May is MS Awareness Month in Canada, as Canadians learn about multiple sclerosis, while taking part in activities to help raise funds for MS research and more.
According to MS Canada, the neurological disease affects the central nervous system, and for years before a clinical diagnosis, many people experience symptoms before knowing they’re living with MS.
Portland, Oregon band Everclear helped define 1990s alternative rock.
Frontman Art Alexakis lives with MS – a diagnosis that has shaped his career and perspective, as his ongoing battle continues with relapsing MS.
Alexakis doesn’t want relapsing MS to define him and now has one goal in mind — fighting relapsing MS and helping others in the MS community do the same, as he continues to tour, write, and connect with fans.
Recently, the band toured North America to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the album Sparkle and Fade, with a stop in southern Alberta.
Alexakis, who was diagnosed in 2016, originally learned he had relapsing MS while he was undergoing an MRI for a pinched nerve in his neck that occurred after a minor car accident.
His doctors believed he may have had it for 20 years or more before diagnosis.
Now living with relapsing MS, Alexakis works with his neurologist Dr. Regina Berkovich on a treatment plan that’s right for him.
“About 15 years ago I started experiencing symptoms I hadn’t experienced before like problems walking, problems running, balance, vision issues, and serious fatigue. I thought it might be aging, but since the symptoms persisted, I went to a doctor and was evaluated, and they diagnosed me with MS,” said Alexakis.
According to Dr. Berkovich, MS affects people at the prime of their lives. “It’s not a rare condition. It affects nearly three million people worldwide.”
With relapse remitting, Dr. Berkovich explained that the period of exacerbation may be interrupted by a period of the return to the pre-exacerbation level of activity for the person. “That could be a period when people may feel completely cured. That’s very dangerous and it’s a trap.”
“You should understand exacerbation may come again, unless you’re on preventive therapy. We call them disease modifying therapies because if selected properly and if it’s working well, then it should reduce the risk of the disability progression,” Dr. Berkovich noted.
Being diagnosed with MS, Alexakis added, makes everything just a little bit harder. “I have to try harder, and I have to take care of myself. I have to stick to my regimen. I swim everyday. I work out everyday. I have to go to physical therapy three times a week. I changed my diet and I take my medication. I get an infusion once a month, and this medication has been good for me. It works really well with my lifestyle. I’m just really grateful.”
Alexakis encourages fans with any symptoms to go to a doctor and ask them all the questions they need to. “Don’t be afraid to ask the hard questions until you get the answers you need to hear. There’s a lot of doctors out there and a lot of information.”
“It’s important to me to do this because I want people to know you’re not alone,” he added, saying it’s scary when you first get diagnosed. “But there’s so much help. You can have the life you want to have. You just have to work a little bit harder for it, and you have to take care of yourself.”
Dr. Berkovich said it’s so important to have a very good connection with an MS specialist neurologist who will listen and understand your life goals and aspirations and how to achieve them. “Go and see different doctors and find someone who clicks with you who will see your life goals.”
For more information about MS Awareness Month, visit the MS Canada website.
