Has anyone beat relapses of MS with diet alone?

[ceeweed]

I have just been diagnosed with MS and so far it has been only numbness and L'hermittes as my symptoms ... Dr wants me to go on DMD and I am considering waiting until my second attack to see how it progresses for me ... and after reading so much about nutrition and supplements with MS, I am wondering how much it is true and if anyone has succeeded with this treatment alone in decreasing their relapses????

I also understand that reducing stress is also key and wondered how many others have also found this to be helpful in relapses?

I am concerned however of where and when and how the next attack/relapse will occur ... so want to do whatever is reasonable to slow down the progress.

Thanks so much

[ceeweed]

Thanks for your response and joining in this thread!

I kind of suspected hormones would have something to do with flare ups etc ... afterall - i am of that peri menopause age and changing hormones can defenitely stress the system.

I have in the past had vitamin d checked and it was low but that was before this dx and therefore i am going next week to get it done and take the results ... so i am defenitely taking action there. Already, I am taking 4000iu of vit d now. I also suspect that since B12 deficiency mimics MS that that vitamin is important too so will have that checked while i am at it.

And yes, i am trying meditation and other exercises to reduce stress. Of all the formulas, I find that one the hardest to get into.

Hope you are feeling better and that you get resolution to a dx soon. The unknowing is crazy.
carol

[Lulu54]

what a great conversation covering lots of good information.  Remember that if one DMD doesn't work for you or you are overly sensistive/reactive/allergic to it, that doesn't rule out the other DMDs.  The drugs come from a variety of different compounds. One of the most exciting things in recent MS research is recognizing that one treatment does not fit all for MS - they are studying the biomarkers and soon will be able to suggest which DMD we will respond to best.  That will eliminate the trial and error, such as taking Copaxone but not being able to tolerate it.  Or finding that our particular type of genetic makeup and MS will respond best to an interferon-B but not interferon-A.

I won't disagree about a good diet making everyone feel better but I'm not about to put all my eggs into one basket on this one.  There's too much to lose if I would be wrong.  

I'm with  Lisa - just keep doing the best we think we can.

be well, Laura

[Guitar_grrrl]

Ceeweed, nice to meet you!  I'm doing the diet angle (Paleo, ala Terry Wahls), and I feel pretty darned good, from a digestive standpoint.  But I still have MS, and I still get killer spasms day and night, as well as a host of other MS symptoms.  Oh, and I'm on Tysabri, too.  I figure I'm going to do as best as I can, eating-wise, excercise-wise, and using DMDs on top of it all.

My angle?  I'm going to live as well as I can in spite of this MeSsy disease!
Best of luck!
Lisa

[kwarendorf]

" improving my diet and overall health have definitely helped."

Bingo! Regardless of what we may be fighting, being as well equipped as possible for the battle helps :-)

Kyle

[jumpinjiminy]

I'm guilty of the over-thinking tendency as well. I have no diagnosis but they have found inflammation in 4 different organs (most mild) and it looks like my nervous system has some kind of inflammatory process going on as well. I've read a lot about MS, but I've also read a lot about inflammation in general along with other autoimmune diseases.

There is research pointing toward stress, poor diet, hormonal fluctuations in women, and lack of exercise as increasing inflammation. I've noticed with my own body, these things do cause flareups, along with excessive exposure to heat, illness, overdoing it and lack of sleep. Also, I've found an excellent study that concludes excessive exercise (anything above and beyond a person's limits) also causes an inflammatory reaction in the body.

Using this information along with tracking my own symptoms, activities and diet, I've been able to figure out most of my triggers. I saw a PT who taught me how to exercise and slowly increase abilities without causing a flareup. One neuro immuno pointed out that heat increases the inflammatory process. When I'm having a flareup, or feeling like one is coming on, sitting under the hair dryer at my beauticians is enough to rev it up for a few days. Not kidding. When I'm having a remission, I can get away with a little carelessness that way. Another neuro pointed out that stress seems to be a factor (first major flareup in over a year after a big hike along with increased stress at home). He advised nipping that home stress in the bud.

There is also research that indicates relaxation therapy of any kind reduces inflammatory markers in the bloodstream. Things like hypnosis and meditation have been documented to shift the immune system more toward the anti-inflammatory side.

Also, Vitamin D is supposed to play a role. Have you had your levels checked yet? Mine were low, and when they finally got up into the high normal range (67ish), I felt much better and had fewer, milder and shorter flareups.

Finally, there is a lot of buzz around diet and inflammation. Here's the key to this though, most of these diets recommend basically the same thing - cutting back on the fats, meats and grains, and replacing them with fruits and veggies. Now who wouldn't feel better eating better? There might be something to it, and there might not, but it can't hurt to follow a healthy diet plan. It will only help.

After all of this reading and researching, recognizing and minimizing my triggers, exercising gradually and regularly, and improving my diet and overall health have definitely helped. I may not have MS. Nobody knows what it is. It acts a lot like MS, and it might be, but I'm not on any DMDs and these changes have helped. I feel so much better than I did two years ago when it all blew up out of the blue.

[kwarendorf]

Lack of relapses is a hallmark of SPSM. Rather than well defined periods of recurrent/new symptoms and recovery experienced in RRMS, SPSM is often characterized by a slow, constant progression of the disease. As such, having SPMS and going 14 months without a relapse is entirely unremarkable :-)

Kyle