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
Multiple sclerosis is one of the most unpredictable diseases there is, especially when it comes to young people. Symptoms vary widely, and the time it takes to progress can be long or very little at all.
In large part because it shows up so differently for so many in the community, it’s a difficult disease to understand. But, anyone living with it Continue reading
For most of you, there is one certainty when it comes to winter and MS: the colder weather and gray days have an effect on you. But how the weather affects you is a toss-up.
We reached out on the MultipleSclerosis.net Facebook page to ask: “Do the darker, gray days of late fall and winter impact your emotional symptoms?”
In the community, 925 members voted. An overwhelming majority Continue reading
Over on MultipleSclerosis.net, we recently shared an article by Dianne Scott about fighting the secondary progressive stage of MS (SPMS). Her words generated a lot of discussion in our community about how MS looks from the outside compared to how it can feel from the inside! The many thoughtful responses added so much to the article and the conversation about life with MS that we decided to compile some of the comments and share them here. Continue reading
Heat will do it. Being unable to get around easily will do it. For so many people living with Multiple Sclerosis, there are many reasons to think twice about going on vacation. It can seem like too much work for not enough payoff.
But everyone deserves a vacation.
To find out how the Multiple Sclerosis community is finding ways to vacation that truly work, we reached out on the MultipleSclerosis.net Facebook page. The question we posed to the group is: “Are there any vacation spots that you would recommend as being ‘MS-friendly?’”
Almost 50 of you commented, sharing Continue reading
Physical weakness, fatigue, impaired ability to remember information. MS certainly can take a toll on what day-to-day life looks like. For many living with MS, you now have a greater appreciation for what life looked like before the diagnosis.
Because it’s very common to miss aspects of life that fell victim to the disease, we wanted to start a conversation about the topic. On the MultipleSclerosis.net Facebook page, we asked you to share what you miss most.
Here’s what you had to say. Continue reading
Facing fatigue daily or almost daily is a lot for anyone to get through, and it’s frequently cited as the most frustrating symptom for people living with MS. It’s especially challenging when anyone with MS also has to keep a house clean, get food on the table, run errands or do the same work they did before receiving the diagnosis.
And yet, you all keep going. We asked the Facebook community at MultipleSclerosis.net which household chores are Continue reading
It does have a name. That maddening feeling of being stuck, unable to express what’s on your mind. In the Multiple Sclerosis community, it’s now called fumbling word vomit.
In her piece, Ashley Ringstaff details what many of you have experienced—that inability to find the right words in the moment. It’s yet another piece of MS that’s hard to live with.
We posted Ringstaff’s piece in the MultipleSclerosis.net Facebook page, and more than 100 of you commented, venting along with Ringstaff and sharing solution as well.
Here’s what you had to say. Continue reading
There is one day that many people with MS see looming in the near or distant future: the day they can no longer work. For some, the actual timing of this day comes as a surprise—and the resulting financial strain is huge. But what can be even harder is the process of applying for and possibly being denied medical disability.
For Mitch Sturgeon, the answer to it all became obvious. Not easy—but obvious.
Sturgeon recognized that disability was a ‘when’ and not an ‘if,’ and so he scheduled the last day he could work, Continue reading
Dr. Phil shocked many viewers this past spring when he stated that “… 100 times out of 100 this won’t work” if partners care for partners with disability.
Whoa. It’s painful to even read that sentence, isn’t it?
Many of you watched the episode or heard about the comment and had a strong reaction. To open up the conversation about MS and caregiving on the MultipleSclerosis.net Facebook page, we posted an article by Dan and Jennifer Digmann that was a response to Dr. Phil’s inflammatory comment. More than 100 of you Continue reading