• Advocacy,  MS,  Multiple Sclerosis

    Gilenya in Ireland: Yes!

    People in Ireland who have multiple sclerosis will finally be able to receive Gilenya from their neurologists! The HSE’s temporary agreement from June 19th 2012 between the Department of Health and the Irish Pharmaceutical Healthcare Association also revealed €20 million savings will be reached by the association. For more, please read http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2012/0619/1224318195781.html This is absolutely fantastic news! The ongoing media campaign set up by the MS Society of Ireland surely made an impact!

  • Advocacy,  MS,  Multiple Sclerosis

    Gilenya in Ireland: Yes!

    People in Ireland who have multiple sclerosis will finally be able to receive Gilenya from their neurologists! The HSE’s temporary agreement from June 19th 2012 between the Department of Health and the Irish Pharmaceutical Healthcare Association also revealed €20 million savings will be reached by the association. For more, please continue reading here. This is absolutely fantastic news! The ongoing media campaign set up by the MS Society of Ireland surely made an impact!

  • Advocacy,  Finances and MS,  MS,  Multiple Sclerosis

    Gilenya in Ireland, part 2

    It’s been a tumultuous week. I didn’t win the lottery or meet my knight in shining armour, but I had my MS/neurological check-up in one of Dublin’s biggest hospitals. It created ripples of emotions, questions and very few answers and as expected, Copaxone will remain my disease modifying drug (DMD) for the next few… hhmm… years perhaps? I expected – or hoped – to hear about new drugs on the MS-horizon as there are silent whispers about more new meds coming out later this year, but none of that happened. Off I went so re-adjusting my beliefs, my hopes and my dreams. I just wasn’t happy about having to stay on Copaxone; in my eyes it just wasn’t effective anymore. I should have known better. My neurologist has studied at…

  • Advocacy,  MS,  Multiple Sclerosis

    Gilenya in Ireland… or not?

    Looking through the window and wondering when and how it all began… Did it creep up on me or did it just hit me with a ton of bricks? Honestly? I think I know when it all started, but then again, there have been past flare-ups or exacerbations long before that, even if I didn’t know what they were at the time. Hindsight is a wonderful thing if you know what to look for. It does not matter anymore how it all began. Maybe it was fate, but do I really believe in fate or do I just say I do? People often refer to the diagnosis of multiple sclerosis like an unwanted houseguest turning up on their doorstep, an unwanted guest who will be there until their last breath,…