Past Episodes

Too often, care partners remain invisible as they deal with the emotional, physical, and even financial burdens that go along with supporting a loved one who's living with multiple sclerosis. November is National Family Caregivers Month, and I'm devoting this entire episode to a roundtable discussion with four remarkable care partners as they share their insights, experiences, and lessons learned caring for a loved one with MS. You won't want to miss my conversation with Barbara, Marina, Maiya,...

There are some people who, once you meet them, it's impossible to forget them. They seem to leave an indelible impression. Lydia Emily is one of those people. Whether it's through her art that occasionally escapes the canvas to be expressed as massive urban murals proclaiming End MS, or through her outspoken MS advocacy. Lydia Emily is a force. Now, along with co-author Lenlee Keep, Lydia Emily has channeled that energy into a book entitled, The Art of Hope: The Life and Art of Lydia Emily. Lyd...

MS affects almost 3 times as many women as men, often affecting women of childbearing age. In this special episode of RealTalk MS, Dr. Riley Bove answers some of the important questions about the impact of MS on a woman's pregnancy and the impact of pregnancy on a woman's MS. This special episode of RealTalk MS is sponsored by Viatris. SHARE THIS EPISODE OF REALTALK MS Just copy this link & paste it into your text or email: https://realtalkms.com/V201 ADD YOUR VOICE TO THE CONVERSATION I've al...

On this podcast, we tend to talk a lot about new technologies, emerging treatments, the most recently approved disease-modifying therapies, and even some DMTs that haven't yet been approved. And in the midst of all that cutting-edge research and evolving science, it's easy to lose sight of the fact that expressive therapies like dance and movement therapy, music therapy, and art therapy have all been shown to help promote self-efficacy, emotional well-being, and motor control in people living w...

Being a teenager is hard. So, imagine for a moment that in addition to everything else that teenagers have to endure, you're a teenager who's been diagnosed with MS. Your ability to participate in after-school activities or just hang out with your friends is impacted by MS-related fatigue. The typical adolescent anxiety over something someone posted on social media evolves into depression. And cognitive issues begin to make it harder for you in the classroom. This is an unfortunate reality for m...

Learning to live with MS is learning to live with loss. For some, those losses may be minor and seem relatively insignificant. For others, those losses can be huge and life-altering. The definition of grief is an emotional response to a significant loss. It's not unusual to grieve over those things in your life that have been lost due to MS. In fact, healthy grieving is a necessary emotional step to moving forward in life. Dr. Holly Hendin, a faculty physician and psychiatrist at St. Joseph's H...

Now that he's had a chance to digest all of the research presented at ECTRIMS, Dr. Bruce Bebo, the National MS Society's Executive Vice President of Research, is back to share the key research presented at the largest MS research conference in the world. This episode of RealTalk MS is the perfect follow-up to my initial conversation with Bruce, which occurred just minutes after ECTRIMS ended. (If you missed our conversation, you may want to check out Episode 369 of RealTalk MS.) We have a lot ...

Open enrollment is underway! And if you're one of the 25% of people living with MS who get their coverage through Medicare, there are some major changes coming in 2025. So, it's especially important that you review your prescription drug coverage to make sure you're enrolled in the Medicare Part D plan that's best for you. Sarah Anderson, pharmacist and senior director of clinical resources and programming at the National MS Society, joins me to help us decipher those changes and navigate the s...

In the seven years that I've been hosting RealTalk MS, no one has ever described a mobility device as life-changing. That is until listener Dee Ecklund reached out to tell me about her experience with the Alinker. One of my goals in producing this podcast is to introduce the RealTalk MS listener community to people who are difference-makers. And Dee's initial DM led to my conversation with Dee and the inventor of the Alinker, a true difference-maker, BE Alink. The National MS Society's 3rd ann...

With more than 9,000 MS researchers and clinicians in attendance, the 2024 ECTRIMS meeting in Copenhagen was the largest MS research conference in the world. During the meeting, I had an opportunity to talk with some of the best and brightest minds in MS research and clinical practice. This is your invitation to listen in on my ECTRIMS EXTRA conversation with Dr. Jiwon Oh. Dr. Oh is a neurologist, scientist, and the Medical Director of the Barlo Multiple Sclerosis Program at St. Michael's Hosp...