider Your MS Medication Costs?

Posted on July 29, 2019July 26, 2019

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

CBD Oil: Will it Help My MS?

Posted on July 22, 2019July 19, 2019

The other night in bed my calf muscles started cramping. Again. Usually, it’s just my left leg, but that night it was both. The pain wouldn’t ease with my usual stretching routine so I reached for my little bottle of cannabidiol (CBD) oil. I’ve been experimenting with CBD oil on and off for a few months. I rub it into my left calf muscle before bed and on many nights…Continue Reading

Lego Therapy Might Help MS Symptoms

Legos, it seems, are more than just a kids’ toy. People with some neurological conditions, including MS, are using those little, colored building blocks to build better lives for themselves. It’s Lego therapy. An article in the latest issue of Brain & Life uses Kathleen Jordan as one example. Jordan, who has MS, bought a big bag of Legos for her granddaughter. But she began to play with them herself.…Continue Reading

Time to Get Your Disability Ready for a Disaster

Posted on July 10, 2019July 10, 2019

BULLETIN Potential Tropical Cyclone Two Advisory Number 2 NWS National Hurricane Center Miami FL AL022019 400 PM CDT Wed Jul 10 2019 …HURRICANE WATCH ISSUED FOR PORTIONS OF THE SOUTHERN COAST OF LOUISIANA… …HEAVY RAINS EXPECTED TO CONTINUE ACROSS THE CENTRAL GULF COAST… With a serious storm brewing in the Gulf of Mexico off the Louisiana coast I’m re-publishing a post which I wrote a year ago. Hurricane season began…Continue Reading

Reading Your Doctors Notes Might Help Your Health

Posted on July 8, 2019July 5, 2019

I’ve been living with MS for nearly 39 years and I’ve never read the doctors notes my neurologist has written during my office visits. She did hand me a thick folder of notes several years ago with material dating back to my diagnosis in 1980. But, I filed it away and when my wife and I downsized a few years ago I shredded it. I wish I hadn’t because, after…Continue Reading

"People newly diagnosed with MS will truly benefit from this book, while those of us who’ve lived with MS for a while will wish we’d had it ourselves!…Neurologists should consider keeping a copy of this book in their waiting room because their patients are going to need it." - Tamara K. Sellman, reviewing for Multiple Sclerosis.net.

The Multiple Sclerosis Toolbox is designed for MS "newbies" but it's great info for everyone. I combine more than 40 years of living with MS with some easy to understand info about diagnosis, treatments, visiting the neuro, relationships, mobility aids, travel and more…a lot of what you get in this blog. A paperback and an e-book are available on Amazon.