The MS Wire

This Tool Can Help You Choose an MS Treatment

Posted on September 12, 2022September 11, 2022

It’s not easy choosing a MS treatment. There are shots and pills and intravenous infusions. The National Multiple Sclerosis Society lists more than 20 disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) on its website. Some, such as Lemtrada (alemtuzumab), Ocrevus (ocrelizumab), and Tysabri (natalizumab), have proven to be effective at slowing the progression of MS. Others, less so. All DMTs have potential side effects, some more than others. So how do you know which…Continue Reading

A Little Stumble for BTKi’s

Posted on September 5, 2022September 4, 2022

A little over a year ago, I wrote about whether Bruton’s tyrosine kinase inhibitors (BTKi’s) might be the next big thing in multiple sclerosis (MS) treatments. BTKi’s are small molecules that selectively block an enzyme that’s important for the activation of B-cells in the immune system and microglia, cells whose job is to protect neurons. Some of both types of cells are thought to be responsible for the abnormal immune…Continue Reading

Crying or Laughing but Don’t Know Why? PBA Might be the Reason

Posted on August 30, 2022August 29, 2022

I often see posts on social media from people with multiple sclerosis asking if crying for no reason is an MS symptom. It can be. Laughing for no reason can be one, too. Both can be severe, persistent, unremitting, and unpredictable. The medical name for this is pseudobulbar affect (PBA), and according to the Multiple Sclerosis Association of America, it affects one in 10 people with MS — and maybe…Continue Reading

Dits and Dahs Keep My MS Brain Sharp

Posted on August 22, 2022August 21, 2022

I speak Morse code. Dits and Dahs. It’s my second language, and I’m fluent. I’ve been speaking Morse code since I got my ham radio license nearly 63 years ago. (My call letters are KR3E.) At first, I received what was sent at a very slow speed of five words per minute, hearing o-n-e l-e-t-t-e-r a-t a t-i-m-e and writing each on a pad. Later, I would hear whole words,…Continue Reading

Dr. Amazon Wants You as a Patient

Posted on August 15, 2022August 14, 2022

Are you ready to buy your healthcare services from the same place you can buy almost everything else under the sun? Amazon hopes you are. Last month, the giant of online sales announced plans to acquire One Medical, a company that operates more than 125 medical offices across the U.S. and offers 24/7 telemedicine service in exchange for a yearly membership fee. One Medical’s vision is to “delight millions of…Continue Reading

A Shark Bites into Prescription Costs

Posted on August 8, 2022August 7, 2022

My multiple sclerosis prescriptions cost me a lot, even with good insurance. Your prescription costs are probably also high, no matter what your illness is, if you don’t live in a country where the government picks up your drug costs. But now billionaire entrepreneur Mark Cuban is taking a shark-sized bite out of the cost of some of those medications. Cuban is an investor who regularly appears on the “Shark…Continue Reading

Disclosing My MS – In a Dream

Posted on August 1, 2022July 31, 2022

The other night I dreamed I was standing in a military formation when my leg began to twitch with an MS spasm. I couldn’t stay in line. The top sergeant yelled while the other soldiers laughed. Suddenly, the scene shifted to a balance beam, where I desperately tried to stay upright, but knew I couldn’t. So I jumped off. More laughing. In the dream, I realized it was time to…Continue Reading

Medical Marijuana, MS and a Gun – Are They Safe Together?

Posted on July 25, 2022July 25, 2022

From what others have told me, it seems a fair number of people living with multiple sclerosis (MS) also live with a gun. When I wrote about this a few years ago, I discovered more of these folks than I expected. Additionally, many people with MS use some form of medical marijuana. So should a person using medical marijuana to help ease their MS symptoms be allowed to have a…Continue Reading

Travel With Medications? Know Before You Go

Posted on July 18, 2022July 18, 2022

The case of Women’s National Basketball Association star Brittney Griner is an important reminder for all of us who travel with medications: What you might be able to do in your home country, might not be the case in another. And the penalty could be severe. Griner was detained by Russian officials at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo International Airport on Feb. 17. Russian authorities claimed she was carrying vape cartridges in her…Continue Reading

My Book Gets a Nice Review

Posted on July 7, 2022July 6, 2022

This is my book. It's designed for MS "newbies" but it's great info for everyone. A paperback and an ebook are available on Amazon.

I’m delighted to share with you some quotes from a review that The Multiple Sclerosis Toolbox has just received from columnist/moderator Tamara Sellman on the Multiplesclerosis.net website. Some highlights include: “This book lives up to its promise. It provides a simple set of ‘tools’ captured in chapter form, each one focusing on a different relevant aspect of understanding and living with the disease.” “People newly diagnosed with MS will truly…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.