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Well, honestly I would think it would be weird to not freak out at first...I'm sure most of us freaked when we got a diagnosis, it's a scary thing to be told. What I did when I had my first symptom (optic neuritis) years ago was to go into denial for a bit, then I gave myself permission to freak out as much as I wanted for a set period of time (for me, it was three days). Then once the time period is up, I told myself, 'Now that you got that out of your system, it's time to heal yourself and beat this thing.'
Yes, most of us are using ourselves as lab rats, and are pursuing very different options. There is no way to know what will work for you before just diving in and trying things. I firmly believe that MS (like other autoimmune disorders, if you believe that MS is autoimmune-related) is a signal from our body that something needs to change. Instead of partially suppressing symptoms with toxic drugs, now is the time to take control of your life and figure out what your particular body is trying to tell you to fix.
For me, it was a combo of diet and stress. I radically changed my diet, which led to symptoms that were infrequent and fairly mild. When I made some huge lifestyle changes (ending a longterm unhappy relationship, reducing stress, getting into good shape through yoga and weightlifting), I stopped having ANY flares and I have never taken a single MS drug. It's been 2.5 years since my last flare, and while I know that could change in the future, I know that I am committed to conquering this thing; it's really important to not feel powerless.
Yes, MS diagnosis is a scary thing at first, but you have a lot of options, and more control and power than you probably realize.
In terms of diet, I've tried several approaches, and what I am currently doing (and feeling the best on) is the Perfect Health Diet. Some other dietary options you could take a look at are: Paleo / Primal, The Best Bet Diet, The Swank Diet. I also recommend two youtube clips that are both informative and inspirational:
1) Loren Cordain on paleo diet and MS 2) Dr. Terry Wahls on Minding My Mitochondria
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