Over to you

Whether it’s gripes or groans, a pat on the back, or hints and tips, we want to hear from you

Listen up

Dear New Pathways, I’ve just listened to my first ever podcast, and it was from MS-UK!

I love Ian Cook’s investigative articles in New Pathways so it was great to hear him speaking on your new podcast and interviewing people in audio format.

I hadn’t heard of Wim Hof before but after looking him up on

YouTube I can see he has quite the following, and although I’m not sure I’m ready to be submerged in ice-cold water yet, I find the science behind it fascinating. It’s always good to hear ways to help our condition naturally, so thank you!

Peter Goodyear, Northampton

Dear New Pathways, I enjoyed reading the piece last issue by Regina Beach, Finding Purr-pose, in which she described the joys of fostering cats and kittens. I lost my cat Sammy just over a year ago, she lived to the grand old age of 20 but as I’m 75 myself now it doesn’t seem right to get a kitten again.

I’ve been inspired by the article to contact my local cat rescue place and am going to meet some cats in need of a new home very soon. There’s nothing like the love of a pet.

Many thanks, Jane Onsworth, Tiptree

Hot topic

Over on Facebook, we posted an article from New Pathways about a man called Patrick who was using medical cannabis.

Mum’s the word

Dear New Pathways, I listened to MS-UK’s new podcast recently and having been a New Pathways reader for a number of years but having never before written a letter, I thought it was time I did!

I wanted to say that the interview with Sally Darby struck a chord with me. Sally spoke about motherhood with a disability. I don’t have any children myself but I remember my own mother, who also has MS, telling me that when I was little a neighbour had said to her how selfish she was to have a baby. This made my mother feel awful – she was a brilliant mum and I never missed out on anything. But I now have two friends with MS who both have kids and things couldn’t be more different – Sally is right, thankfully, society is catching up and things are becoming better for mothers with disabilities.

Many thanks, Laura Holder, Manchester

Andy Clarke

Sadly the UK has dragged its feet where the benefit of cannabis is concerned and only my opinion, but I think national charities backing and support of a pharmaceutical equivalent in Sativex has put us decades behind. The cannabis plant and its use is well over 3,000 years old, why then must we try and reinvent the wheel? It should be legalised and regulated and is less harmful than alcohol.

Clive Truman

I have, on prescription here in Germany, been using medical cannabis for the past six years and I can only say that I have a much better quality of life

Mary Pearson

Think I’m going to talk to the MS nurse about this despite a cocktail of drugs sleep is still a huge problem.