b'Medicine & Research3 pharmaceutical and was able to stay on it 3DDiiddtthheettrriiaallhheellppyyoouuffeeeellmmoorreeiinnccoonnttrroollo for a bit longer. orreemmppoowweerreeddiinnmmaannaaggiinnggyyoouurrMMSS?? Yes, absolutely. Up until then, there was only55WWoouullddyyoouuppaarrttiicciippaatteeiinnffuuttuurreeACTH(nowreformulatedas ActharGel,acsteroid alternative for those who cant tolerateclliinniiccaallttrriiaals?ls? solumedrolorprednisone),basicallyaYes. In fact, I\'m currently participating in steroid-type infusion that was given for 14 days.one right now. To think that my participation It did help but was only temporary, a rebootin these trials may help future MS patients, kind of thing. There were also medicationsmakes me very happy. I believe that my help for symptoms, but no DMTs. I remember myis very important. I think trials are proof that doctors cautioning me about quick cures,there is more hope for the futurethats how rumors about things such as bee sting therapy.I prefer to think instead of a way for companies Hey, I knew several people who did that. Whoto get big money. In the end, we all gain from knew who to trust? The handheld device wasresearch, trials, experiments and the wonderful one of the more empowering trials becausepeople who just keep digging deeper. that was the rst time anyone acknowledgedLLoorriiPPeerrnnaathat cognitive challenges were part of MS. II was diagnosed with MS knew it because I was only dumb when myin 2001. I was one of the MS was ared, so duh. When I started seeingfortunate ones whose primary trial statistics coming out, I knew that somecare physician suspected what of those numbers were me! I contributed.my symptoms could be and4. WWhhaattssuurrpprriisseeddyou the most aboutsent me for an MRI that week. p Two weeks later, he conrmed paarrttiicciippaattiinngg in a clinical trial? The first trial I participated in was ratherit was indeed MS. His best advice: "Stay off of odd; it was for Rebif, but was conducted asthe internet." It is now almost 24 years later a trial for the injector tool. Rebif was approvedand though I now am considered secondary in other countries but not in the U.S. I signedprogressiveMS,thefatigueanddifficulty a two-year agreement, offering my body forwalking are my worst symptoms. I am very their research, and out of the blue, about sixfortunate to have a wonderful support group months later, I received a letter saying thewithmyhusbandandfamilyandallthe drug had been approved in the U.S. so thefriends I\'ve made since joining a MS self-help trial would end. If I could afford $2,500 pergroup back in 2005. I am now that group\'s month starting around three weeks afterfacilitator. G.E.M.S. is the group\'s name (Group that letter, I could stay on the drug. I was soEncouragement with MS). Thanks to Zoom, we insulted, so hurt that I was giving my bodynow have members from all over the country forresearch,buttheydidntgiveback.Iand even in the UK. didnt have an income of $2,500 a month1. What motivated you to particciippaatteein a clinical trial?and was given a list of ve charities for which I could call and beg for assistance. Oh myWhen I was a few years into my MS diagnosis, God, how humiliating! I made the stressfulI started looking for a new neurologist. I\'d already callsandwasturneddownbyallonlyto"red" one and was not happy with the one hear, We knew that but its the process fromafterward. In our area, at the time, the one name the pharmaceutical company. Seriously? Ithat came up frequently as the neurologist\'s eventually got financial assistance from theneurologist was Dr. Omar Khan. His clinic was msfocusmagazine.org 12'