by Cilantro » Thu Oct 25, 2012 2:45 pm
I am a woman in my 30's who is diagnosed with Relapsing/Remitting MS. I had my first symptom (optic neuritis) about 6 years ago. I have been asymptomatic for over 2 years as a result of making significant changes to my diet, reducing my stress, and making some major improvements in my life (ending a long term unhappy relationship, moving to a more affordable, laid-back place, etc...)
I firmly believe that most disease and disorder (especially autoimmune ones) are a signal from the body that something is wrong that needs to be fixed. In my mind an autoimmune disorder is like a fire alarm going off during a fire; the physical symptoms are the body's way of alerting you that something needs to be changed. Using drugs to suppress these symptoms is like pulling out the batteries from the fire alarm. It doesn't stop the fire, it just allows us to ignore it a lottle while longer until the damage is too bad to be fixed.
I have made many changes to my diet over the past years in my effort to heal myself (gluten/dairy/soy free, Swank diet, Best Bet diet, paleo diet) and now I find that my body is happiest eating the Perfect Health Diet, which is essentially a higher carb plaeo diet. I do yoga and lift weights, and I have changed the way I respond to stress, which has made a huge difference.
Unfortunately, since their is no money to be maid by doctors suggesting to their patients that they improve their diet and stress levels, I think treatment will never actually improve to the point that it works. I think the only option is for us to take responsibility for our health, and not to let something so important be decided by doctors who guided larger by big pharma companies. It's a sad reality.
I'd be happy to fill out a questionnaire.