Living With MS Episodes

Every day, 12 more Canadians are diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. Facing one of the highest MS rates in the world, spread across a geographically large country, the MS Society of Canada is the only national voluntary organization in Canada that supports cutting-edge MS research while providing services and support to more than 90,000 people living with MS. Joining me as my guest is Dr. Pamela Valentine, who is not only the president & CEO of the MS Society of Canada but also a multi-award win...

MS-related pain is one of those invisible symptoms that can have a profound impact on your quality of life. So we're devoting this entire episode of RealTalk MS to taking a deep dive into assessing and managing MS-related pain with my guests, Dr. Dawn M. Ehde and Dr. Heidi Maloni. Both of my guests are experts at assessing, treating, and managing MS-related pain, but each approaches pain from a slightly different perspective. Dr. Ehde is a clinical psychologist and professor of rehabilitation m...

November 11 is Veterans Day in the United States, giving us an opportunity to honor the men and women who have served in America's armed forces. More than 70,000 U.S. veterans are living with MS, and joining me on the podcast is Karla Clay, an Air Force veteran, and a National Veterans Wheelchair Games multiple medal winner. We're talking about the life-changing turn that Karla's MS journey ended up taking. As of today, the fate of the Affordable Care Act and the legal protections for people wi...

Fatigue is considered to be the most common MS symptom and also one of the most disabling because fatigue can interfere with every aspect of someone's life -- at home, at work, in their relationships -- in every way, fatigue can have a profound impact on your quality of life. We're talking about how to best manage MS-related fatigue with two experts on the subject, Dr. Bardia Nourbakhsh, and Dr. Kathy Zackowski. Remembering Karen Jackson We're also remembering Karen Jackson, an MS activist, ti...

MS doesn't only affect individuals. It affects families. And that's probably most clear when we're talking about pediatric MS. The National MS Society estimates that there are about 5,000 diagnosed cases of pediatric MS in the United States and less than 10,000 cases worldwide, but those numbers become far less important when your child is one of those diagnosed cases. We're taking a deep dive into pediatric MS with Hannah Schnitzler, who lives with pediatric MS, Hannah's mom, Melissa Fisher, an...

The ECTRIMS (European Committee for Treatment & Research in MS) meeting is the largest MS research conference in the world. This year, of course, the ECTRIMS conference was virtual, and so was my conversation with Dr. Bruce Bebo, the Executive Vice President of Research at the National MS Society. Join us in this special episode of RealTalk MS as we take a deep dive into the research breakthroughs that will lead to treatments designed to stop MS progression, restore lost function, and end MS for...

We're in the midst of the fall MS conference season, and while all the conferences are virtual, there's still lots of news to share. This week, we're talking with EJ Levy, the Founder and President of MS Hope for a Cure, about Big October 2020. We're also talking about MS rehabilitation science with Dr. Kathy Zackowski, the Senior Director of Patient Management, Care, & Rehabilitation Research at the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. Our wide-ranging conversation includes updates from the 10...

A lot of us may have to think back to a time before the pandemic to remember what it felt like to get a good night's sleep. But if you're someone living with MS, you might have to think back even further. Research tells us that more than half the people living with MS report significant disruptions in their sleep and difficulty maintaining a consistent sleep schedule. And that can lead to additional health issues along with an overall decline in quality of life and wellbeing. My guest is Dr. Ka...

Of all the people living with MS, you might assume that people living with progressive MS have experienced the highest levels of anxiety and depression related to the threat of COVID-19. A research team found themselves at the right place at the right time -- conducting a different progressive MS study. They quickly pivoted to investigate the emotional impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on people living with progressive MS. My guest is Dr. Anthony Feinstein, a professor of psychiatry at the Univer...

You can't control the weather, but you can learn to dance in the rain. And developing resilience teaches you how to dance in the rain. My guest is Dr. Dawn Ehde, a clinical psychologist and professor of rehabilitation medicine at University of Washington Medicine. Dr. Ehde is an expert in understanding resilience, and she's joining us to explain why having resilience is central to improving the well-being of people affected by MS, and how to go about building your resilience -- even in the midst...