What Month Were You Born?

[Deb61]

See the following article about MS and the month you were born.

http://www.qmul.ac.uk/media/news/items/smd/95198.html

I was born in May.

[yorkieville]

Hi, Deb.

My MS Specialist's tests my Vit. D levels, because they tend to get low.

I was low again, so she has me on a prescription of Vit. D 50,000 IU D2
once a week for 12 weeks, and then, she has me scheduled to be re-tested.

I 'think' MS may be genetic, because my 2nd cousin had MS for 18 years, before it ended his life in 2008. And my Uncle on my Mother's side, also had MS.

Strangely enough, we were all diagnosed, later in life.

On my Father's side of the family, one of his 2nd cousins, also had MS.

My 1st MS exacerbation was numbness in the left side of my body.

I think your MS Specialist is wise, in advising you to have your daughters take extra Vit. D.

Sheila

[Deb61]

I take over 2000 units of vitamin D (get some in my daily vitamin, too).  

My sister has MS, too.  Interestingly enough, her birthday is in November (least likely month--but 2nd most common here on the forum).  She also has low vitamin D and takes supplements.

My MS specialist said it would be a good a idea for both my girls to start taking extra vitamin D after I told her of one of my daughters getting numbness in her legs (which turns out to probably be nothing because of the length of time it happens and more than likely due to less "cushion" to nerves when sitting due to thiness).  She said that they had a very slight increased chance of getting the disease, too.  

[PastorDan]

Not sure our 31 votes (so far) tell us anything.

Late March, full term, lifelong 40°N latitude, ±.

Taking D3, but I forget how much.  Just a little more than the neuro suggested.  Hasn't been retested since starting, maybe 4 to 6 months ago.

[Hibbles]

I am from Texas too, and I struggle with my vitamin D levels. This has to be partially genetic.

[yorkieville]

Deb,

How much Vit. D do you take? My MS Specialist tests mine, and I get low pretty often.

I'd never heard anything about birth month & it's correlation to MS. I wish it had elaborated more, regarding other months, besides Nov. & May.

Sheila

[Deb61]

I found the article interesting because I haven't heard a thing about any correlation in the month of birth to MS.  To me that is quite strange.  I was born and grew up in Texas; however, I've struggled with having the appropriate vitamin D levels.  I take vitamin D and still have trouble with having levels in the appropriate range.  

[supermum_ms]

There is an interesting connection between where or how close to the equator you where born, but if you look at the MS country stats on a world map, the connection to the equator stands out more clearly. With more research and to account for migration they added, where you grew up before the age of 15yrs and I read something not that long ago that had dropped the age and I think it was down to around 7yrs.

I'm not sure if i've understood it exactly right but basically its the MS statistics of the country you grew up in, that holds more significance to an individual, than the country they were dx in.

eg Born (June) and grew up in England until 12yrs, then immigrated to Australia. A country closer to the equator and with significantly lower MS stats than England has but I grew up in one of the coldest states, with the 2nd highest MS stats of the country and in connection to Vit D, i'm a redhead and burn easily.

To me it's all more interesting pieces to the puzzle, i can tick too many of these puzzle pieces but if it adds up to anything, is more the question going through my mind.  

Cheers..........JJ

[yorkieville]

I believe Vit. D plays a huge role in MS. Mine is constantly low. My MS Specialist tests it on a regular basis.

I'm low again, and back on 50,000 IU D2, for 12 weeks.

I was born in the midwest. (US)

But, I agree, that our auto-immune systems play a huge role in MS.

I'm on my 4th auto-immune disease.

MS was my 3rd.

[immisceo]

When taking part, you might want to specify what hemisphere you were born in. Don't forget differing seasons in north and south. Also, if it truly is something to do with vitamin D, wouldn't degree from the equator also be worth a look? I was born and raised on the 35th parallel north, that's a whole other proposition than being born in any part of the UK, where this research was located.

Also, of relevant impact would be if you were full term or a premie. That can have huge ramifications for initial immune system development. It seems a bit simplistic to put it down to birth month alone. Perhaps an interesting starting place for research, but a starting point is all I read from the link provided.

[yorkieville]

Just click on the month you were born. And then, click on Vote.

I was born in February, and I clicked on Jan.-Feb.

I read the article. It stated that babies born in May had a higher prevalence of developing MS than babies born in November.

I didn't see anything about babies born in any other months.

Sheila

[ghost39]

How do you vote. What's the significance? Interesting stuff :)

[aspen2]

Voted; born in May as well.

[ghost39]

I was born in November