Living with MS

When I was a kid, I didn’t really get sick all that often. Well, no more than everyone else, it seemed. Like most people, I would get the occasional cold...

Not long ago, the MS community was amazed when Selma Blair announced that she was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis. Her announcement was comforting to so many with the disease, myself...

It’s generally agreed upon among the multiple sclerosis (MS) community that heat is bad for MS. Uhthoff's phenomenon is the worsening of MS symptoms when exposed to heat (or when...

I was diagnosed with primary progressive multiple sclerosis in 2001, purchased my first wheelchair in 2008, and by 2016, I could best be described as a quadriplegic. I’m in rough...

During a typical week, other than hanging in my yard with my dog, I manage to get out of the house about one to two times. When I do get to...

Each day, I wake up, and I begin a maze. I start out navigating through the maze pretty confidently. I feel like I can make it to the end without...

From balance problems to neuropathy, there are a host of reasons why the footwear that worked BEFORE MS might not be comfortable anymore AFTER MS. This loss may seem minor...

Living with a disease like Multiple Sclerosis can be a difficult task, particularly as you grow older. Having a good support system is crucial to living successfully with this illness. Not...

It seems ironic, but did you know that caring too much could actually harm you? There's a fancy name for it called "compassion fatigue." While compassion fatigue and burnout seem...

You think that, for the most part, you have a pretty good handle when going through tough situations. That though it's not always easy, with logic, encouragement, and understanding, you're...

I have recently come across a variety of questions about motherhood/parenting with MS, whether it’s about trying to conceive, pregnancy itself or parenting in general. I have written about parenting...

Often we oldies are hard put to think of an upside to being in our dotage. The body is falling apart like an old car, just like with MS, only...

Constant readjustments of all kinds are necessary when we have a neurological condition. Multiple sclerosis seems to change how our bodies work on a monthly, weekly, and even daily basis...

If you could go back to just before I was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS) and ask me which of the 5 senses that I was born with was my...

So the neurologists, journals, literature, and personal stories were pretty accurate. Their bottom line was that multiple sclerosis was degenerative. What I discovered rather quickly was that the translation to...

Let’s turn the clock back a bit, shall we? I’m in middle school, and it’s my least favorite period of the day: physical education (PE). It’s the end of the...

Your future was so bright. I knew you were going places. And I was coming with you. When your dreams came true, so did mine. You were my best friend...

Before MS, Brooke's life used to be a "grab and go" lifestyle without much need for planning in advance. After MS, her checklist for leaving the house has gotten much...

As I sit around my house, mentally pacing in my head due to boredom, I’m struck by a desire to escape. A feeling that if I could just get out of...

In this series, we discuss causes of anxiety for those facing a physical illness like MS and its side effects. Phrases in quotes are the words of our community members...