Can Certain Foods Trigger MS Symptoms?

A man mixing a bowl in his kitchen for meal prep, while a stack of food containers are piled behind him.

There is no one way to eat that is going to rid everyone of their MS symptoms. However, many people in the MS community have found that there is a direct link between what they eat and their MS symptoms. While every person with MS likely has a different list of foods they avoid, there is a lot of overlap in terms of the worst offenders.

To start a discussion about which foods make MS worse, we reached out to community members on our Facebook page and asked them to tell us: “Do certain foods trigger your MS symptoms?” Continue reading

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What People with MS Wish You Knew About MS Pain

A woman doubles over and squints in pain, holding her stomach and her back. The background shows the enlarged, abstracted outline of lightning bolts.

Pain can be one of the most challenging things in life to deal with. However, for people with MS, pain is often part of daily life.

While September was Pain Awareness Month, it is important to continue the conversation about the connection between pain and MS. To learn more about the impact of this connection, we asked community members to share their experiences and Continue reading

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Multiple Sclerosis and Communication Issues

A woman and man are having a conversation. The man has his eyes closed and is talking as a paragraph of lines comes out of a speech bubble. The woman's eyes are wide with a broken speech bubble as a completely empty thought cloud lingers over her head.

Although many people think of multiple sclerosis as primarily a diagnosis with physical symptoms, its reach is far more extensive. Since MS begins in the brain, it can impact one’s ability to communicate – namely, it often impairs memory and speech.

To find out more about the speech and memory challenges community members deal with, we reached out to members of our Facebook community and asked “Do you ever suffer from communication issues and expressing yourself with MS?”

More than 550 community members shared. Here is what was said. Continue reading

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Community Views: Do MRIs Tell the Whole Story?

An MRI machine sits in the bottom right hand corner of the frame. There are 3 question marks flying out of the machine with one that has a "no" symbol on it.

For many people living with multiple sclerosis (MS), the relationship with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is complicated. This imaging tool can be helpful in determining how quickly the disease is progressing in the nervous system, but can also give complicated results.

We turned to our community members to learn more about your experience with MRIs. We asked Continue reading

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Safety Precautions Can Be Extra Challenging for Those with MS

Living through the COVID-19 pandemic is difficult for everyone. However, it is certainly more challenging and stressful for anyone with a health complication, especially MS. In particular, quarantine and some safety precautions come with unique challenges for those with MS.

To hear more about how the MS community is handling COVID-19 protective measures, we asked our Facebook community: “What safety precautions have you found to be the most challenging with MS?”

More than 100 community members weighed in. Here is what you had to say. Continue reading

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MS and Self-Care During the Quarantine

A woman as a potted plant watering herself to grow healthy

For most people, living through the quarantine is one of the most challenging and unnerving experiences ever. And yet, it can also be a time of boredom, as many are kept away from the places of everyday routines, from gyms to community pools.

To not just make it through but thrive during this time requires a heightened attention to self-care.

To hear more about how those in the multiple sclerosis community are handling Continue reading

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Advice from the Community: Awaiting an MS Diagnosis

Waiting is the hardest part. For anyone who thinks they may have MS and is undergoing testing, awaiting results can be scary and downright hard to deal with.

To learn more about how to cope during this challenging time, we reached out on the MultipleSclerosis.net Facebook page and asked: “What advice would you give to someone who is going through the testing and diagnostic process but has yet to receive a confirmed diagnosis?”

Almost 90 members of the multiple sclerosis community shared their hope and experience. Here is what they said. Continue reading

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The Biggest MS Triggers

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In the early days after diagnosis, MS triggers are often a mystery. However, many find that the more time they have lived with MS, the more they know exactly what makes their symptoms worse.

To hear about some personal experiences with MS, we reached out on the MultipleSclerosis.net Facebook page. We asked the community to Continue reading

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How Multiple Sclerosis Affects Sleep and Dreams

Dreams are a wildcard—whether you are living with MS or not. For some, dreams are an escape from the physical limitations of life with multiple sclerosis. Others experience something different when they go to bed. Good or bad, the dreams and nightmares tend to have one thing in common: They are extremely vivid.

To find out more about these experiences, we reached out Continue reading

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Multiple Sclerosis and Headaches

In his story “Does Multiple Sclerosis Cause Headaches?” posted on MutiplesSclerosis.net, author Matt Allen explores the correlation between MS and migraines. As someone with MS and also a migraine sufferer, he took notice as more and more attention was paid in the media to the possible correlation.

In his story, he cites a 2017 study that found that headaches are experienced by 78 percent of people newly diagnosed with MS.

This study alone is not enough to make a Continue reading

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