Overcoming Multiple Sclerosis

Hi Everyone

New user here! I am currently reading the Overcoming Multiple Sclerosis ebook and also have the hard copy on order.

We have recently been diagnosed and have been following the low fat / best bet diet since january this year. We removed all milk, eat really low fat, lots of fish, salad, vegetables etc, thought we were getting along really well. Also, fish oil supplementation, vitamin d (5000iu) a day and we are also doing our best to eat an anti inflamattory diet (dr weil).

A little history, it is my wife, not me that has MS, I am just doing everything I can to help including diet etc as I do most the cooking and shopping. Over the last few years there have been a few incidences of strange medical problems, loss of vision in one eye, balance problems and then this christmas a total numbness from the chest down that lasted for a few months. We suspected MS and finally got a dx in May but we started researchign and following a low fat diet in January with no milk or dairy. We also cut out gluten and legumes that I know is not so popular here but we originally started out on the best bet path.

The numbness did eventually go but my wife has had a tingling in her hands ever since that comes and goes but we were living with that. We were also training for a marathon and completed that (our first) on the 23rd of May. The symptoms would be worse whilst running but were generally tollerable.

This weekend, my wife has developed a new symptom and is having real problems with her one leg. It is weak and she can't lift it properly. We are really disheartened as we felt we were living a very clean diet and I guess I am just looking for some help and support from those more experienced than ourselves.

Questions:
Do you think the Marathon caused this? I read in the overcoming ms book that relapses happen two to four weeks after an event (cold etc) and the marathon was three weeks ago. My wife also got a cold beginning of last week which she still has now.

We have gone to the doctors and whilst we avoided steroids last time, we are likely going to have a dose this time. I am trying to persuade my wife to get the oral ones but the GP and neurologist have previously only offered the IV which is much more upsetting and inconvenient.

Few other details:
We have just done an ELISA test and found some strong alergies to egg whites (45, wheat (45), chocolate (150), milk (140) and yeast, giladin, peas etc. We had cut out some of those things (milk and wheat gave her bloating so we figured) and are now going to cut them out entirely and aim to further clean up the diet and eat no saturated fat at all (aside from what is in healthy oils and fish), we had cut out all meat bar chicken breast but will likely reduce that to once a week as well.

I also know that the swank diet can take 18 months and up to three years to really kick in so really, I guess I am just looking for some confirmation we are doing the right thing + does anyone think the marathon could have caused this relapse? Usually they have been more than a year apart and now, with six months of clean dieting we have one within six months so that is a real kick in the teeth.

Hope everyone is well and would really love to hear some of the success stories from the veterans of this lifestyle, especially regarding early relapses etc.

All the best
Marcus

Hello there Marcus. You are quite right these things do take time, but you have to be diligent in your application of the recommendations also. No saturated fat means as little as you can reasonably take - so avoiding all meats, dairy, etc but you will take some little amounts in the extra virgin olive oil, the flaxseed oil, fish and some nuts & seeds. Avoiding saturated fats however is not the whole story. You make no mention of checking Vitamin D levels, of ensuring the right intake of omega 3's and if any meditation practice is done along with the exercise. There are plenty of references on the website to help you to check all these aspects of the recommended program. It is the adoption of all of the above that will really set your wife on the road to better health and recovery from the dibilitating symptoms of MS.

You are on the right track, patience and committment is all that is needed now.

Hi Lisa

thanks for the response.

We do take omega three supplements with 3000 EPA & 2000 DPA daily from twelve max strength capsules. Beyond that we also take a 5000iu vitamin D supplement and sun when possible (UK so, it's not often) but you are right, we have not had a vitamin D3 check yet to measure blood levels - next job for sure.

We exercise, but have not started meditating yet but it is on the cards and my wife was scheduled to start yoga this week but had to cancel due to the leg problem.

Do you have any thoughts on the likelyhood that a marathon was too much? Maybe put strain on immune system and helped cause the relapse? We were also in edinburgh for the weekend and did not eat as well as normal as were eating out. My wife also had a cold all last week and we did not rest as much as possible, really hard as work for ourselves and have two young children but I have took someone on this week so she can take two weeks off.

Few questions:

- Do you think the marathon couldd have contributed to the relapse?

- Do you think the cold could have contributed to the relaspse?

Really just trying to benefit from the experience of others as it is a scary time for us.

Thanks again
Marcus

Right yes, you do need to ensure that you wife is sitting anywhere upwards of 150 nmols vitamin D blood level. It's good that she is able to swallow 12 capsules of omega 3, but a better option would be to find some organic, unrefined flaxseed oil and/or daily fish oil. The meditation is crucial to an excited body and mind and I cannot emphasize enough the effects of stress on the body, stress is frequently the biggest precursor to an exacerbation. I cannot tell you that doing a marathon is a trigger - it depends on your wife, her agility, her stamina, how fit she is, if you have doubts then it could be. All I can suggest is that she attend to all the recommendations in my previous and she will be doing the best to help reduce her symptoms.

Hi Lisa

Thanks again for the response. I must say, the amount of information we have took in over only six months is dizzying and there are lots of differing and conflicting bits of information.

In the new book (overcomming), on page 289 there is come concern voiced over the omega 3s from flax due to these having to be converted in the body so we went with (and have been for a while) a straight omega 3 fish oil supplement which contains just the omega 3 and no vitamin A. It also mentions getting the 20g or so of fish oil from natural sources so I am going ot look at tinned sardines in spring water with approx 20g of fat (fish oil) as that would seriously reduce the pills we are taking.

The whole fish oil omega three thing is difficult. George mentions 20g but does not (from memory) go into specifics about the active ingredients which usually seem to be about 25%. Dr Weil and Ashton Embry talk about 5g active ingredients so we are basing our volumes on that at the moment for anti inflammatory benefits along with all the benefits that George mentions in the book.

We also aim for no saturated fat. We were having the odd egg but since the test results we are now no eggs and we had eliminated all saturated fat on meat and everything else but as is mentioned in the book, it is in everything: bread, good oils etc so we are being extremely vigilant.

Meditation is not somethign I know anything about, hence not started that yet (and actually only come across George Jelinek recently, started out with Ashton Embry's Best Bet Diet). Next job is to explore meditation and start doing that daily.

Still, not to be discouraged, we will forge on.

Thanks again
Marcus