Many people with multiple sclerosis say fatigue is their most disabling symptom, and one of the hardest to explain. Unlike sleepiness, it often doesn't lift after a night's rest, and medications have offered limited help. In this episode of MS Living Well, we explore what the research says actually works: why a popular strategy for rationing energy may hold people back, why small, steady changes to routine matter more than big ones, and how a new digital program aims to help people rebuild their energy.
We also look at the sleep disorders that can hide behind fatigue, especially sleep apnea, which often shows up as low energy rather than sleepiness. The conversation covers how to tell MS fatigue apart from a sleep problem, how poor sleep can affect thinking and memory, what to expect from a sleep study, practical tips for making CPAP work with MS, and where medication fits when other approaches fall short.
Dr. Jamie Holloman, neurologist at the MS Center for Innovations in Care at Missouri Baptist Medical Center, interviews:
Dr. Rona Moss-Morris, Professor of Psychology as Applied to Medicine at King's College London
Dr. Tiffany Braley, MS neurologist at the University of Michigan and founder of its Multidisciplinary MS Fatigue and Sleep Clinic
Dr. Ronald Chervin, Michael S. Aldrich Collegiate Professor of Sleep Medicine and Director of the Sleep Disorders Center at the University of Michigan