MS articles
Hello, I’m Patrick and I run this website. I have secondary progressive multiple sclerosis, disabled by drop foot and owner of a wonky bladder. Here are interesting articles about MS, not necassarily just about my MS. I want to make people more aware of MS and the effect it has on upon people’s lives. My MS does not affect just me, it has an effect upon everyone I know.
Only another invisible disability
An invisible disability is a problem for people living with advanced MS and you can easily have several. I could go so far as to call them as the lowest form of pond life. Something unexpected starts happening, initially its very slightly annoying and is quickly dismissed as a passing glitch. You hope the glitch […]
Adapt my MS normal to Covid 19 isolation normal
9 April 2020. Right now the chips are down. I need to find a new life that includes Covid 19 isolation. I must not allow depression or anxiety to intrude or overwhelm life. We all need to come up with a new strategy or routine. I must change my MS normal to Covid 19 isolation. […]
Five day city break in Seville
I’ve never been to Seville before and the idea of a city break in February appealed to me. Of course I had to take usual paraphernalia that a disabled person needs when going away. We had found a hotel in Seville with an accessible room, crucially a walk-in shower. As soon as I had booked […]
Creating my own social capital
Social capital is happening all the time around us. Reading this blog is social capital. Just being with other people gives you social capital. I expect you’ve already gone to Google and typed in those two words, billions of hits. Now I am creating my own social capital. Creating my own social capital I won’t […]
MS Society introduces the 1 Km walk
Sport is an area of society in which ableism is seen only too often. Finally the society is embracing people with progressive MS and mobility issues in a positive way. Eventually the MS Society introduces the 1 Km walk It is only within the last ten to fifteen years that Western society recognises athletes with […]
Progressive multiple sclerosis treatment
Options for progressive multiple sclerosis treatment are non-existent. If you have recently been diagnosed with MS then there are treatments available to reduce and even stop progression. That is fantastic news but it is too late for so many people. I am one of those people If you have progressive MS then the outlook is […]
Totally unrestricted and able to move easily
There was a wonderful time when I had felt totally unrestricted and able to move easily. Even on the fateful day in 1995 when the consultant diagnosed me with multiple sclerosis I was just a normal guy. Multiple sclerosis, I had never heard of it. I had to look it up in an encyclopaedia and […]
Imagine life without multiple sclerosis
Sometimes I like to play a simple mental game. Picture myself going up a flight of stairs. Maybe I can see myself walking to the shops and then carry the shopping back home. Drive the car instead of using the bus. I can still visualize myself striding out for a walk with the dog, not […]
Who knows where the time goes?
Back in the day I used to get up just after 7, help my wife get the children up, have breakfast and be at work by 9. Nowadays I get up by 8.30 and I’m not downstairs eating breakfast until 9.30. That was all 20 years ago Who knows where the time goes? It’s not […]
Why multiple sclerosis makes me anxious
Multiple sclerosis is a scary disease. It’s progressive and unpredictable. As it progresses you become less capable of undertaking physical activities. You are very aware of its progress. It is no great surprise that sufferers are apprehensive of what the future holds for them. This uncertainty is often the cause of stress and anxiety. Why […]
Time To Make Your Life Easier
Do you have MS? Don’t you think its time to make your life easier? I should know, I am always trying do it. What can YOU do so you do not feel fatigued living your life? Its important to enjoy yourself and have a good quality of life. Time to make your life easier I’m […]
Walking is sensible exercise
Walking is sensible exercise. It is gentle, and it is low impact. It’s simple and effective. Even better, its free. Sensible exercise is about increasing your general activity and finding things to do that you enjoy. OK, I know that some of you can’t walk, it must be so frustratng. I can’t walk unless I […]
A Letter to Multiple Sclerosis
A Letter to Multiple Sclerosis You first visited me a long time ago. It was 1972, I was 18 and having a pint or two of beer. I went to the loo for a pee but nothing happened. In 1979 I had a serious bladder spasm and I wet myself at work. You went away […]
Multiple Sclerosis Specialist Advice
I have been following blogs and visiting MS forums recently. Yup these have all been MS related, no surprises there. There was one startling conclusion that I have come to. People seem happy to live with their problems and reluctant to talk to MS specialists. MS sufferers need to find someone who can give Multiple […]
British Summer Time Returns
The last full weekend in March, British Summer Time returns 🙂 . The clocks go forward an hour and everything else takes a great leap forward. Finally its bye-bye to winter, Spring is now well under way. British Summer Time returns In the woods and the garden there are signs that everything is waking up. […]
Look Forward And Not Look Back
Are you a person who will look forward and not look back? Do you try to move forward and take on new challenges? Alternatively are you a person who wants to keep hold of the past and not let go of it? Technology is moving forward very quickly but I am not talking about that. […]
They say they have MS and run a marathon
You say you have MS and run a marathon. I think that is a contradiction. Should someone who runs a long way state they have MS? Do they understand what MS is really like? It’s the elephant in my room 24/7 it stands over me, watching my every move. This elephant is waiting to catch me […]
Can You Cure Multiple Sclerosis
Can you cure multiple sclerosis (MS)? It is a question that would always receive a negative reply. Recent medical developments, described as miraculous, can now lead to a cure for MS. People newly diagnosed with Relapsing Remitting Multiple Sclerosis (RRMS) can have their immune system rebooted using stem cells extracted from their bone marrow. Before […]
Diagnosed with MS And You Drive A Car
If you are diagnosed with MS (multiple sclerosis) and you drive a car then here is some good news. There are one or two hoops that you must now jump through when you get the diagnosis. You must tell the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) that you have been diagnosed with MS. Also the […]
Do Hospital Gardens Aid Recovery?
Hospital gardens can help patients with recovery. They will spend less time in hospital. A garden provides access to active exercise and can instill a desire to live My experience in 2009 I was working in Hamburg when I fell over, cracked two ribs and punctured a lung. After the operation to insert a tube to […]
Memory is definitely getting
The Cognitive Rehabilitation for Attention and Memory in people with Multiple Sclerosis (CRAMMS) study will focus on these MS related symptoms and begin to recruit patients in April 2015. I already know that I have a very poor memory. What do I use to help my memory and make my life with multiple sclerosis that little bit easier? The […]
Hydrotherapy and multiple sclerosis
Hydrotherapy, some people call it about physiotherapy in water or even aquatic physiotherapy Power of Gravity When walking around doing the day to day activities we tend to forget about gravity. Gravity is everywhere, its keeping things on the ground. Pour water out of a jug. It is the effect of gravity that makes the […]
Are You a Frequent Faller? I Am.
Only too often people with SPMS are described as frequent fallers; I am. There are usually only a couple of reasons but you ignore them at your own peril. Drop foot I have a leg that does not do what it is told, sometimes known as drop foot. I’m unable to lift my left […]
Information you need to know
I am going to tell you information that I think is important. One is about your consultant and the other refers to multiple sclerosis and the two are linked. This is information that my consultant Professor Giovannoni talks about in his blog and I feel it is vitally important that other people know this. It’s […]
Multiple Sclerosis and Tai Chi
Tai Chi is a Chinese martial art. Shibashi, a form of Tai Chi, are 18 simple exercises that are easy to learn Recently I attended a physiotherapy session at the MS Therapy Centre at Halton where I was introduced to the Shibashi exercise routines. Multiple Sclerosis and Tai Chi Shibashi are coordinated movements performed in a […]
The invisible disease
Multiple Sclerosis the invisible disease is now a part of my life. It first affected me in 1972 but who could say what it was when it first arrived and began to infect me. I had no idea that there was anything wrong with me. When I was younger I used to play rugby at […]
The symptoms and progression of MS
The symptoms and progression of MS are unique for everyone. It is both a complicated and complex disease. I believe that Relapsing Remitting Multiple Sclerosis and Secondary Progressive Multiple Sclerosis are different diseases. I always thought this was a possibility. RRMS comes and goes, SPMS gradually nibbles away at the central nervous system and the […]
Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy
What is hyperbaric oxygen (HBO) therapy? It is treatment when a patient breathes in pure oxygen while under increased air pressure. This increases the oxygen content in the blood and consequently in different body tissues. Medical conditions such as burns, decompression sickness or the bends, severe infections, radiation-induced tissue injury, and carbon monoxide poisoning can use […]
Disabled Toilet Radar Key
I travel up to London via Euston Station quite often, when I get there I often need to go to the loo or else I might get ‘caught short’. A Radar Toilet Key is needed to get into the disabled toilets. It is time get a disabled toilet radar key. Used to go to the public loos […]
Brenda Escreet & her ‘Harley Davidson’ TGA Mobility Scooter
Despite living with Multiple Sclerosis, Brenda Escreet, 66 from Lancashire continues to attend numerous music festivals and gigs, support several charities and have ‘biking’ freedom outdoors thanks to her TGA Supersport mobility scooter. Disabled Ramblers Brenda was originally born in Lancashire and after a period living in London now lives back in her native county. […]
Diagnosis, what next?
You have been diagnosed with Relapsing Remitting Multiple Sclerosis (RRMS), this happened to me in 1995. How many of you have been offered a disease modifying therapy (DMT) and when were you diagnosed? You try disguising a fall When I was diagnosed with MS I was not offered any treatment because none was available. I […]
MS Clinics, reducing missed appointments
South Devon Health Care tested a scheme at Newton Abbot Community Hospital for multiple sclerosis patients. Normally the patients would have to attend a clinic at Torbay hospital, approximately 10 miles away. The trial scheme to give people with MS access to services at Newton Abbot Community Hospital has resulted in fewer missed appointments. Specialist […]
Staring Into Space
‘Hey you, stop staring into space’. How many times did the teacher at school say that? Your imagination was away in the clouds and you had switched-off completely. When the moment came you could always switch-on again and be back to a fully functioning person Now you lose the plot Now when you catch yourself […]
Multiple Sclerosis is a Form of Dementia
Professor Giavannoni has put the cat amongst the pigeons by saying that MS is a form of dementia. The definition of dementia is Dementia is a loss of mental ability severe enough to interfere with normal activities of daily living, lasting more than six months, not present since birth, and not associated with a loss […]
You’ve Been Diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis
Here are six words you do not want to hear. Did you tick the box on the mortgage application form for life cover? I didn’t. Its too late now to insure your health, so you’ve just got to shrug your shoulders. Its even more important to plan for the future. Yup, the phrase, ‘You’ve been […]
Manage Your Life and Depression
It’s not an easy task to manage your life and depression. It’s even worse if you have a progressive illness. Your life and your capabilities are being nibbled away bit by bit. It is no wonder that you feel sad and dejected maybe even rejected. Depression is curable Oh yes these are strong words but […]
