Living With MS Episodes

Vision impairment is a key symptom of multiple sclerosis. In fact, many people experience optic neuritis as the very first sign of MS. People living with MS may also experience other vision-related issues including internuclear ophthalmoplegia, diplopia, nystagmus, oscillopsia, and reading fatigue. Dr. Shiv Saidha joins me as we take a deep dive into strategies for navigating MS-related vision issues while managing and optimizing your vision. Dr. Saidha is a professor of neurology in the Divisi...

A couple of terms have found their way into the MS lexicon and they have left some people living with MS feeling confused and even frightened. If you've been diagnosed with relapsing-remitting MS and you've always assumed that disease progression only occurs at the time of a relapse, you may be wondering what progression independent of relapse activity, or PIRA, means and how it may or may not impact your MS journey. And if you are someone whose MS seems relatively stable and well-managed, you ...

We're all living longer and that includes people living with MS. And as they age, people with MS are asking new questions. Is there a need to stay on disease-modifying therapy after the age of 60? How do we know whether a new symptom is a symptom of MS or a symptom of aging? Does an additional age-related health condition make treating MS more difficult? Does treating MS make treating that new health condition more difficult? How can we best offset the social isolation that's often associated w...

When people living with MS find themselves unable to continue working due to disability, they turn to Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI). And when they do, many are surprised to find the long, winding, sometimes confusing road that lies ahead. This week, disability law expert Jamie Hall joins me to demystify the process of applying for SSDI benefits. Jamie specializes in social security and long-term disability law. And he, literally, wrote the book for the National MS Society on apply...

How, and to whom, should you disclose your MS at your job? And if you decide to disclose, is that information confidential? What does reasonable accommodation mean? If you need a day or two to bounce back after an infusion, is that part of your PTO? And what do you do when you no longer have days off available? If you're living with MS and you're employed, you absolutely need to know and understand your rights in the workplace. MS Navigator Christina Forster joins me to answer these questions a...

Living well with MS means learning to plan ahead. And, while planning ahead may not solve every issue that crosses your path, taking time to understand some of the details and making the right choices when it comes to your health insurance can make a huge difference in your MS care and treatment. MS Navigator and insurance resources specialist Carla Turechek joins me to share strategies for successfully navigating the health insurance maze with a minimum number of "surprises." We're also shari...

You've just had your appointment with your neurologist or MS Specialist and you're on your way home, feeling like you weren't heard. Maybe there wasn't sufficient time. Or it might feel like your opinion simply isn't valued. Your frustration could even be the result of language issues and cultural barriers that make communication difficult. Whatever the reason, it doesn't have to be this way. Dr. Luis Manrique-Trujillo joins me this week to share tips and strategies that will improve the qualit...

This special episode of RealTalk MS is sponsored by EMD Serono and is only intended for a U.S. audience. EMD Serono is the healthcare business of Merck, KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, in the United States and Canada. In this special episode of RealTalk MS, we're exploring what the invisible symptoms of MS are, and how to best empower people living with MS to talk about them with their healthcare team. Professor Klaus Schmierer is a Professor of Neurology at the Blizard Institute, Queen Mary's Unive...

Cognitive dysfunction is a common symptom of multiple sclerosis, affecting more than half of the people living with MS. While cognitive issues like changes in memory, difficulty maintaining attention, slower information processing speed and executive function may not be among the most disabling symptoms of MS, they may be among the most disconcerting symptoms. Whether it's your short-term memory, the ability to find your way to a familiar destination that you've gone to hundreds of times, or yo...

A growing number of people living with MS are turning to cannabis for symptom management. But which MS symptoms have responded to being treated with cannabis? Where should someone buy medical cannabis? And is using medical cannabis even legal? Dr. Michelle Cameron returns to the podcast to discuss the risks and benefits of using cannabis for symptom management. Dr. Cameron is a neurologist and physical therapist, as well as a professor in the Department of Neurology at Oregon Health & Science U...