News, info and tips for living with multiple sclerosis
A pair of studies released in December conclude that you are what you do when it comes to multiple sclerosis (MS) symptoms. I agree. The first study, published in Multiple Sclerosis and Related Disorders, concludes that aquatic therapy is better than conventional physical therapy (PT) at easing fatigue and improving balance. It’s a small study. Among 26 people with relapsing-remitting MS, 14 performed progressively harder balance and gait exercises in…Continue Reading
I’m always on the lookout for a new style of shoe, one that can handle the unique demands of a person with multiple sclerosis (MS). I need a shoe that will prevent the toes of my left foot from catching on a rug or a curb due to my foot drop and that will allow me to stand comfortably for several minutes without exacerbating my usual leg fatigue. I need…Continue Reading
Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a tough illness to diagnose. Its symptoms aresimilar to several other illnesses, and the National Multiple SclerosisSociety says MS is incorrectly diagnosed 5% to 18% of the time. It can alsotake a long time to reach a firm MS diagnosis and that can mean months, oreven years, of delay in starting an MS treatment. Tools to assist a neurologist in making an MS diagnosis include magneticresonance…Continue Reading
Forty-five years ago—in late August 1980—I’d just returned home from a business trip to Detroit. It was a long, stressful, tiring week. A day or so later, I was walking backward, and I fell. I wasn’t hurt—“no harm no foul,” right?—but it was surprising. And there was, in fact, a foul. It’s called multiple sclerosis (MS). As almost everyone connected to this illness knows, MS is a progressive disease. We…Continue Reading
What does a hurricane have to do with my multiple sclerosis (MS)? Watching the season’s first major hurricane blow its way up the east coast of the U.S. a couple of weeks ago, and now in the heart of the Atlantic hurricane season, I’m thinking back three years to Hurricane Ian. In September, 2022 Ian slammed into southwest Florida, its eye passing right over the community where my wife and…Continue Reading
Using disease modifying therapies (DMTs) to treat older people who have multiple sclerosis, like me, isn’t a simple choice. Many neurologists seem to make their recommendations guided by a 2017 review by University of British Columbia researchers, reporting that disease activity declines as people with MS grow older. It suggested that those of us who are 55 or older – and are having no relapses, new brain lesions, or other…Continue Reading
I like to play brain games. The Words with Friends app and on-line puzzles, like Connections on the New York Times app, keep me thinking. That’s important to someone with multiple sclerosis (MS), where cognitive fog and fatigue are both common symptoms. So, I was very interested when I was offered the chance to try a website and app called BrainHQ. It’s more than just a game. BrainHQ is designed…Continue Reading
My fingers are crossed. Again. IMPT-514, an experimental cell therapy produced by ImmPACT Bio, has been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for phase 1 multiple sclerosis (MS) trials. I hope this treatment might be the next big thing for people with MS, but I know from experience that’s far from certain. IMPT-514 is a bispecific chimeric antigen receptor T-cell (CAR-T) therapy, designed to ease MS symptoms…Continue Reading
The author describes his struggles with fatigue, cognitive fog, and stress exacerbated by multiple sclerosis (MS) and his wife’s recent back surgery. He juggles various caregiving tasks, while battling severe fatigue. He discusses mixed results of the medication modafinil, used to alleviate MS fatigue, noting personal experiences and varying research findings on its effectiveness.
It’s one of those questions that all of us with MS get. And it’s one that most of us with MS don’t like to answer. How do you respond when someone asks you “are you doing OK?” #1 You can say “Yes, I’m fine, thanks,” even if you’re dragging and defiantly not OK, and be done with it. #2 You can be honest about how you’re feeling and open up…Continue Reading