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 an...
Jan 29, 2024•32 min•Season 7Ep. 335
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 sharing...
Jan 22, 2024•28 min•Season 7Ep. 334
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 quality...
Jan 15, 2024•36 min•Season 7Ep. 333
If you remember your Economics 101 class, the introduction of generic and biosimilar drugs should cause prices to drop. Yet, when it comes to MS disease-modifying therapies that isn't always the case. MS Navigator Robin LaRue joins me this week to discuss how to manage the sometimes crazy costs of MS prescription medications. We're also sharing results from a study that show there is absolutely no association between consuming dairy and gluten products and MS disease activity. We'll tell you abo...
Jan 08, 2024•29 min•Season 7Ep. 332
This is the week that a lot of us make resolutions for the coming year. And I'm hoping that after you hear my conversation with Dr. Claire Riley, many of you will resolve to become donors to the National Multiple Sclerosis Brain Bank. Resolving to donate brain and tissue to the National MS Brain Bank is a new year's resolution that goes far beyond the standard eat better and exercise more promises that so many of us make to ourselves every year. It's deeply meaningful, profoundly personal, and, ...
Jan 01, 2024•30 min•Season 7Ep. 331
This week, I'm revisiting the proposal from the International Advisory Committee on Clinical Trials in MS that recommended adopting a new framework that leverages what scientists are continuing to learn about MS and redefines how we talk about MS, how we research MS, how we diagnose MS, and how we treat MS. This proposed framework holds the promise of taking MS care to the next level. This new framework was first proposed in a paper published in November 2022, and last January, I spoke with the ...
Dec 25, 2023•38 min•Season 7Ep. 330
The holiday season provides me with an opportunity to indulge in what's become a RealTalk MS tradition. I reserve the last two episodes of the year to revisit the most compelling,and important conversations that I've had over the past year. This week, I'm revisiting the conversations I had at the Pathways To Cures Global Summit that took place in New York last May. The National MS Society brought together the best and brightest minds in MS research, the CEOs of major MS Societies, representative...
Dec 18, 2023•49 min•Season 7Ep. 329
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 Univerr...
Dec 13, 2023•34 min
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 you...
Dec 11, 2023•33 min•Season 7Ep. 328
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 & Scienc...
Dec 04, 2023•26 min•Season 7Ep. 327
Chris Holland had a successful career working as a paralegal when he was diagnosed with MS in 2004. And, while everyone reacts differently to being diagnosed with MS, no one could have predicted what happened next, as Chris lost everything battling demons he never imagined he would ever face. But it would be a mistake betting against Chris Holland's resilience. Bouncing back, Chris decided to pursue his lifelong dream of becoming a chef. Today, Chris is a three-time Food Network Chopped champion...
Nov 27, 2023•30 min•Season 7Ep. 326
According to the CDC, 36 million falls are reported each year, resulting in 3 million adults being transported to the Emergency Room and 32,000 adults dying from their falls. Studies have shown that, in any six-month period, more than 50% of the people living with MS fall at least once, and 30% fall multiple times. As falls at home are common, occupational therapist Tracy Carrasco joins me to share tips and strategies for making your home safe and accessible. We're also sharing a research roundu...
Nov 20, 2023•29 min•Season 7Ep. 325
MS is misdiagnosed too often, which leaves some people who don't have MS receiving expensive disease-modifying therapy that they don't need, while leaving other people who do have MS still not receiving treatment with a disease-modifying therapy that will slow disability progression and preserve their quality of life longer. My guest, Dr. Andrew Solomon, is the lead author of a paper published by a team of international experts that provides updated guidance for healthcare professionals on clini...
Nov 13, 2023•32 min•Season 7Ep. 324
More than 70,000 U.S. veterans are living with MS. That's why the only federal funding specifically earmarked for MS research comes from the U.S. Department of Defense. It's why the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs has established the Multiple Sclerosis Centers of Excellence. And it's why, in 2019, the National MS Society established a strategic partnership with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. This week, we're saluting the men and women of our armed services, and we're highlighting s...
Nov 06, 2023•32 min•Season 7Ep. 323
Rachel Horne is a journalist who was diagnosed with MS in 2009. Since then, Rachel has developed a first-hand understanding of the knowledge gaps that remain when it comes to understanding the impact of MS on women's health and the impact of women's health issues on MS. As Rachel reviewed MS research, she also observed that when it came to acknowledging outstanding MS research, it was rare that a female researcher was singled out to receive recognition for their work. This year, Rachel took acti...
Oct 30, 2023•34 min•Season 7Ep. 322
With more than 9,000 MS researchers and clinicians in attendance, the 2023 combined ECTRIMS-ACTRIMS meeting in Milan 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. Robert Motl. Dr. Motl is a professor in the department of Kinesiology and Nutrition, and a professor in the department of ...
Oct 28, 2023•10 min
With more than 9,000 MS researchers and clinicians in attendance, the 2023 combined ECTRIMS-ACTRIMS meeting in Milan 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. Daniel Ontaneda. Dr. Ontaneda is a neurologist at the Cleveland Clinic Neurological Institute's Mellen Center for Multiple...
Oct 27, 2023•9 min
With more than 9,000 MS researchers and clinicians in attendance, the 2023 combined ECTRIMS-ACTRIMS meeting in Milan 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. Annette Langer-Gould. Dr. Langer-Gould is an MS Specialist at Kaiser-Permanente, and while at the ECTRIMS-ACTRIMS meeting,...
Oct 26, 2023•6 min
With more than 9,000 MS researchers and clinicians in attendance, the 2023 combined ECTRIMS-ACTRIMS meeting in Milan 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. Anthony Feinstein. Dr. Feinstein is a Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Toronto, and his expertise is in the ne...
Oct 25, 2023•9 min
This week, we're sharing more from the 2023 joint ECTRIMS ( European Committee for Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis ) and ACTRIMS ( Americas Committee for Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis ) annual meeting. What if we could identify MS before anyone experienced any of the typical clinical symptoms? Would treating that person with a high-efficacy disease-modifying therapy prevent the clinical symptoms of MS from even developing? Those are the questions that make the study o...
Oct 23, 2023•23 min•Season 7Ep. 321
With about 9,000 MS researchers and clinicians in attendance, the 2023 combined ECTRIMS-ACTRIMS meeting in Milan 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'...
Oct 19, 2023•10 min
Last week, more than 9,000 MS research scientists and clinicians from more than 110 countries traveled to Milan to attend the largest MS research conference in the world, the 2023 joint ECTRIMS ( European Committee for Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis ) and ACTRIMS ( Americas Committee for Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis ) annual meeting. In keeping with a RealTalk MS tradition, just as the meeting was ending and the thousands of attendees were heading for the exits, I c...
Oct 16, 2023•18 min•Season 6Ep. 320
We've been using the same MS clinical course descriptors (relapsing-remitting, secondary progressive, and primary progressive) for almost three decades. As research has provided so much additional information and insight, is it time to update the way we describe, diagnose, and treat MS? The International Advisory Committee on Clinical Trials in Multiple Sclerosis has established a working group to explore this question. And, as a means of eliciting feedback from stakeholders around the world, a ...
Oct 09, 2023•29 min•Season 7Ep. 319
In this episode of RealTalk MS, we're talking about what you should be talking about with your neurologist or MS Specialist. Shared decision-making is a key component of patient-centered health care. It's a process in which clinicians and patients work together to make evidence-based decisions on tests, treatments, and care plans that balance risks and expected outcomes with patient preferences and values. But is shared decision-making actually occurring? Or are people living with MS still being...
Oct 02, 2023•36 min•Season 6Ep. 318
RealTalk MS is now 6 years old! We've covered a lot of ground in more than 300 episodes over the past 6 years. And I'm marking our 6-year anniversary by highlighting the most impactful conversations we've had in each of the past 6 years. We have a lot to talk about! Are you ready for RealTalk MS??! SHARE THIS EPISODE OF REALTALK MS Just copy this link & paste it into your text or email: https://realtalkms.com/317 ADD YOUR VOICE TO THE CONVERSATION I've always thought about the RealTalk MS po...
Sep 25, 2023•19 min•Season 6Ep. 317
It's not unusual to see sex and intimacy become unintended and unnecessary collateral damage in the day-to-day-challenges of living with MS. But it doesn't have to be that way. Madelyn Esposito, LPC, NCC, CST, joins me to discuss some of the common sexual problems faced by people living with MS, ways to maintain intimacy in your relationships, and tips for maintaining a healthy sex life. Kristine Werner-Ozug and Cheryl Weeks-Frey take you inside the workings of the MS Society's Community Review ...
Sep 18, 2023•31 min•Season 6Ep. 316
Just a couple of weeks ago, the FDA approved the first biosimilar medication for treating MS. As generics and now, biosimilars, become more available, it seems like the right time for us to get clear on the similarities and differences between generics, biosimilars, and the name-brand drugs that they mimic. Dr. Jiwon Oh joins me to explain everything you need to know to be an informed medical consumer when it comes to generic and biosimilar disease-modifying therapies. Dr. Oh is a neurologist, s...
Sep 11, 2023•39 min•Season 6Ep. 315
When you're living with MS, managing your pelvic floor health may not be among the first things you think about. But pelvic floor dysfunction, and the problems that arise from it, like bladder and bowel issues, can seriously impact your health, well-being, and quality of life. Jill Ehrmantraut, a physical therapist and women's health clinical specialist with advanced training in pelvic rehabilitation, joins me to explain what pelvic floor rehab is all about, why it's important, and how you can g...
Sep 04, 2023•24 min•Season 6Ep. 314
Fire, flood, record-setting heat, tropical storm, earthquake -- we've seen it all in the past several weeks! Natural disasters can present a whole series of unique challenges for people affected by MS. Last year, I had an opportunity to talk about disaster preparedness for people affected by MS with Mary Casey-Lockyer, the Senior Medical Advisor to Disaster Operations at the American Red Cross. As extreme weather events become a more frequent and regular occurrence in our everyday weather patter...
Aug 28, 2023•30 min•Season 6Ep. 313
Contrary to what was once believed to be true, we now know that exercise and physical activity can deliver several important benefits for people living with MS, and actually improve your quality of life. Experts recommend exercise and physical activity for everyone living with MS, at every level of ability. Dr. Gretchen Hawley joins me this week to talk about what kinds of exercises you can and should be doing -- at your level of ability. We'll also tell you about an experimental Epstein-Barr Vi...
Aug 21, 2023•30 min•Season 6Ep. 312
