Past Episodes

A quick scan of the news on any given day should remind all of us that natural disasters can strike anywhere at any time. Whether it's massive snowstorms, earthquakes, wildfires, hurricanes or floods, no one is immune when Mother Nature chooses to act up. That's why being prepared for a natural disaster is important for everyone. And if you're living with MS, it's especially important for you to have your family's emergency preparedness plan in place. Senior Medical Advisor to National Disaster...

Spasticity is one of the most common symptoms of MS, impacting up to 80% of the people living with MS. It can feel like mild muscle tightness that you wish would just go away or it can be so painful and debilitating that it keeps you from moving. Dr. Michelle Cameron joins me in this episode to discuss what spasticity is and how to best manage it. Dr. Cameron is a neurologist and physical therapist, a professor in the Department of Neurology at Oregon Health & Science University, Interim Chief ...

This week's episode of RealTalk MS was recorded in front of a LIVE audience at the National MS Society's 2022 Leadership Conference. Joining me in this special episode are Lori Turley, who was diagnosed with MS in 2021, and whose commitment to fundraising and advocacy is already producing dividends, and Dr. Bradley Zuchero, an MS Society-funded research fellow whose lab has discovered the biological mechanism that produces myelin in our central nervous system. In addition to my questions, our ...

When we talk about managing MS on this podcast, we're usually talking about treatments based upon traditional Western medicine. But there are also complementary therapies that have been shown to improve MS symptoms. And acupuncture is one of those complementary therapies that's been shown to be effective in treating pain, spasticity, numbness or tingling, bladder problems, and depression. Joining me to talk about the therapeutic effects of acupuncture in treating MS symptoms are Jennifer Mohr-B...

Last week, over 7,000 MS researchers and clinicians from more than 100 countries traveled to Amsterdam to attend the 2022 ECTRIMS (European Committee for Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis) Congress, the largest MS research conference in the world. As has become an annual ECTRIMS tradition on RealTalk MS, the National MS Society's Executive Vice-President of Research, Dr. Bruce Bebo, and I took up our vantage point on the steps right outside of the convention center to discuss the res...

A couple of months ago, the Inflation Reduction Act was signed into law. And while it touches on many different areas, it will be remembered as the most consequential healthcare bill since the Affordable Care Act. From the emails I've received, I know that many of you are wondering how and when this new law will impact what you pay for your prescription medications. The National MS Society's Vice-President of Advocacy, Steffany Stern, and MS activist Judy Wilson, join me in this episode to expl...

If you're on Medicare, or you get your health insurance through the healthcare.gov marketplace or one of the state health insurance exchanges, then you might already know that the annual open enrollment period is about to get underway or, in some cases, is already underway. Health insurance policies change. Physician networks change. Drug formularies often change. Deductibles change. And if you're living with MS, you can't afford to go through open enrollment assuming that the health insurance ...

It's flu season and that makes it an excellent time to talk about vaccines. People living with MS often have questions about whether a particular vaccine is good for them or whether it might carry with it the risk of a relapse or other negative health consequence. Dr. Lisa Doggett joins me to brief us on all things related to vaccines and MS. Dr. Doggett is a family doctor as well as the Senior Medical Director at HGS AxisPoint Health. She was a 2021-2022 American Academy of Family Physicians V...

Living with MS can make everyday run-of-the-mill tasks like bathing, cooking, and driving more challenging than they have to be. The National MS Society's Associate Vice President of Research, Dr. Kathy Zackowski, joins me with a whole list of simple adjustments and easy modifications that you can make that will make the things you do every day easier. Get ready to take some notes! A lot of you have reached out to me, sharing your thoughts about Selma Blair competing on Dancing with the Stars. ...

Living with MS comes with its own set of sometimes significant challenges. But being in the dark, unaware of the noteworthy and remarkable advances being made in MS research is one challenge that we're learning to overcome. Sharon Roman is a patient-partner and writer for the British Medical Journal Group. Sharon lives with MS and she also writes a blog called Tremlett's MS Research Explained. The blog features plain-English posts detailing the research being done by Professor Helen Tremlett an...