My Recipe for a Great MS Day
I think I was in an eighth-grade science course when we studied biorhythms (albeit briefly, though perhaps not briefly enough for a science class but, hey, it was the 1970s). I’ll not go into the plotting of the physical, emotional, spiritual, intellectual, aesthetic, and other cycles other than to say that one hopes to find a time when as many parts of the biorhythms are at a peak. That came to mind as two beautiful aspects came together on Friday morning. We all know there can be “good days” (or at least “better than other” days) with multiple sclerosis. I’ve been having my share of challenges...
Source: Life with MS - August 11, 2014 Category: Other Conditions Authors: Trevis Gleason Tags: multiple sclerosis life with MS Living with MS Source Type: blogs

I’ve Joined the Gym: What’s Your MS Workout Routine?
Well, I did it. Though the facilities of my local health club are far (FAR) from what I’m used to accessing, it’s on the exact opposite side of town, and regardless of the fact that it’s damned expensive, I’ve joined-up for a year’s membership at my local gym (the only one for better than 45 miles). In all fairness, they did give me a discount as I’ll not be able to access many of the club’s offerings (let’s face it, spinning and hot-room yoga are not in the deck of playable cards for this kid with MS). It is up a flight of stairs, the nearest parking is over a block away, and let’s just say that “air c...
Source: Life with MS - August 6, 2014 Category: Other Conditions Authors: Trevis Gleason Tags: multiple sclerosis Living with MS MS and exercise ms and gyms MS Fitness Source Type: blogs

I Don’t Want to Have MS Anymore
So, I’m sitting at my desk doing some research for today’s blog. I’m combing the latest news from clinical trials, the most recent news stories. I’m poking around all of the patient service and advocacy organizations’ sites. Then it hits me – I just don’t want to have MS anymore. Don’t get me wrong, I know that after a diagnosis and without a cure, not living with MS means not living. I’ll choose the latter, thank you. Still, living for an extended period with MS (and it will be 14 years in the spring, not the 18 I counted last week – stupid cog-fog), I find MS is like a heavy bag of something that I ...
Source: Life with MS - July 30, 2014 Category: Other Conditions Authors: Trevis Gleason Tags: MS multiple sclerosis burden of MS Living with MS tired of MS Source Type: blogs

The MS Nap: A Surrender or Retreat?
First and foremost, let me state that while some will see giving in to an MS-induced afternoon nap as a type of surrender, I see it, rather, as a strategic fallback – a sensible and honorable retreat. There was a day and time in my life with MS (good lord, I just realized that my MS could vote next year) that I fought this disease every step of every day. As I learned how this damnable disease works on my body, I began to see warning signs as something new began to happen. Ever so slowly, I have grown to know my enemy like the hero in some World War II sniper-on-sniper film. Be it ordinary MS fatigue or a more extraordin...
Source: Life with MS - July 28, 2014 Category: Other Conditions Authors: Trevis Gleason Tags: multiple sclerosis MS fatigue ms naps ms rest MS symptoms ms warning signs Source Type: blogs

How Does the ‘MS Card’ Play Out in Your Event Calendar?
“National No Garth Day.” I kid you not – that’s what one national radio presenter dubbed today. The country icon, Garth Brooks, sold out 400,000 tickets to five consecutive nights of concerts in Dublin (before his promoter secured a license for the same – but that’s a different topic for another blogger) and canceled all five shows when he was granted permission for only three. Oh, the wailing and gnashing of teeth in the days (which seemed to turn to weeks and months) in every slice of the Irish media pie. Papers editorialized, television news readers moped, and radio presenters spat out reports on the negoti...
Source: Life with MS - July 25, 2014 Category: Other Conditions Authors: Trevis Gleason Tags: multiple sclerosis Garth Brooks life with MS Living with MS MS and attendance MS and cancellations MS and events MS and family MS and invitations MS and social gatherings social calendar Source Type: blogs

The Success of Failure
The times when the humidity has me sweating through two – or even three – shirts in a day, relative temperatures (yes, I realize I live in Ireland, but I’ve acclimatized to the cooler norms here) push my new limits. I’m committed to “do what I can while I can,” but I feel like I’m failing more than I’m succeeding. And it’s got me thinking… Though I’m purposefully living my life in a state of multiple sclerosis détente, I still find it important to set the bar high for myself. Well, I suppose that the bar is only relatively high because my new normal is nothing like my old normal once wa...
Source: Life with MS - July 23, 2014 Category: Other Conditions Authors: Trevis Gleason Tags: multiple sclerosis committed to failure life with MS Living with MS MS goals multiple sclerosis success never surrender possibilties Source Type: blogs

MS Symptom Thesaurus: Balance Issues
As we continue our monthly offering of a place for you to help describe symptoms, we move into a bit of an odd one. While MS balance issues can, on occasion, be caused directly by the disease, our balance problems can often be due to a combination of other symptoms. While MS balance problems are a real thing unto themselves, symptoms like vertigo, muscle weakness, foot drop, limb fatigue, or even numbness also can cause one to feel off balance. MS-affected balance can make us feel like we’re walking in the wrong shoes or that the wall is actually the only thing keeping us from the floor. Heavy feeling on one side or the...
Source: Life with MS - July 21, 2014 Category: Other Conditions Authors: Trevis Gleason Tags: multiple sclerosis MS balance issues multiple sclerosis symptoms Multiple Sclerosis Thesaurus Source Type: blogs

My Troubling New Symptom Creep: How’s Your MS Today?
Since early in 2006, we have offered a monthly place to check-in with ourselves, with online friends, and with the greater MS community as to how things have been going in the past month or so. We have had the chance to follow one another’s lives, our loves, and our health. I have seen real friendships blossom in these pages, and we have seen some of our friends, unfortunately, slip into the difficult places of MS. Many of us use these pages as something of an on-line diary in which to keep track for our doctors’ visits and to chart general progress. This monthly blog is a tool. Seldom have I seen anyone rant (though w...
Source: Life with MS - July 16, 2014 Category: Other Conditions Authors: Trevis Gleason Tags: multiple sclerosis How's your MS Today? multiple sclerosis symptoms trevis gleason Source Type: blogs

MS Is BS, and More From the Life With MS Inbox
About two years ago, I posted our first “From the Life With MS Inbox” blog because some (alright, a very few) of the items that are pitched and hawked and spammed to us actually make some sense. You might remember the Cravaat from that post. About a year later, we posted about children’s cooling vests and a new novel featuring MS. Well, I’ve sifted through the ol’ inbox again and found a couple more gems that deal with some of the frustrations of living with MS in mildly vulgar fashion. Two separate groups have jumped on the wagon of calling out MS for what it really is sometimes: “BS”! While the gr...
Source: Life with MS - July 14, 2014 Category: Other Conditions Authors: Trevis Gleason Tags: multiple sclerosis awareness community From the Life With MS Inbox Living with MS MS Bad Days MS is BS MS T-Shirts and Gear new MS products Source Type: blogs

Can You Pass the MS Dental Sobriety Test?
After I woke and completed my morning inventory this soft Irish day, I let the Wheatens out for their morning pee, took care of that myself, and then brushed the sleep and the garlic of last night’s Caesar salad from my teeth. It’s a fairly routine thing we do – brushing our teeth – and then again, it isn’t. Fine and gross motor skills, fatigue, spasm, swallowing issues, even medications can all have an impact on our daily oral hygiene routines and overall dental health with MS. I know that I don’t brush the way I once did. I don’t floss the same. I don’t even use the same oral hygiene products of my pre- (...
Source: Life with MS - July 11, 2014 Category: Other Conditions Authors: Trevis Gleason Tags: MS multiple sclerosis dental health dental hygiene Living with MS MS fatigue MS symptoms oral health oral hygiene Source Type: blogs

MS Cog-Fog or ‘Magazine Syndrome’?
Well, I started to write about something. Actually, I wanted to and was about to formulate the idea about something…on the way from one place to another, the idea seemed to be good enough to write about. I began by looking for the thing that sparked the idea and in that process, the idea morphed into another thought that seemed a better angle to get the whole point of the piece across. That’s when it all went wrong. An old friend used to call it “magazine syndrome.” You know – you absolutely KNOW – that you saw the thing you were looking for. You’re almost positive it was in this publication or that. You reme...
Source: Life with MS - July 9, 2014 Category: Other Conditions Authors: Trevis Gleason Tags: multiple sclerosis normal problems 'magazine syndrome' community Living with MS ms cog-fog MS symptoms Source Type: blogs

Multiple Sclerosis as a Character in the Movie of Your Life
Someone once told me “Everyone directs their own movie.  They see life through their own lens.”  This is true on so many levels, most of which I won’t attend to in this blog. Working on a project for the past two weeks I’ve begun to see MS as a character in the story of my life.  MS is not the star – it’s not even a supporting role – but a former headliner making a cameo appearance at the most annoying times. It is a part of my story. As the director of my own film, it’s my job to keep this big-headed ego of a character from stealing the scenes, upstaging the important players, and steppi...
Source: Life with MS - July 7, 2014 Category: Other Conditions Authors: Trevis Gleason Tags: multiple sclerosis awareness Living with MS ms community Multiple Sclerosis Thesaurus Source Type: blogs

Before March Slips Away, How’s Your MS Today?
I am in New York City – the Big Apple – for meetings of a new MS Task Force this week.  My body is trying to adjust to a 4-hour time change and going from a quiet town of 1,300 souls to, well, New York City! We ask you every month to check in with yourself and with others in the Life With MS Blog community.  It’s a way of gauging how our MS is progressing, how we’re coping and just to have a good ‘chin-wag’ with one another. Since our January post on the topic, we’ve been using our new Life with Multiple Sclerosis Self-Evaluation Scale (LWM3S).  This 1-10 scale (where 1= the best you’ve felt since your d...
Source: Life with MS - March 23, 2014 Category: Other Conditions Authors: Trevis Gleason Tags: multiple sclerosis life with MS Living with MS MS fatigue Source Type: blogs

Before March Slips Away; How’s Your MS Today?
I am in New York City – the Big Apple – for meetings of a new MS Task Force this week.  My body is trying to adjust to a 4-hour time change and going from a quiet town of 1,300 souls to, well, New York City! We ask you every month to check in with yourself and with others in the Life With MS Blog community.  It’s a way of gauging how our MS is progressing, how we’re coping and just to have a good ‘chin-wag’ with one another. Since our January post on the topic, we’ve been using our new Life with Multiple Sclerosis Self-Evaluation Scale (LWM3S).  This 1-10 scale (where 1= the best you’ve felt since your d...
Source: Life with MS - March 23, 2014 Category: Other Conditions Authors: Trevis Gleason Tags: MS multiple sclerosis life with MS Living with MS MS fatigue Source Type: blogs

MS in Ireland: Cheaper Meds But Fewer Docs
In January we introduced the idea of reporting on what it’s like to live with MS in different parts of the world.  Well, February passed without me getting to it and now the Ides of March have already passed.  I’d better get to it! In fact, with St. Patrick’s Day just over, it makes perfect sense to start with Ireland. The population of this small island in the North Atlantic (well, the country that occupies most of the island; we’ll get to The North in another post)  is only about 4.5 million.  The number of people living with multiple sclerosis in Ireland is about 8,000.  The country as a whole has about a m...
Source: Life with MS - March 19, 2014 Category: Other Conditions Authors: Trevis Gleason Tags: MS multiple sclerosis awareness community Living with MS MS Around the Globe Source Type: blogs