pain

If I take a minute to pause, I find myself in disbelief when I think about everything I’ve endured with neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD). It’s as if all those difficult moments are pieced together as flashbacks that make up a terrifying mind movie, one I never auditioned for,…

This post is for the ladies, although I’m going to assume that the men won’t mind eavesdropping. After all, 80% to 90% of neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD) patients are women. While this is a gender-skewed conversation, trust me, the struggle is universal enough to be educational. There’s…

Living with neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD) means I’ve become something of a detective. I’m not the glamorous kind with a trench coat and a magnifying glass like Sherlock Holmes, but more like a tired, slightly bewildered Inspector Gadget who wakes up every morning trying to figure out what’s…

Ever since neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD) introduced pain into my life, I’ve been trying to exorcise it from my body. I’ve become a formidable opponent to pain, but parts of it still frighten me. The spasms were the worst. They once felt like someone was pouring boiling water…

People with neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD) often experience severe fatigue, pain, anxiety, and depression that are not fully captured by standard physical disability tools used in the clinic, a study found. According to the researchers, “disability scores were weakly associated with symptom burden” on the Expanded Disability Status…

Pain is received differently by everyone, but I believe most people with neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD) develop an unusually high tolerance. Once we adjust to a new normal, we find ways to exist inside it, ways of holding ourselves, bracing ourselves, and moving through the world that help…

It’s unusual for Toronto to be hit by two massive snowfalls in one week, shutting down the city and giving kids rare snow days. As a lifelong Canadian, I’m no stranger to snow, although I’m usually fortunate enough to avoid anything major. The downtown skyscrapers in Toronto usually shield us…

Nearly all adults with neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD) experience headaches, especially migraines, a single-center study in Iran suggests. The presence of abnormalities in brain MRI scans and the use of the immunosuppressive therapy rituximab were each linked to an increased chance of new or worsening headaches after a…

Note: This column describes the author’s own experiences with acupuncture for pain management. Not everyone will have the same response to the practice. Consult your doctor before starting or stopping a therapy. It’d been 14 years since I lay on a table, acupuncture needles gently placed along meridians meant to…

There’s a lot of things that people don’t see about me. I deal with fatigue, pain, and other unpredictable symptoms that come with having neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD). Even the simplest tasks can require monumental effort to complete. That’s why “bed rotting,” as it’s called, has become an…