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Devin Garlit- One of the more common issues that people associate with multiple sclerosis is trouble walking. When I talk to people who don’t know a lot about the disease, that’s one thing they often bring up. They know that many folks with MS can end up limping or using a cane or even a wheelchair. Few understand why though. Today I want to tackle one of the many reasons that those of us with MS can have trouble walking: foot drop. Foot drop (some people refer to it as “drop foot”) is a symptom where those with MS have weakness in the muscles that flex... Read more
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Laura Kolaczkowski- Finding the right physical therapist to help someone with MS can be a challenge. A member of our MultipleSclerosis.net community recently reached out with the question as to how to find the right type of therapy and get better access to it for her spouse. From my own experience with physical therapy (PT), I can share the following thoughts and tips. I have heard the analogy of picking a physical therapist compared to choosing a car mechanic. All mechanics work on cars, but if you have a specialty sports car such as a Lamborghini or Porsche, you are most likely not going... Read more
Cathy Chester- Have you ever looked into the future? I know we all have our hands full with “the now” but recently I had the opportunity to look at what life may look like very soon as I listened to theoretical physicist and futurist Michio Kaku. Kaku, a professor of Theoretical Physics at the City College of New York, is also the bestselling author of several books including “Physics of the Future” and “The Future of the Mind.” Photo Credit: Michael Paras A graduate of Harvard University and the University of California at Berkeley Kaku has a laundry list of theories that... Read more
Matt Allen G- I can remember walking to the mailbox with a feeling of curiosity, wondering what might be waiting for me there. Sometimes even excitement! “Oh I hope that package came today!” Do you remember that? Wow, I miss that… Now I only walk to the mailbox with a minor feeling of dread… I already know what is in there. Bills, collection notices, Social Security paperwork, stuff like that. But the bills, they just keep coming! I seriously find myself thinking that the amount of bills I get are disproportionate to the amount of services I use, like, “I only bought 3... Read more
Kim Dolce- February 29, 2016 It is the best of times, it is the worst of times. It is the winter of despair, it is the spring of hope. We have everything before us, we have nothing before us. We are all going direct to Heaven, we are all going direct the other way–in short, I will recall the leap year 2016 in extremes. For me, there is no middle ground. My next-door neighbor, Cindy, has Huntington’s disease. She was diagnosed a year ago at the age of 47. Her life expectancy is approximately ten years, during which her brain will shrivel up like a... Read more
Lisa Emrich- At some point on each of our journeys with MS, we may need expert guidance from a physical therapist or physiologist. I was referred to PT after I began having difficulty standing up from a seated position. In PT, we learned that in addition to hip and leg weakness, I encountered a great deal of de-conditioning so part of my rehab was exercise to rebuild overall strength and stamina. Finding a really good physical therapist can be challenging. I’m fortunate in that my neurologist made a recommendation for a PT in our area who specializes in neurological conditions. In fact,... Read more
Kim Dolce- It was the last straw. I’d opened a medical bill that showed a balance–for a free PAP/pelvic exam. I felt my face grow hot and my blood pressure blow out of the top of my head. You’ve seen the commercials. It’s been a national marketing campaign for a year or more. Your medical insurance will now charge you zippo for annual routine health screenings: A physical for men and a PAP/pelvic (cervical cancer screening) and mammography for women. Since I have Medicare, it will only pay for a PAP every other year but will cover mammograms annually. I followed the rules... Read more
Matt Allen G- One of the most difficult parts of living with multiple sclerosis (for many of us) is probably accepting that we may no longer be able to do some of the things that we used to be able to do. This really drives me mad even though I have come to terms with many of my physical and mental disabilities MS has brought about. But it’s not as simple as that, you see, relapsing-remitting MS is a very dynamic disease in that it can always get better or get worse and for some of us that may be more frequent. You... Read more
Multiple Sclerosis Association of America - MSAA- MSAA’s award-winning magazine, The Motivator, features an updated design, with print and digital versions available. Distributed twice per year, this publication addresses the physical, emotional, and social issues that arise with MS, and provides information and support to many individuals affected by MS. The latest issue of The Motivator is now available to order, download, or read the DIGITAL EDITION right on your desktop, tablet, or phone! Included in this issue of The Motivator: Cover Story: Making the Most of Our Relationships: Helping ourselves and those around us to cope with MS … From family and friends to employers and... Read more
Laura Kolaczkowski- Have you seen the ads running online these days that promote ten exercises for people with MS? Or ad that touts the eight ways for people with MS to strengthen our core and improve our balance? You probably have if you are on Facebook at all because they pop up regularly and they make me pause and question ‘what are they thinking!?’ Now even though I don’t currently engage in it myself, I have no reason to dislike or disapprove of exercise. In fact, I have even read the studies and know people affected by MS should be getting exercise... Read more
Marc Stecker-Wheelchair Kamikaze- Last month, at the annual ACTRIMS (American Committee for Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis) conference, the full trial results for the Ocrelizumab PPMS drug trial were finally revealed. These results had been much anticipated by the MS community, as there are currently no proven effective treatments for primary progressive multiple sclerosis, and many previous PPMS drug trials have ended in failure. Coincidentally, a few days before the conference, Ocrelizumab received “fast-track status” by the FDA (click here). The “Fast-Track” designation is given to drugs which promise to fill a prior unmet need, and generally shortens the approval process from... Read more
Laura Kolaczkowski- As if it’s not enough for so many of us to have multiple sclerosis, researchers from Canada have found evidence that we also have more than our fair share of other chronic diseases (comorbidities) to go with our MS. In a newly published study, Sex differences in comorbidity at diagnosis of multiple sclerosis: A population-based study, a research team led by Ruth Ann Marrie, MD, looked at the health conditions of over 23,000 people with MS at the time of their diagnosis compared to 116,638 people as matched controls (same sex and same age, but without multiple sclerosis). Their report focuses on... Read more
Kim Dolce- You’ve read the studies on smoking and MS risk. Heck, you’ve read a lot of information about the negative effects of smoking. You’re a one- or two-pack a-day smoker and have been for a long time, you have MS, and your doctor has been telling you to quit for years. Now you think you’d like to try. But how do you do it? Health professionals are required to tell you to quit but many are poorly equipped to help you do it. People tend to lecture and scold a smoker, but nobody offers concrete, non-judgmental ways for you to start... Read more
Donna Steigleder- Often when I meet someone who has just become a caregiver, they ask me how I do it; “How do you handle the daily stress of working and caregiving full time while still managing a home?” I always reply, “I try to take it one day at a time and just deal with what’s happening that day.” Pearls of wisdom, right? Well, I’m here to confess, I apparently don’t deal with stress very well so I’m not sure that I should be giving anyone any advice on this subject. I’ve been caring for Lynn full time since 2009 and I can... Read more
Cathy Chester- As a writer I sit on my duff all day doing my job for various websites, including this one, plus writing my weekly blog posts. I love writing and do it so much that now I find myself writing entire sentences in my head while I watch TV, am on a date with my husband (sorry, honey) or even in my dreams. But once in awhile I get writer’s block, and when I do I look to writing prompts. A few words or sentences strung together to start the flow of creative juices. One writing prompt in particular got stuck... Read more
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My daughter just diagnosed with MS last month next day to her birthday day, she is only 15 years old and the doctors said she was having MS 2 or 3 years ago but we didn’t notice her, I don’t know how she will survive with this disease, her future will she go to college or not? Will she get married???? I am totally lost and I feel that the happiness has disappeared from my life forever, I wish I had this disease instead of her. She is still very young and was extremely active girl before having her first... Read more
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