The MS Wire

News, info and tips for living with multiple sclerosis

Tag: Multiple Sclerosis

Can you measure how tired I am?

[This post first appeared last month in my column on www.multiplesclerosisnewstoday.com] Feeling tired? No surprise there. Fatigue is as much a part of living with Multiple Sclerosis as sand is a part of the beach where I live. It’s interesting, then, that neurologists seem to have no good system for measuring levels of MS fatigue or any treatments that are really effective over the long term. Physiologists at Colorado State University…Continue Reading

Volunteers wanted for MS diet study

People with MS often wonder if their MS is affected by what they eat.  Articles about the reported benefits of various diets appear regularly. Now, researchers at the University of Iowa are going to study two of the most well know MS diets to see what impact they have on MS symptoms, specifically on the level of a patient’s MS-related fatigue. Both MS Diets Eliminate Meat The diets to be…Continue Reading

Don’t let multiple sclerosis ground you

(This post appeared as my regular column on www.multiplesclerosisnewstoday.com) Flight is freedom in its purest form, To dance with the clouds which follow a storm; To roll and glide, to wheel and spin, To feel the joy that swells within; To leave the earth with its troubles and fly, And know the warmth of a clear spring sky — Gary Claud Stokor I’ve been there.  I’ve done that.  I’ve climbed…Continue Reading

“Shame on you for parking there!”

[This is an updated version of a post that first appeared in my weekly column on www.multiplesclerosisnewstoday.com]   Do you remember when you first applied for a handicapped license plate? I put it off for quite a while after I was diagnosed.  After all, I could easily walk several city blocks.  I could still play tennis.  Why did I need to park in a handicapped place?  But, there were days…Continue Reading

Exercise for MS – I’m starting a 14 week plan

I’m about to start a new adventure:  Exercise. Well, it’s not really new. I swim some laps most days in the summer, weather permitting.  In the cooler months I do some upper body strength exercises a couple of days a week, my spirit permitting.  But, in all the years that I’ve had Multiple Sclerosis I’ve never really had a structured exercise program.  Today I’m investigating a way to start down…Continue Reading

Tecfidera TV ad gets yanked

Have you seen the TV ad for Tecfidera?  The one that shows a woman being able to do all sorts of active things because she’s on the drug, which has reduced the frequency of her Multiple Sclerosis exacerbations? I was surprised when I saw it on my screen one day.  Frankly, I didn’t think there was enough of an audience of potential Tecfidera users to justify the cost of this…Continue Reading

MS drug maker getting new top guy

Biogen

If you have Multiple Sclerosis the chances are good that you’ve used, or will use, a drug made by Biogen.  The biophamaceutical company makes Avonex, Tysabri, Tecfidera, Fampya, Plegridy and Zinbryta to treat MS.  I’ve used two of them myself and participated in the double-blind study for Avonex, way back when. Now, Biogen’s Chief Executive Officer, George Scangos, has announced that he’s leaving.  What will that mean to those of…Continue Reading

Whole body cryotherapy for multiple sclerosis?

Whole body cryotherapy is one of the latest “treatments” claiming to help multiple sclerosis patients. Those who sell WBC machines and who operate WBC “spas” claim that it can also help a range of other ailments, from asthma to rheumatoid arthritis.  They say it can improve blood circulation, increase metabolism, improve recovery and soreness after workouts and relieve joint and body pain. That’s a lot of problems, and the Food…Continue Reading

Therapeutic riding: a winner for M.S.

A few years ago I got back in the saddle again. At age 63, more than 30 years after being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis and about 50 years since I’d last ridden a horse, I found my feet in the stirrups, butt in the saddle and riding a gentle, friendly horse that was led around the ring at the Great and Small therapeutic riding center in Boyds, MD outside Washington,…Continue Reading

When should you start using a DMT?

A friend of mine was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis about fifteen years ago.  She’s been very stable since her DX without being on any disease modifying drugs. But, we’ve both wondered if she should be proactive and start using using Avonex, Betaseron, Copaxone, Tysabri or another of the many disease modifying therapies that are available today.  So far, her neurologist has suggested that my friend hold off. I’ve lived with…Continue Reading