“Dr. Macaluso has written the Iliad and the Odyssey of multiple sclerosis while playing the part of Odysseus. Amazing!” Carlo Tornatore, MD, Vice Chairman, Department of Neurology Georgetown University Hospital, Washington, DC Vincent F. Macaluso was in medical school when he got the news: he had multiple sclerosis. He soon learned that almost a half million people in the United States have multiple sclerosis—and millions more worldwide. Many have obvious symptoms, such as trouble with walking, balance, and coordination, but the most insidious aspect of the disease is how it affects the mind. Macaluso shares insights from his vantage point as a doctor and an MS patient, helping his peers understand symptoms they may not grasp and offering wisdom for those who live with the disease. Learn how to • anticipate and overcome problems concentrating; • manage swirling emotions; • understand MS from a neurological standpoint; • preserve and continue to enjoy an active sex life; and • prevent the disease from ruining family life. Laced with humor and filled with diagrams and the author’s own recollections about how he’s kept MS from controlling his life, this account is essential reading for doctors, patients, and anyone who has an MSer in his or her life.

An MS diagnosis presents many unanswered questions: How is this diagnosis going to change my life? Where do I begin? How will I manage to take care of my family, work, and travel? No one knows the answers to these questions better than Shelley Peterman Schwarz, who has lived nearly forty years with multiple sclerosis. Schwarz imbues her updated collection of practical tips and short cuts with personal stories that highlight her trials and triumphs. Shelley shares her real-life experiences as a wife, mother, friend, and employee/employer coping, managing, and growing with MS with a humorous warmth and unflinching honesty. This extensively revised and updated third edition is packed with helpful information and now includes over 800 tips and new solutions and strategies for confronting the challenges of living a full life with a debilitating chronic illness. With Shelley’s guidance, readers will learn to conserve valuable time and energy, develop techniques for making everyday tasks easier, manage symptoms, maintain positive relationships, stay motivated, and bounce back when MS knocks you down. Expanded chapters cover medical issues, home safety and accessibility, dressing and looking your best, and travel. NEW sections include: A Thriver’s Guide Taking Charge Mentally and Physically Family and Friends Marriage Sexual Compatibility and Intimacy Being a Parent Driving and Disability Working Finding Help and Support With hundreds of new tips and tools, and practical wisdom for meeting challenges large and small, this book continues to inform, encourage, validate, and empower individuals and families living with multiple sclerosis.

MS Madness will make you laugh while learning the real story of what MS, a disease that affects 400,000 Americans daily, can do to a perfectly normal person. Life with multiple sclerosis can be daunting, but Yvonne shares her giggles at the bizarre world she has unwittingly entered and the new perspectives it has given her on life.

Renae Clare has lived with the symptoms of Multiple Sclerosis including paralysis, depression and fatigue for over 40 years. This deeply personal account, Potty Mouth, was written as a series of essays after each of her psychotherapy sessions. Her therapist, Dr Cinzia LeValds recommended putting them all together into book form feeling that Renae's completely open and brutally honest voice would help a great many people. She has dealt with abuse, with aging, with disability, and with loss. Renae's wickedly profane sense of humor shows her optimistic spirit shining through even under the most depressing and difficult times. This book is gut wrenchingly truthful and yet, at times it is laugh out loud funny. It was written for the purpose of healing and forgiving Renae Clare's past and as such there are many things in Potty Mouth that she had never spoken of before beginning therapy. It is written with the thought of helping not only herself but others to find the inner strength and inner peace needed to get through the obstacles that she has come up against over time. Although she has MS her optimism shines through and she is an inspiration to everyone she meets. Potty Mouth also includes practical guides to finding help for disabled people and how to keep and restore self-confidence and self worth. Renae Clare's book hides nothing.

One of the most widely recommended guides to living with multiple sclerosis, now completely revised and updated, including the latest research, the most recent information on treatments (including the news on Tysabri®), and new tips for managing MS. Multiple sclerosis is as much a mystery as it is a disease, but this chronic and often disabling condition of the central nervous system affects over 400,000 people nationwide. From the moment of her diagnosis in 2000, Margaret Blackstone took charge and educated herself on every aspect of her condition. Now, as a "patient-expert," she guides those newly diagnosed step-by-step through their first year with MS. She provides crucial information about: The most up-to-date treatment options Effective alternative therapies Choosing the right medical team Discussing your condition with family, friends, and co-workers Current medical research Stress management and exercises Extensive online and community resources Strategies for accomplishing necessary lifestyle changes

Yoga for people with multiple sclerosis? Absolutely! Today, people with a wide range of medical problems use yoga successfully. Because of its emphasis on relaxation, breathing, and deliberate movement, it can be especially beneficial for individuals dealing with a neurologic disease like multiple sclerosis. Yoga and Multiple Sclerosis, coauthored by Dr. Loren Martin Fishman and Eric Small, a yoga teacher who first embraced these techniques as a way to manage his own symptoms of multiple sclerosis, is a comprehensive guide to applying the principles of yoga to the management of MS. The first section is a straightforward but gentle introduction to yoga - a therapeutic approach to the practice itself. The second part is functionally oriented. Different yoga poses that work toward a common goal, such as combating fatigue, reducing spasticity, and increasing range of motion, are included and illustrated. This user-friendly guide Describes how yoga works Includes photographs and descriptions of each pose Explains effects, advantages, and contraindications Contains starter poses that will help the uninitiated or physically challenged to gently achieve a posture Yoga and Multiple Sclerosis: A Journey to Health and Healing is an excellent guidebook and tool for people with MS, people who undertake yoga on their own, and for all members of the medical and yoga communities.

This text provides a comprehensive overview of the clinical and basic science aspects of MS. It is designed to be of practical use to clinical neurologists, and addresses all of the major issues that may occur in the management of persons with MS.