MS: Meds can help patients

After reading the article on Robin Bates and his fight with MS, I felt I needed to write. Though his story is inspiring and I am grateful for him getting the word out about MS, he gave some very dangerous advice in my opinion.

I am a 47-year-old female who has had MS going on 15 years and I have a 26-year-old daughter who was diagnosed with MS when she was 17. I know a thing or two about MS and feel more than qualified to say Tsk, Tsk, to Mr. Bates on his words of advice.

He should always speak about HIS experience with MS and not lump us all together. When he said, “Insurance doesn’t help because the medicine doesn’t help, anyway,” I got very upset.

When I speak of MY experience with MS, I always make sure the person knows that we all have different symptoms and no two of us are the same. We can have some of the same symptoms, or not. None of us are the same and we all react different to treatments. What works for one of us, may not work for another. That is why we work with our doctors with our medicines and changes or adjustments. That was such a dangerous statement he made. It could possibly keep someone from trying one of the disease-modifying drugs. That would be a shame.

I have been on three different drugs and so has my daughter. I am the exact opposite of Mr. Bates. I give full credit to the drugs that have kept my daughter and me, out of wheelchairs. When one stopped working, we switched. Yes, they can stop after being on them for years, or not. Again, we are all different. They didn’t work for him and that truly is a bummer. They do work for some of us. I am disabled though, even taking DMDs. Mostly, all thought, reasoning, remembering and understanding has diminished. I just can’t imagine what I’d be like if I didn’t take the meds.

I’d also like to let people know that each of the drug companies have a “patient assistance program” for those who don’t have insurance or can’t pay their co-pay. My daughter has been receiving her meds free, for nine years now. Please don’t let cost stop you either. There is help with it.

In closing, I’d like to wish Mr. Bates a safe and inspiring journey. Thank you for getting the word out: MS sucks. There is hope though!

BRANDI BYE

Post Falls