Study Links Multiple Sclerosis to Dementia Risk
It’s MS Awareness Week in the United States — the time of year that the National Multiple Sclerosis Society and people living with MS try to spread awareness of this disease. For the past several years, I’ve determined to spend this week educating people who live with MS about the disease they have. For past MS awareness weeks, I’ve written pieces on MS history and about the first recorded cases of MS. Today I write about research suggesting what might be in some of our futures. It’s not a happy topic, but I believe that forewarned is forearmed. A recent study published in the Journal of Epidemiology &...
Source: Life with MS - March 7, 2017 Category: Neurology Authors: Trevis Gleason Tags: multiple sclerosis awareness life with MS Living with MS MS and family MS symptoms trevis gleason Source Type: blogs

MS Memory Lapses Have Me Talking to Myself
I was having a deep conversation with Sadie the other day. We were talking about the big things in life: philosophy, one’s place in the world, climate change, the merits of lamb bones over beef. For those who don’t know, Sadie is not my wife — she’s my dog. I talk to Sadie (pictured above) a lot. Perhaps it might be a cover for how much I actually talk to myself. That said, I’m not one who looks down on the practice. Quite the contrary, I find talking to myself quite helpful. Saying It Out Loud Helps Me Remember Saying it out loud helps me to remember what I’m supposed to be doing next. It creates a list that ...
Source: Life with MS - February 28, 2017 Category: Neurology Authors: Trevis Gleason Tags: multiple sclerosis awareness community life with MS Living with MS MS and family MS symptoms trevis gleason Source Type: blogs

Frustration: The Silent Scream of Multiple Sclerosis
Likely the best gift I was ever given was the Oxford English Dictionaries. This was before the days of the online version, but it was the CD version I was given, not the 20-volume book set. I love words, their sounds, their definitions, and their etymology. Talk about the gift that keeps on giving! Putting a Finger on What I’m Sensing So there’s this sense I’ve been feeling of late, and I haven’t been able to put a word to it. It’s not fear. It’s not dread. Nor is it anger, loathing, or annoyance (though that’s getting pretty close). I do not believe that it’s just me who is experiencing this sense. (I don...
Source: Life with MS - February 21, 2017 Category: Neurology Authors: Trevis Gleason Tags: multiple sclerosis life with MS Living with MS MS and family ms community Social Media trevis gleason Source Type: blogs

New Blood Test May Make ‘Off the Rack’ MS Treatments Closer to ‘Designer Drugs’
Since the mid-1990s, the diagnosing process for most people suspected of having multiple sclerosis (MS) has included a lumbar puncture (also called a spinal tap) to look for certain antibodies and proteins, and an MRI scan to look for lesions in the brain. Previous to that, immersion into a hot tub (to see if symptoms worsened with heat) and evoked response tests may have been used. In the future, it’s possible that a test for blood biomarkers could become a standard part of the diagnostic process for MS — and it could also help to determine the best form of treatment for those diagnosed. Chemical Identifiers of MS Pro...
Source: Life with MS - February 16, 2017 Category: Neurology Authors: Trevis Gleason Tags: multiple sclerosis clinical trials drug trial MS treatment research Source Type: blogs

Ask a Loved One Today: How Do YOU See My MS?
Every month for the past 10 years, we’ve put out a call for everyone in our Life with MS blog community to rate their MS symptoms on one particular day of that month. About three years ago, I presented you with the Life With Multiple Sclerosis Self-evaluation Scale (LWM3S) to make this assessment. This scale is a symptom-based system whereby: 1 = The best my symptoms have felt since my diagnosis with MS 10 = The worst my symptoms have felt since my diagnosis with MS Since it’s St Valentine’s Day, I thought it might be interesting to turn the tables a bit and ask our partners (or, for those who are single, someone cl...
Source: Life with MS - February 14, 2017 Category: Neurology Authors: Trevis Gleason Tags: multiple sclerosis How's your MS Today? Living with MS MS and family Source Type: blogs

Are Anxious Times Causing My Dreams About Disability Discrimination?
These are anxious times. No matter where in the world you reside, which side of any political aisle you align yourself with, or who you are, these are times of unknown, of major change, and of major, unknown change. Perhaps — and I hope this is the case — the recent nocturnal experiences I’ve been having are due to the anxious mood of the times we’re in. I say “I hope,” but I don’t know for sure. Was I Discriminated Against? I don’t know that I’ve ever experienced discrimination due to my disabilities. At least, I can say that if I have, it was subtle enough that it didn’t register as such. But the wors...
Source: Life with MS - February 8, 2017 Category: Neurology Authors: Trevis Gleason Tags: multiple sclerosis awareness community life with MS trevis gleason Source Type: blogs

Are Anxious Times Causing My Dreams About Discrimination?
These are anxious times. No matter where in the world you reside, which side of any political aisle you align yourself with, or who you are, these are times of unknown, of major change, and of major, unknown change. Perhaps — and I hope this is the case — the recent nocturnal experiences I’ve been having are due to the anxious mood of the times we’re in. I say “I hope,” but I don’t know for sure. Was I Discriminated Against? I don’t know that I’ve ever experienced discrimination due to my disabilities. At least, I can say that if I have, it was subtle enough that it didn’t register as such. But the wors...
Source: Life with MS - February 8, 2017 Category: Neurology Authors: Trevis Gleason Tags: multiple sclerosis awareness community life with MS trevis gleason Source Type: blogs

On Dark Days With Multiple Sclerosis, Sometimes a Rainbow Breaks Through
This week began the Celtic Spring season. Before you look out at the snow banks or tell me that Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow, so you’ve six more weeks of winter, this is an old tradition here in Ireland. For us, spring starts on the first of February with the Biddy’s Day celebrations, which have been modernized into the festival of St Brigid’s Day. But whether you call it spring or winter, it’s still the season of cold wind and driving rain. But now and again, the sun’s long, low rays break through the clouds, even if it’s still raining. Ever since my first winter here, back in 2005, I’ve referred ...
Source: Life with MS - February 6, 2017 Category: Neurology Authors: Trevis Gleason Tags: multiple sclerosis awareness comments community life with MS ms community trevis gleason Source Type: blogs

Now That MS Has Changed My Priorities, Some Things Just Have to Wait
It’s the last day of January. A full month has passed since we sang “Auld Lang Syne.” The days are getting (ever so slowly) a little bit longer, and the daffodils are in full bloom down the lane from us. So why is the Christmas china still in the hutch? It’s not that I’ve forgotten or haven’t meant to get it all wrapped up, into its boxes and back into storage. Every time I go in there for a wine glass, I see Spode’s Santa staring at me from atop the 1930s Christmas tree pattern. I know it needs to be done… So, too, do the last few traces of the holiday season need to be packed away. Gold foil chargers and ...
Source: Life with MS - January 31, 2017 Category: Neurology Authors: Trevis Gleason Tags: multiple sclerosis Everyday Health Living with MS MS and family MS fatigue trevis gleason Source Type: blogs

New Warnings About Two MS Disease-Modifying Drugs
The decision to take any of the approved multiple sclerosis (MS) drug therapies can be a difficult one for anyone. All drugs come with the risk of side effects, and disease-modifying drugs for MS are no exception. I often read comments on social media by those who have decided not to take MS medications berating those who do. But I believe this is a personal decision, to be made with a person’s family and doctors. Most people with MS do take disease-modifying drugs and do so with varied levels of success. Some eventually stop a drug or switch to another, either because of a lack of positive effects or because of both...
Source: Life with MS - January 27, 2017 Category: Neurology Authors: Trevis Gleason Tags: multiple sclerosis drug trial MS in the news MS treatment trevis gleason Source Type: blogs

Resilience: ‘T’ain’t What You Do (It’s the Way That You Do It)’
Resilience can mean the ability of a person to solve problems and bounce back from difficult situations. That, at least, is the definition a group of researchers from the University of Washington gave to resilience when they surveyed a cadre of 1,574 people with a range of chronic conditions that included multiple sclerosis, muscular dystrophy, post poliomyelitis syndrome, and spinal cord injury. The information for this study was collected from mail-in surveys as part of an ongoing study of people as they age with disability. In their report of the study, published in December 2016 in Archives of Physical Medicine and Reh...
Source: Life with MS - January 20, 2017 Category: Neurology Authors: Trevis Gleason Tags: multiple sclerosis emotions inspiration Living with MS ms community research trevis gleason work Source Type: blogs

After the Fall: Another MS Learning Experience
I had a near-death experience the other day. Well, that’s what Caryn and I are calling it. Truth be known, had I landed four inches to the left of where I did, Caryn, my wife, would have discovered a blood-soaked rug with my lifeless body upon it when she got out of the shower. How I actually fell is unknown to me. All I know is I was upright one moment, and the next I was not. These things must be assessed after the fact and from a position rather ungracefully attained. I took a survey of the parts I could feel, and nothing seemed to be broken. I employed techniques from a previous blog about how to get up from a fall...
Source: Life with MS - January 18, 2017 Category: Neurology Authors: Trevis Gleason Tags: multiple sclerosis life with MS Living with MS MS and family MS Fitness Symptom management trevis gleason Source Type: blogs

My Goal for the New Year: It ’s All About Pacing Myself
The halls are undecked. The holly’s hauled back in. The turkey stock is frozen. And most of the glitter from Wren’s Day is cleaned up — that stuff gets everywhere! Dryuary is fully underway. 2017 is here to stay, and so is my MS. Every month, we take one blog post to check in and see how everyone is doing. We use what we call the Life with Multiple Sclerosis Self-evaluation Scale (LWM3S). This scale rates your symptoms relative to your diagnosis. It’s a simple 1 to 10 scale: 1 = The best my symptoms have felt since my diagnosis with MS 10 = The worst my symptoms have felt since my diagnosis with MS Setting a Ba...
Source: Life with MS - January 13, 2017 Category: Neurology Authors: Trevis Gleason Tags: multiple sclerosis community Everyday Health How's your MS Today? Living with MS trevis gleason Source Type: blogs

The Relief of Lowering My Expectations on a ‘Soft Day’
The mist that settled into our little town overnight was that thick, hanging kind of damp. It made me think of the film The Matrix, because it was as if the atmosphere around me had stopped in time, and I was left to dodge droplets of wetness suspended in the still air. The previous few days had been clear, bright, and cold, the kind of winter days that make you feel like you should get out and get something — anything — done, which, as we know, can be difficult when multiple sclerosis (MS) is in the picture. Whether or not I rose to that allure isn’t the point of today’s blog. Today, however, seemed to be a hand...
Source: Life with MS - January 9, 2017 Category: Neurology Authors: Trevis Gleason Tags: multiple sclerosis life with MS Living with MS MS and family ms community trevis gleason Source Type: blogs

The Day the Robin Kills the Wren — Out With the Old Year, in With the New
The wren — an dreolín in the Irish language — is lauded in song as the King of the Birds (at least in Ireland). Its majesty was celebrated in small pockets around the globe last week. I took part in one such festivity on December 26th. We painted our faces and tied barley straw into costumes, with headdresses to mask our identities (though the wrens with which we adorned ourselves were fake, not the real thing). The way and reason that the bird is celebrated is one of those overlaps between pagan and Christian traditions. In the modern telling, St. Stephen, generally considered the first Christian martyr, was betraye...
Source: Life with MS - January 3, 2017 Category: Neurology Authors: Trevis Gleason Tags: multiple sclerosis life with MS Living with MS trevis gleason Source Type: blogs