The MS Wire

News, info and tips for living with multiple sclerosis

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Talk With Your MS Doc About Keeping Your Job

You probably talk about multiple sclerosis (MS) symptoms, drugs and therapies when you meet with your neurologist, but I’ll bet that most people don’t talk very much about working. Being able to work, and continuing to hold down a job, is important. I see concerns about this all the time on the online forums where we MS patients hang out. Work should be a part of that medical discussion. In…Continue Reading

At-home treatment studied for MS “brain fog”

(This post first appeared as my column on www.multiplesclerosisnewstoday.com) One of the most troubling symptoms of multiple sclerosis, especially for those of us who are still working, is “brain fog”…not being able to concentrate… not feeling “sharp” when working on a task or solving problems. So it was interesting to read about a new study that reports that patients with MS had better problem-solving ability and response time after training with…Continue Reading

Stem Cell Treatment for MS: Can’t We Move Faster?

(This first appeared as my column in www.multiplesclerosisnewstoday.com) There is some good news about stem cell therapy and some that’s not so great. A just-published study concludes that one form of human stem cell therapy is more effective at treating multiple sclerosis than the best of the MS medications being used currently. The not-so-good news is that approval of this therapy in the U.S. still seems to be a long…Continue Reading

Why can’t some MS docs communicate with their patients?

[This first appeared as my column in www.multiplesclerosisnewstoday.com] Browsing through some multiple sclerosis Facebook groups the other day I was reminded of the line from the 1967 movie Cool Hand Luke: “What we have here is a failure to communicate.” These posts jumped out at me: So when my neuro says he wants me to start physical therapy, does that mean I’m going to hear a call from them or…Continue Reading

The music of MS

[This post first appeared as my column in www.multiplesclerosisnewstoday.com] You may not have heard this song, but I bet its lyrics will strike a chord. I cannot feel my body. I cannot feel my face. My legs are pins and needles and my mind is a disgrace. I see in double vision, so there’s more of you to admire. Got a freaky disposition and my soul is on fire. The…Continue Reading

Night Life

I rarely re-blog something but this post from Jen just struck a chord. My occasional, but recurring, dream is that I’m walking and suddenly realize that I don’t have my cane. Sometimes I care…sometimes I don’t.

MS and falling the best way

[This item first appeared as my column on www.multiplesclerosisnewstoday.com] Uh oh! My cat, T.J., is under my feet trying to nibble my ankles as I stumble toward the bathroom in the middle of the night. I know what’s about to happen. As I try not to step on T.J.’S tail, it’s already started. I’m going down. It all happens in about three seconds, and how I handle those three seconds…Continue Reading

Pills, shots or infusions for your MS?

[This first appeared as my column on www.multiplesclerosisnewstoday.com] Oral multiple sclerosis meds appear, more and more, to be the first choice of patients who are just beginning to receive an MS treatment. A recent report by the independent marketing research firm Spherix Global Insights shows that oral disease-modifying therapies captured a significantly higher share of the market at the end of 2016 compared to 2015.  Tecfidera was at the top of the…Continue Reading

Have a say in what MS researchers research

Our friends at iConquorMS have a couple of new, quick on-line surveys available for MS patients to answer.  I’ll tell you about them in bit but first let me tell you about iConquorMS. (I first wrote about this groups a few weeks ago the column I write for www.multiplesclerosisnewstoday.com). Have you ever wondered how your MS experience compares with others? Your ability to go out and do things? The therapies…Continue Reading

Lemtrada for my MS: Ups and downs

It’s been a month since I last posted here.  I’m sorry.  I’ve been spending my time riding a roller coaster. It’s the roller coaster of reactions that I was told to expect following my Lemtrada infusions.  I managed to avoid most of those reactions for the first month and I thought that I was home free.  Ha!  What could I have been thinking? Month-two began with a good lab report…Continue Reading