This Is MS Multiple Sclerosis Community: Knowledge & Support

Hi, my first symptoms of MS (left below knee weakness and optic neuritis) were in 1997. I have had a total of 4 children(1994 - 2001). I had a stressful life event (daughter developed leukemia 2003) and I was then diagnosed 1 1/2 years later (when my immune system was probably the weakest) left leg weakness and optic neuritis. I had 5 lesions at that time per MRI. Not much symptoms after that just not able to run without my children laughing at me!
My husband then passed away suddenly (another stressful event) and about 1 year later my balance and my leg have gotten progressively worse.
I have alot of stress being a single mom of 4 children.
I had the "liberation treatment " done in Jan of 2012 - which changed my balance from 65% to about 95% better for approx. 6 months and then things progressively returned and maybe even got a little worse with my leg but balance is about 65-70% again.
I do not walk with any assisstance but bump in to alot of things if my path is narrow! lol
I have to walk then rest and walk then rest....my daughter says i'm like a battery, when I get drained I sit or lie and recharge for 5 min then up again at it for awhile!
I have followed the Dr George Jelinick diet since mid November 2012, while it was a little hit to my digestive system, I think my body is used to it now.
I eat either salmon or white fish/talapia every day or other day. I do not eat dairy products or red meat. i have made an exception and allow myself chicken every 1-2 weeks.
I eat alot of (chick peas,mixed beans,ect as my other source of protein)

The only thing I ever notice for changes in my symptoms is the weather changes(barometric pressure changes) i also notice changes like clock work in August and late February or March ( live in Canada), stress (my leg immediately gets worse!), if I have to urinate( my leg is immediately worse).
I haven't noticed anything with the diet change yet but i have to give it at least 6 months.

I have also recently just started taking Metformin 250 mg once daily, I do not have diabetes but have a very strong family history of it.
I only weigh 112 lbs, but only 5'4. I am the perfect weight for my body size.
I will also be starting a regular activity routine of using the bike daily in the evening for 15 - 20 min.
I find that I can only do one thing at a time until I feel I have adapted!
I am not on any medication for my MS(although my neurologist wants me to be)
*I take 2-4gms of Omega 3 daily
*5000iu of Vitamin D (my level is now 110)
*a vitamin B complex
My cholesterol levels are amazing and no fatty liver disease.
I will post if I notice any difference with the diet and or metformin.
Hope this helps with any questions you might have.

Thanks for posting this, positive! It's always interesting to learn about others' experiences and regimes. Funny that you take omega 3s and b complex (does that include choline?). How long have you taken those and do you know if there was a difference in your liver before/after you started this? How did your progression react to it??

Jimmy,
You posted in this thread...
Did those b vitamins include choline? Both choline and vitamin e are thought to reverse fatty liver disease.

Seems like we might already have a fatty liver experiment hidden in all these threads!

Well the only difference I noticed was when I started adding vitamin b , I only started increasing my omega 3 in august and if anything thats when I started getting a little worse. I think its all related to the time of year! Its so predictable here! Second week in august things start getting a littli worse and its the same time the evening and nights get a lot cooler!
Yes there is 50mg of choline in my vitamin b complex!

Also I no longer get blurred vision when I drink hot tea (wich is about 6 to 8 times a day) or get blurred vision in a hot bath!

So it helped with heat sensitivity? Wow!

My major flares (2 so far) happened in the first 3 months of the year. I think I'm in the clear again this year...knock on wood. Of course, ms is still probably eating my brain anyway.

Yes, thats the thing it does the best!
I will compare my MRI from last August with the next one I get!
Whenever I get one done.No hurry!

anon, when i first tried the klenner protocol i was coming off 15 yrs as a vegan and had a near zero fat diet. i was 50 lbs lighter at the time and i was definitely b12 and zinc deficient. although i never managed to measure vit e status, looking at my crappy irresponsible vegan diet and my response to the klenner protocol, i suspect i was vit e deficient too.

even though research has shown that zinc deficiency can lead to fatty liver, and that choline and omegas work in different ways to help fix it, i'd have to look more closely into fat intake requirements in order to end up with fatty liver, before i could hypothesize about whether i personally might have had a fatty liver condition with normal liver enzymes.

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my approach: no meds so far - just balanced whole foods (partial 'paleo', much less outright elimination), science, supplements, & bloodwork
my regimen - www.thisisms.com/ftopict-2489.html
www.whfoods.com, www.nutritiondata.com

My liver ensymes are normal and my vitamin b 12 is in the 300 's.
I don't know about my zinc level.
I am interested in the zamboni neck collar theory!
Barometric pressure is my biggest influencing factor, and maybe blood pressure and blood vessel diameter and volume status?

b12 is one to watch out for carefully as the reference ranges are problematic.

go for at least 500 pg/mL with the b12. or if you want to be on the extra safe side, go for at least 500 pmol/L.

the cutoffs for deficiency of b12 is based on hematologic criteria only (ie you can physically measure blood cells changing at low enough levels) and neglects cognitive aspects of b12 status.

0.738 is the conversion factor for vit b12 so if your level is 300 pg/mL that's only 221.4 pmol/L. that's pretty bad.. in pmol/L i believe 180 is the cutoff for deficiency.

even if your 300s level is in pmol/L.. you still want to be up over 500. personally i like to keep my b12 levels in the 600s in pmol/L. it has been far easier since correcting zinc deficiency issues.

after having four kids you can expect your zinc reserves to be low. might be smart to have those tested!

_________________
my approach: no meds so far - just balanced whole foods (partial 'paleo', much less outright elimination), science, supplements, & bloodwork
my regimen - www.thisisms.com/ftopict-2489.html
www.whfoods.com, www.nutritiondata.com

Thank you so much for the advice!

yvw

_________________
my approach: no meds so far - just balanced whole foods (partial 'paleo', much less outright elimination), science, supplements, & bloodwork
my regimen - www.thisisms.com/ftopict-2489.html
www.whfoods.com, www.nutritiondata.com

Well, I decided to try switching to the wahl diet, its been one week and my symptoms of left leg weekness have gotten a lot worse! With just one week of eating lots of lean meat!
I am switching back but instead of the jelinek diet I am going to be the swank diet wich is not as strict! Im going to focus on antinflammatory foods!
I think there is a lot of variability! Its not one size fits all.
I have never been much of a red meat eater and believe we should to a certain extent listen to what our bodies want to eat.
I am still going to go to a naturopath in May for food allergy testing and blood work.
Just thought I would share my experience!