With multiple sclerosis (MS), physical symptoms can range from numbness and tingling to vision problems, bladder dysfunction, balance problems, dizziness, and more. But there’s no pattern of symptoms that applies to everyone; MS affects each person differently. One thing everyone with MS can relate to, though, is the unpredictability of a condition that can have you feeling fine one day and lying flat on your back the next. Figuring out how best to live with this incurable disease and the challenges it throws in your path can be overwhelming if you try to do it alone. So why not turn to other people with MS who know exactly what you’re going through? You can find a lot of them on the internet, blogging, creating podcasts, and sometimes posting a video or two. In our favorite MS blogs, you’ll find plenty of inspiration, brutal honesty, new experiences, frustrations, successes, highs, and lows. Regardless of where they come from and what they do, all these bloggers provide advice, encouragement, and a no-frills look at what life is really like when you’re living with MS.
1. Accessible Rach
When Rachael Tomlinson was diagnosed with primary progressive MS at age 51, she decided to pursue her dream of becoming a writer, aiming to prove that living with MS “shouldn’t have to be an uphill struggle.” In her writings on Accessible Rach, the United Kingdom–based blogger broaches topics ranging from disability and accessibility to plus-size fashion and beauty. Check out her posts on living with irritable bowel syndrome in addition to MS, dealing with impostor syndrome as someone with a chronic illness, and why it’s okay to not be okay. You can find the self-described patient advocate on Instagram, too.
2. MS Bites
A registered dietitian nutritionist and certified MS specialist who began her career advising people with cancer, Mona Bostick shifted to working with the MS community after being diagnosed with relapsing-remitting MS in 2008. On her blog, MSBites, Mona works to keep “Dr. Google” in check and regularly busts the myth that diet is a “magic bullet” for the condition. She also addresses commonly asked questions, such as, “Have you tried this diet for MS?” and “Will turmeric supplements really help people with MS?”
3. Tripping on Air
Ardra Shephard’s generous use of profanity and friendly, conversational writing style make Tripping on Air feel like a chat with a friend. Her hilarious posts discuss the daily struggles of MS — like how MS can mess with your mojo, having to admit to her husband (“The Banker”) that she wet the bed, or getting the flu during a fancy birthday dinner in New York City. She also talks about what it was like to “come out” to her friends about having MS. Candid and charming, Ardra’s blog is the perfect remedy for any of your down days.
4. Dinosaurs, Donkeys, and MS
6. Ireland, Multiple Sclerosis & Me
7. It’s a S— Business
The title of this blog offers a clue to the tone of Steve Woodward’s long-running series of thoughts on his experiences living with MS. Frank, irreverent, and conversational, It’s a S— Business is an unfiltered look at Steve’s day-to-day life, from what he calls “MS medications roulette” to the very real phenomenon of wheelchair envy. (Upon discovering the price of one particularly flashy model, he warns readers not to be surprised if he “reinvent[s himself] as an Instagram or YouTube influencer in the forthcoming months.”) He’s also not afraid to tackle some of the more serious issues facing people living with MS: Check out his posts on feeling “like a (literal) burden” when his family members had to push his wheelchair or “that’s not MY MS…”, in which he muses on a tendency among members of the MS community to “live entirely through the filter of their illness.”
8. My New Normals
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9. Yvonne deSousa.com
10. A Life Less Traveled …
At age 31, Michael Wentink was living the dream. He and his wife had just had their first child, he’d recently graduated from his MBA program, and he was director of a Fortune 500 company. Then he was diagnosed with MS. Although he worked for as long as he could, his position as an executive eventually became too overwhelming. He then medically retired and took on his current role as a writer and podcaster living with MS. Along with A Life Less Traveled …, Michael is a contributor to The Mighty (check out his posts about the difficulty of medical retirement and living with MS during COVID-19) and has appeared on the DISabled to ENabled podcast, hosted by Jessie Ace. RELATED: How MS Contributes to Isolation and What You Can Do to Stay Connected
11. Think in Decimals
Edith Solenne Monk was diagnosed with MS at 16. “As much as I hate that being my opening line,” she says, “it’s become a big part of my life.” It’s also a big part of her blog, Think in Decimals, which she’s been writing since 2015. She’s an avid traveler and has written about trips to Canada, Transylvania, and the Alps, among others. (Her favorite part of New York City? The “lovely, accessible, concrete" pavements for wheelchair users.) She also does a lot of campaigning to draw awareness to the struggles faced by people living with a disability, whether it’s workplace discrimination or issues with the social care system. Eloquent and inspiring, Edith’s blog is a must.
12. Ashley’s Life With Multiple Sclerosis
At age 22, with a husband and two sons and having just finished school, Ashley Ringstaff was diagnosed with MS (as if she didn’t have enough on her plate). But her blog proves just how far you can go with a chronic illness. If you ever feel like MS is taking over your life, just look at her post on what you can do with the condition — written, naturally, in response to hearing about all the things she supposedly can’t do. She talks about losing friends and taking anger out on family, her 10-year anniversary of being diagnosed with MS, and how to find yourself after diagnosis. Along with her posts on Ashley’s Life With Multiple Sclerosis, you can read more from her at MultipleSclerosis.net, along with a number of other inspiring contributors who share their stories. Additional reporting by Laura McArdle and Christina Vogt.
