In this on-going series we will present suggestions and tips to help you to better adapt to having Multiple Sclerosis.  Just because you have a chronic disease does not mean that life stops.  We all have to get up in the morning, perform our daily routines and go about living life despite our illness.  Our tips series will hopefully offer you some advice and special tips to make the day to day tasks and chores a little easier.  I am no stranger to exploring the world of adaptations as I have I have worked in the field of helping those with disabilities for over a decade and I also have a child who has special needs.  In addition to these experiences I also have MS and have had to find ways to personally adapt to my limitations caused by my disease. I will be actively recruiting MS community members for their advice and tips to add to these articles.  If you have any suggestions to add to any one of these articles please do so by either contacting me through email or better yet leave a comment to the post.  One way we can build a healthy and vibrant community here on MS Health Central is if we support each other.  Your input is invaluable and greatly appreciated.

And now I present to you...

How to Dress for Success when you Have MS

I knew that I wanted to write about tips for dressing first when I was paging through my January issue of the Oprah magazine when I saw a question from a reader posed to O's creative director, Adam Glassman.  The question was from a woman who had Multiple Sclerosis and sometimes used a wheelchair.  She wanted to know how she could be both comfortable and stylish.  Adam told this reader about AgApparel which is a clothing line of separates specifically designed for women who have physical challenges.  You may find this web site of uncomplicated yet stylish clothing here. 

Being a stay at home mom and freelance writer, I am somewhat fortunate that I don't have to worry so much about my style but it does help one's self esteem to look neat and presentable.  It also helps to find clothing you can actually take on and off easily!  I had one harrowing incident in a clothing store where I was trying on a dress with a complicated zipper in the back and I literally could not get the dress off.  Fortunately I had a friend with me in an adjacent fitting room as I yelled for help.  I don't care how good something looks, my simple rule of thumb is if you can't get it on and off without assistance don't buy it!

There are a lot of styles of clothing which comfortable, easy to get in and out of, and look good including:  Wrap around dresses, skirts with a side zipper, pants with elastic waistbands and ballet flats come to mind. 

In doing research for this article I found an extensive list of links to sites which offer people who have physical challenges a ton of choices in adaptive clothing.  Get ready because here is quite an exhaustive list to review from the Disability Resource Directory.