MS: musings from inside the neurology department waiting room, 21 years later
No one is ever ready to hear what the stranger in front of them has to say. A neurologist examines your MRI and cerebrospinal fluid test results, gazing and thinking. Do they wonder how they will tell you that from this moment on, your life will change—that you’ll need to adapt your lifestyle to include a new, most frustrating illness—that your body has betrayed you?
Sensory MS symptoms: The hair that isn’t there
When sensory MS symptoms enter your system, you will find yourself worrying if what your feeling is even real. So while you're reading this, I'm whacking the imaginary hair planted by multiple sclerosis off my face.
Life with MS: don’t let people steal your identity
The feeling of stigmatization is a real one, especially when you have invisible disabilities when you don’t sit in a wheelchair (yet). It is also why society at large feels it has the right to question your medical status, whether asked for or not. Therefore, the feeling of guilt is an experience that many people with MS struggle with in different ways, even when we cannot begin to grasp why we are being questioned in the first place.
Dogs and Multiple Sclerosis: a bond made of steel
As 2025 marks the 20th anniversary of my diagnosis, there is much to tell, feel, experience, and even hide when needed. Hopefully, there will be plenty to write about this year as the search for a new puppy begins.
He was not “just” a dog
"When MS and trigeminal neuralgia attacked my face, Oisín looked at me as if to say, “I’m here, I got you, I’m not going anywhere. You can count on me. ” In addition, when daily severe fatigue kept me depleted of energy, he showed me we could always play when I felt better. The list was endless. Oisín was the easiest-to-please MS nurse who learned fast and forgot even faster, just like his human. He reminded me that there is always tomorrow when my body refused to cooperate."
Why a rise in your body temperature can trigger MS symptoms
Studies have shown that heat sensitivity is a key clinical factor in MS, so learn what the risk factors are before Uhthoff’s Phenomenon hits your central nervous system.
A harsh letter to my MS
MS, you really have no idea of the damage you created when you left me on the ruins of your castle. In fact, Sigmund Freud once said "Anatomy is destiny." It is as unpredictable as it is varied, and in need of its own psychoanalysis.
